Last updated on February 16th, 2025
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These Payday Cookie Bars are a rich “candy-like” dessert with a cookie base layer from cake mix, smothered with toasted marshmallows and topped with candied peanuts. They are a gooey confection that perfectly balances sweet and salty easy-to-make dessert, perfect for potlucks or indulging in a taste of nostalgia.
Upon doing research, I found a couple variations of this cookie bar. One version calls for yellow cake mix as the base layer often called “Payday Bars”. Another popular version was for “Payday Candy Bars” which is a copycat recipe to make a homemade Payday candy bar.
This handwritten recipe was given to me from my Nana who received it sometime in the early 1970’s. I’ve taken this vintage recipe from the early 70’s and baked it modern. This modern version of Payday Cookie Bars is made with natural ingredients with a base layer of a homemade cake mix, marshmallows and topped with a layer of sweet, chunky peanuts.
- The original recipe calls for a boxed yellow cake mix. Cake mixes can be filled with artificial ingredients and additives, so try to find an all-natural brand if possible. If you don’t have a boxed cake mix on hand, you can make your own with a few basic pantry ingredients like flour, sugar, and leavening agents. Here is my recipe for Homemade Cake Mix.
- The original recipe calls for margarine, however, the all-natural flavor of butter tastes so much better! Margarine is a processed blend of oil, with a higher water content than butter, thus changing the texture of baked goods.
- The original recipe calls for Karo syrup. To help balance the sweetness, I’ve replaced a portion of the Karo with all-natural chunky peanut butter.
- The original recipe calls for 12 oz. peanut butter chips, however, I used chunky peanut butter instead. Peanut butter chips contain sugar, oil and artificial flavor and lack peanut butter flavor once melted down.
INGREDIENTS
cake mix: Using a box cake mix makes for a quick and easy cookie base. However, most boxed cake mixes are filled with artificial ingredients and additives. Try to find an all-natural brand or make your own.
butter: American butter is made from cream and contains 80% butterfat as regulated by the USDA. Try to use a good quality butter in baked goods as it will make a difference. Another option is European butter, which is churned longer, has a higher fat content (82%-85%), with less water it yields more flavor, but can be more expensive.
peanut butter: Ideally, look for either “all-natural” peanut butter which is typically made with just peanuts and a bit of salt. If purchasing regular peanut butter, look for one that has “fully hydrogenated oil”, minimal trans fats and no high fructose corn syrup. Some peanut butters may be labeled as “natural”, but they are actually a “Peanut Butter Spread” that contains palm oil. Homemade peanut butter is so easy to make from fresh roasted, salted peanuts in which you just place in food processor and blend to desired consistency. MAKE YOUR OWN! Simply purchase roasted peanuts that are lightly-salted or no-salt peanuts. Use a food processor and grind them 2-3 minutes to find the consistency you like. Store in the fridge up to 3 weeks.
peanuts: Peanuts are legumes that grow underground and are rich in protein, healthy fats and fiber. Look for “dry roasted” variety with either “no-salt” or “lightly-salted” on the label. Be sure to read the label because most brands that are “dry roasted, salted” may contain added ingredients like savory or sweet spices, msg, or sugar.
rice krispies cereal: This breakfast cereal is made from puffed rice that has been cooked and toasted to create a light, crispy texture with a bit of sweetness.
corn syrup: Corn syrup is a glucose-based simple sugar made from cornstarch that is primarily used to prevent crystallization in candy, which causes a gritty texture. It can also improve texture and shelf-life of candy and baked goods. It should not be confused with high fructose corn syrup.
marshmallows: Marshmallows are a fluffy confection made from sugar, corn syrup, water, and gelatin. Some variations may use egg whites instead of gelatin. For the best flavor, use all-natural marshmallows, as many popular conventional brands have artificial flavors and additives.
vanilla extract: Vanilla provides hints of caramel and spice, enhancing the depth of flavor to baked goods. Always use a high-quality, all-natural brand that is made from real vanilla beans containing at least 35% alcohol. MAKE YOUR OWN! Purchase Grade B vanilla beans (also called extract-grade), which have less moisture and a more concentrated flavor. Place 8 oz. of bourbon (or vodka) in glass bottle or jar. Split 5-7 vanilla beans down the middle and add to bottle. Let it sit for 3-6 months in a cool, dark place. As you use it, continue to replace the bourbon and add more beans as it keeps for many years.
Dietary Substitutions
For the past 12+ years, I have owned an all-natural specialty bakery converting conventional recipes to gluten-free, vegan, keto, low-sugar, etc. These are proven tips I use to convert conventional recipes into delicious, specialty baked goods. Read more about it here.
TO MAKE GLUTEN-FREE:
In this recipe you need a cake mix, so just use a gluten-free yellow cake mix. I recommend King Arthur Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix.
TO MAKE VEGAN/DAIRY FREE:
Swap out the butter with vegan butter. Both Violife Plant Butter OR Country Crock Olive Oil Sticks are good choices because they have a subtle flavor. Also choose an unsalted version as many vegan butters are too salty.- To replace the egg, place 1 tsp. of baking soda into your baked good and pour 1 T. white vinegar on top of the baking soda.
For vegan marshmallows use Dandies brand.
Equipment
Recommended tools: (affiliate links)
Storage
If Baked: Cover in air-tight container and leave on counter up to 3 days.
To freeze, cover in saran wrap and place in freezer-safe container up to 6 months. Thaw on counter in the container for 1/2 hour before opening up the container.
More Bar recipes
Payday Cookie Bars
Ingredients
BOTTOM LAYER
- Cake Mix yellow)
- 1/2 c. unsalted butter soft
- 2 eggs
MIDDLE LAYER
- 3 c. mini marshmallows
TOP LAYER
- 2/3 c. chunky peanut butter
- 1/3 c. white Karo syrup
- 1/4 c. unsalted butter
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 2 1/3 c. lightly salted peanuts
- 2 c. Rice Krispies
Instructions
PREP
- Grease 9×13 pan. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
BASE LAYER
- Place cake mix in bowl and add soft butter and eggs. Mix together and place in bottom layer of pan and bake for 18-20 minutes.
MIDDLE LAYER
- Place mini marshmallows over the base layer and melt in oven 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven. Grease an off-set spatula with non-stick cooking spray and then spread the melted marshmallows.
TOP LAYER
- Place a bowl over simmering pot of water and melt peanut butter, Karo syrup, butter, and vanilla.
- Stir in peanuts and Rice Krispies and spread mixture over the marshmallow layer.
- Let cool and cut into bars.
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @vintagebakedmodern on Instagram and hashtag it #vintagebakedmodern
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