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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 is from a recipe my Nana made in the early 1970’s. My modern version of Payday Cookie Bars is made with natural ingredients like a homemade cake mix, marshmallows and topped with a layer of sweet, chunky peanuts.
Ingredients
BOTTOM LAYER
- cake mix: Conventional cake mix combines pre-measured dry ingredients like flour and leavening, that when mixed with wet ingredients like oil and milk, quickly makes a fool-proof baked cake or cupcakes.
- butter: American butter is made from churned cream that contains 80% butterfat. European butter is churned longer and has a higher fat content (82%-85%), which is why it yields more flavor.
- eggs: Eggs are important in baking because they lend natural leavening, provide moisture, and add structure through their protein.
MIDDLE LAYER
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.
TOP LAYER
- peanut butter: Conventional peanut butter is made from peanuts, oil, sugar and salt turned into a creamy or chunky texture. Look for one that has “fully hydrogenated oil”, minimal trans fats, and no high fructose corn syrup. Some varieties labeled “natural”, may be “Peanut Butter Spread” containing palm oil. Authentic “all-natural” peanut butter is made from ground peanuts and salt. 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.
- peanuts: Peanuts are legumes that grow underground and are rich in protein, healthy fats and fiber. Look for “dry roasted” with either “no-salt” or “lightly-salted” on the label, because most brands labeled “dry roasted, salted” often contain added ingredients like spices, msg, or sugar.
- corn syrup: Corn syrup is a glucose-based simple sugar made from cornstarch that is used to prevent crystallization, gritty texture, and shelf-life of candy and baked goods. It should not be confused with high fructose corn syrup.
- 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.
- vanilla extract: Vanilla provides hints of caramel and spice, which enhances the depth of flavor in baked goods. Homemade vanilla is best, or use a high-quality, all-natural brand that contains at least 35% alcohol.
Make your own ingredients
Peanut Butter: To make, use roasted peanuts without salt or lightly-salted, and grind in a food processor for 2-3 minutes.
Vanilla Extract: 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.
- The original recipe calls for a boxed yellow cake mix. For better tasting baked goods, use an all-natural cake mix without artificial ingredients and additives. 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
Dietary Substitutions
For the past 12+ years, I have owned an all-natural specialty bakery converting conventional recipes to gluten free, vegan, wholesome, etc. Read more about it here.
TO MAKE GLUTEN-FREE
- Use a premium gluten-free flour blend. This is my handcrafted blend I use in my bakery.
- Be sure to let the batter rest to help eliminate grittiness. Even letting the batter sit 15 minutes will yield a light and tender baked good. You can let batter sit in the fridge overnight, and up to 3 days.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons additional liquid (use the same liquid called for in the recipe) to help hydrate the flour.
- Reduce the oven temperature by at least 25° to bake low and slow, since gluten-free flour is delicate and tends to burn baked goods before the center is cooked through.
- Gluten-free baked goods have a shorter shelf-life than conventional baked goods and dry out faster. Store in airtight container on counter 1-2 days. The refrigerator tends to dry them out more, so it is best to freeze up to 6 months.
TO MAKE VEGAN/DAIRY FREE
- Swap out the butter with unsalted vegan butter sticks.
- 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.
- Use Dandies vegan marshmallows.
Equipment
Recommended tools: (affiliate links)
Storage
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.
Related Recipes
Payday Cookie Bars
Equipment
- 9×13 baking pan
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.
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Leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out for you!
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This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see our full disclosure for further information.
