When it comes to candy bars, everyone’s got their tried-and-true favorites that they’ll stick with forever. Not that we don’t branch out every now and again, but once you’ve found your faves, you’ve got a tendency to stick with them, right? And furthermore, if you’re already obsessed with the flavors and ingredients of said favorites, it only makes sense that you’d want to emulate the combination in other dishes! With all that in mind, we decided to make homemade Pay Day bars so that we could have a dessert on hand whenever our peanut and peanut butter cravings strike…and boy, are we glad we made these!
Not only do these bars taste just like the real deal, but they’re also super easy to make. All you need are six ingredients, plus a stovetop or microwave. You combine the butter and peanut butter chips together in a saucepan, then heat them until the mixture is melted and smooth, then all you have to do is pour in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract, stirring the marshmallows in until they’re smooth as well. Pour half of that deliciousness into a 9×13-inch baking dish, sprinkling half of the salted peanuts into the middle, then pour the remaining peanut marshmallow mixture on top, sprinkling any remaining peanuts over the smoothed out top layer. Easy breezy!
This dish comes together in a matter of minutes, and, before you know it, the bars are set and ready to be sliced and served. It’s a no-bake dish, meaning you can make this at any time of year without having to turn on your oven or heat up the kitchen – which is the worst during the summertime – and means that you can satiate that candy bar craving in no time. What’s not to love?
To keep track of your weight loss diet, these Homemade Pay Day Candy Bars contains an estimated 391 calories per serving. It’s a great addition for a keto diet, but it’s not in line with a strict vegan diet because of all the condensed milk and butter. Also, we wouldn’t recommend it for someone on a diabetic/diabetes diet or a weight-loss plan because it just doesn’t fit in with the low sugar requirements. And if you’re allergic to peanuts, we advise you to check out any of our other candy bar recipes. If you can’t find them, feel free to leave a message in the comments’ section. We’ll be sure to get back to you as a gesture of good faith and to prevent you from going into anaphylactic shock.
INGREDIENTS :
You don’t need a lot in other to make these Homemade Pay Day Candy Bars. All you’ll need are:
3 cups salted peanuts
2 cups peanut butter chips
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
One important thing you should note is that the quantities of equipments stated in this recipe is only good for about 6-8 servings of Homemade Pay Day Candy Bars. If you’re going to be feeding more people, or you need more servings, you’re going to have to tweak the recipe a little bit. Now, that’s easy to do but it’s more complicated than adding another cup of peanuts or peanut butter chips to the mix (where this recipe is concerned). You’re going to have to increase the quantities of each and every one of the ingredients in this recipe proportionately. Again, it’s easy but we’re aware that things can get sticky in the kitchen very fast, so feel free to consult us by leaving a message in the comments’ section, if you experience any difficulties in recreating this recipe.
But try not to be elbow deep in Homemade Pay Day Candy Bars mix before you decide to leave your comment. This isn’t the recipe ER and we might not get back to you as fast as you’d like. But we will get back to you. Eventually.
EQUIPMENTS:
To recreate this Homemade Pay Day Candy Bars recipe, you don’t need much by way of equipments. All you’ll need are:
A working cooker
One large saucepan
A long-handled spoon or a ladle (or any other utensil you use for stirring. There’s a whole lot of stirring involved in this recipe.)
A 9×13-inch baking dish
Non-stick spray or parchment paper
A refrigerator
For the sake of being thorough, we’ll go ahead and mention all the spoons and bowls that are bound to end up in the dishwasher after this cooking session; even though we’re not entirely sure how they’re going to get there. But they always do, so prepare your mind.
PREPARATION :
There’s a small recommendation we like to give at the start of our recipes, and that is: if there’s any clutter in you cooking/baking area, kindly clear it away.
Not only is this great for hygiene and a clear mind, it will increase your range of movement. Another thing this wonderful piece of advice will do for you is that you’ll have more space n your counter top for you to arrange your small bowls before you start following this recipe. We’re referring to those small ceramic bowls that you measure out your ingredients into, you know, like they do on TV. In our experience, those bowls are great for aesthetics, Instagram, and they aid time management when you’re following a recipe.
Are you ready?
Take in a deep breath and let’s begin!
Melt butter and peanut butter chips in a large saucepan over medium heat until smooth.
Stir in condensed milk, vanilla extract and marshmallows, stirring until smooth and incorporated.
Generously grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with butter or non-stick spray, or line with parchment paper, then spread half of peanuts across baking dish. (You have to use a non-stick method – do NOT skip this step – so as to avoid that garish cleanup nightmare of an extremely sticky pan at the end of this cooking session.)
Pour condensed milk mixture over peanuts, then sprinkle remaining peanuts on top.
Chill in refrigerator (Optional. But it tastes better that way. I like to make it as frozen as it can get. It doesn’t just help with the crunch, it adds on a jawbreaker quality.)
Serve, dig in and enjoy!
(Remember: Serves 6-8)