It's Pay Day!

I know I have a problem. Sometimes I think it might be time to seek help when I hit the 1-click order button on Amazon for a cookbook. Again. Or when the King Arthur Flour order arrives and I have to find place to store yet more flour. Or when I'm too embarrassed to admit the number of places I have chocolate squirreled away in my home.

But I realized my food blogging problem was over the top when I made some cookies, in order to destroy them. I took the time to even imprint cute little peanut grids on them, all the while knowing their true destiny was to be crushed up to make a base for another cookie.

A freebie magazine came to my door a little while ago, one of those "you know you want it" bits of bait they dangle in order to get you to subscribe. The magazine looked pretty good, but what really caught my eye was the bars on the back cover. Salted-Nut-Roll-Bars. Yum. I love PayDay candy bars. Salty, crunchy nuts and gooey, sweet filling. What's not to love?


In looking at the ingredient list I had most of it, but not the peanut butter sandwich cookies. So I made them. Would a normal person really do that? Probably not. So I'll give you the recipe both as I made it and as suggested, just in case you're a normal person with a life.

The original recipe called for 1 stick of butter for the base. That seemed like an awful lot of butter. I halved it. My base was a bit crumbly, but I preferred that to greasy. Just be sure to press the crumbs down firmly into the pan.

PayDay Bars
- adapted from Cuisine At Home

Makes 28 bars. Takes about 45 minutes + cooling time, much more if you make your own peanut butter sandwich cookies

Base;

1 lb. peanut butter sandwich cookies, or about 16 homemade p.b. sandwich cookies
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted

Topping;

1-2/3 cup peanut butter chips (1 package)
2/3 cup light corn syrup
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups miniature marshmallows
2 cups dry-roasted peanuts
2 cups crisp rice cereal (like Rice Krispies)

1- Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Coat a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

2- Place the p.b. cookies in a food processor and process until fine crumbs form. Add the melted butter and process until crumbs clump together. Press the crumbs firmly into the prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes, or until golden.

3- In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the peanut butter chips, corn syrup, butter, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth, about 5 minutes. Spread 1/2 cup of the peanut butter mixture over crumb base.

4- Sprinkle the marshmallows over the top and return the pan to the oven. Bake until marshmallows puff, about 2 minutes, then remove from the oven. Don't let the marshmallows brown.

5- Toss the peanuts and cereal with the remaining peanut butter mixture. Drop spoonfuls of the topping over the marshmallows, then spread with a spatula or greased fingertips. Cool the bars before cutting. For clean cuts, use a knife coated with cooking spray or butter.