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Delicious Homemade PayDay Candy Bars are both salty and sweet, taste just like the real thing, & are SO easy to make!
If you love candy bars as much as I do you will LOVE these homemade payday candy bars. They are chewy and delish. For more homemade candy, try Homemade Reese’s, and Caramel Candy.
Homemade is better!
Contrary to popular opinion, PayDays are actually one of my favorite candy bars! I know it’s not a super common one compared to Snickers or Kit Kat, but I just love the combination of salty and sweet!
Although it’s quick and convenient to pick up a candy bar at the grocery checkout line, sometimes homemade versions of candy bars are just BETTER! There is something to making it from scratch without any of the “extra” ingredients in manufactured products.
Good news, this homemade version is honestly so simple, it’s totally worth the little bit of effort for that homemade taste!
Making Homemade Payday Bars
PEANUTS. Pour half your peanuts into a greased 11×7 pan and spread so they cover the bottom.
FILLING. In a small pan melt butter and chips until well combined. Add condensed milk and marshmallows and stir until all mixed. Pour over peanut mixture.
TOPPING. Top with remaining peanuts and let cool (refrigerate if desired).
recipe tips
- Microwave Melting Method: You can use a microwave safe bowl to warm the butter and peanut butter chips in 30 second intervals. Just take the bowl out every 30 seconds and stir it to make sure nothing is sticking and/or burning. After it is successfully melted mix in the sweetened condensed milk and marshmallows.
- Peanuts: Using roasted peanuts gives the payday candy bar more crunch and a little bit more flavor.
- Pan Size: If you only have a 9×13 pan your candy bars will just be a bit thinner and may need less time to cool and solidify.
Wrap them to share! Delivering homemade candies to others can be a little tricky. Just make sure that whatever you wrap it in doesn’t stick to the candy. Wrapping it in parchment paper and then other wrappings allow for the candy to not stick, but also look nice.
Storing info
STORE homemade paydays in an air-tight and sealed container in a cool and dry place. You can store them in the fridge, or if it is cool outside keeping them on the kitchen counter should be fine too. You can keep them for up to a week before the bars get hard and inedible.
Typically you shouldn’t FREEZE caramel based candy bars because they become rock solid and don’t defrost very well. We also recommend not freezing these homemade candy bars
For more easy homemade treats, try:
- White Chocolate Reese’s Fudge
- White Chocolate M&M Popcorn
- Reese’s Pieces Puppy Chow
- Pecan Pralines
- Chocolate Caramel Rice Krispie Treats
- Salted Peanut Chews
Homemade PayDay Candy Bar Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups salted peanuts
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 cups peanut butter chips
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Pour half your peanuts into a greased 11×7 pan and spread so they cover the bottom.
- In a small pan melt butter and chips until well combined. Add condensed milk and marshmallows and stir until all mixed.
- Pour over peanut mixture.
- Top with remaining peanuts and let cool (refrigerate if desired).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi, Love Pay Days. Can you please tell me the size of Sweetened Condensed Milk that you used?
Thanks so much.
14 ounces 🙂 Hope you like them!
These were amazing! I read the comments and modified accordingly, they set perfectly. I used the small can of sweetened condensed milk, 3 cups of mini marshmallows not 2. After they melted I stirred until it felt “sticky” (about 5 more minutes). Also be sure you are using the correct size pan. 11×7. I pressed the peanuts into the top and only a few fell off when eating, same as a Pay Day bar. Maybe chopping them up first then pressing them in would work too. They were a hit with my guys today. I’ll be making them again!
Thank you so much for sharing!!
Ok, here is what I did, and they were bang on! :
3 loose packed cups of marshmallow instead of two, heated everything in stages until fully melted and incorporated. Once the marshmallows began melting, it was fluffy peanut butter consistency.
Then I poured over a half crushed layer on peanuts that is on a casserole dish that is lined with parchment then sprayed with Bakers Joy.
Now, here is where it really made a difference….
I coated the top while still hot with half crushed mud again, really pressing them in, then let it cool for a second before I pulled the whole thing out of the dish and plopping it in a deep cookie tray. The parchment paper on the bottom, the candy bar middle, then took another parchment paper and pressed it over the top. The bars wound up about two inches thick… Full of peanuts, and set up perfect. Chewy, able to be cut into bars…. If you add less peanuts, they still retain shape.
I tried them without the casserole dish step, but it just turned into a peanut version off a rice krispie treat. Letting them set a moment in the dish so the sugar bit could set up helped the layer effect.
Thank you so much for letting me know what you did! So happy you liked them!
everything looks so good can’t wait to try them out for my family
I hope they like them!! Thank you!
We tried the homemade payday bars tonight. My son requested melted drizzled chocolate on the top. We’re waiting for them to harden but they look amazing. Did you have a scorched pan when you melted the butter, peanut butter chips, condensed milk, and marshmallows? I think next time we’ll do the double boiler method. 🙂
Yes, you need to constantly be stirring, otherwise it could burn a little. Double broiler works too 🙂 Chocolate drizzle sounds yum!!
How many ounces for the condensed milk?
All of these Pay Day recipes seems to be a waste of time. I have compared all of the different recipes and their ingredients and have tried this 2 years in a row for Christmas baking They do not set up. They are runny and a mess. Refrigerating does not help at all.
These turned out great and are very tasty! The only reason that I took off a start is that I feel these instructions are a little incomplete.
These bars definitely won’t set properly if you follow these exact instructions – I had to boil my mixture over medium heat for about half an hour to make sure it was going to set into a chewy candy. It should be very thick and slow to fall back together when separated in the pot.
I also found that the peanuts on the top (despite having pushed them into the mixture) almost all fell out when I cut it into squares. Next time I would probably only put the peanuts on the bottom (or mix them in)…it doesn’t look as nice with all of these peanut holes!
Delicious recipe though, going to be a hit at Christmas for sure!
Anita, I sure wish I had read your comments before I made these again. I knew there was something missing in the instructions. I’m sad That I wasted all those ingredients.
Is it really 3 teaspoons? That is 1 Tablespoon. Butter is normally measured by Tablespoons so is it supposed to be 3 Tablespoons or 1 Tablespoon?
Weird. I just edited the recipe. I’m pretty sure it’s suppose to be 3 TB butter. Thanks for the heads up! ;D
I love pay days Lily I should try this and I am sorry you have to go home
Mine never set up and stayed gooey. Thoughts? I also was wondering if you sprayed the dish with any cooking spray or buttered it.
Hmmm… did you end up refrigerating yours? And I can’t remember if I did spray them but I might have just to be safe. 😉
Dawn
I had the same problem, I added about 3/4 cup of powdered sugar (about 2 Tbsp. at a time, you may not need that much) and mixed until it looked like it would set up without being dry…. hope this helps : )
SOOOOOOOO YUMMY!!