paydays gone awry

If I can ever make it through one recipe, as it is actually written, it will be a miracle. Not that I set out to modify instructions; I’m not bent on being a rebellious rule breaker all the time, but when it comes to recipes it seems to happen by accident. Or poor planning. As was the case with what was supposed to be a good southern dessert: payday bars-like the candy bar.

No, paydays don’t have chocolate, so obviously that was one major deviation. Where to start with the changes? I didn’t have mini-marshmallows, so I cut (well, tried to cut) regular size marshmallows. I do not, do not, recommend this, because it is sticky business. Once I had them cut they all just stuck together and to my hands when I tried to spread them out. So I had to spray my hands with PAM in order to work with them. Like I said, I don’t recommend doing that.I didn’t have peanut butter chips, so I used a combo of chocolate and butterscotch. I realized all the peanuts were gone, so I used slivered almonds instead. And I didn’t have a yellow cake mix, so I used the butter cake instead. Aaaand when it was supposed to be on the counter cooling, I forgot to think about the fact that it was 80 degrees and all the windows were open, so instead of setting in place, it kind of mudslide-oozed. Duh, refrigerator.

All that to say, they still taste good (as I was told by others; I’m still Lenting). It is a mess to get into your mouth and requires the use of fingers over a fork (it only sticks to the fork and becomes increasingly difficult to eat with any manners). If you want a real payday recipe, I’ll give you the one I was improvising off of, but here is what these little creatures were actually made from:

1 butter golden cake mix

1 egg, beaten

1 stick butter

Mix cake mix, egg, and softened stick of butter together. Spread over a a 9×13 pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes, until nearly cooked through.

1 bag mini marshmallows (or several regular ones cut up). Spread over the cake while it is still warm and put back in the oven for 3-5 minutes, until marshmallows are melted. They will puff up and expand, but you can push them back down with a spatula.

1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup butter scotch chips

2/3 cup corn syrup

2-2 1/2 cups slivered almonds.

1/2 stick butter

Melt the butter, corn syrup, and chips in the microwave, stir in almonds. Spread over the marshmallows when it comes out of the oven. Set in the fridge to cool before cutting into squares.