One of my duties as a speech and debate coach over the years was hosting weekend tournaments.
And part of that duty was organizing a concession stand to feed all of the students who came.
That meant buying what felt like a heinous amount of hot dogs, chips and candy, along with tons of pop and bottled water. Since I only played host once in the fall and once in the spring, I tried to balance buying enough to keep everyone satisfied with not buying so much that I had tons of leftovers to contend with.
One leftover that always baffled me, though, was in the candy bar category. Kids would snap up the Snickers and Reese’s, and even the plain Hershey’s bars, but if there were Baby Ruths or Paydays in there, they were inevitably still left over at the end of the day.
And while it’s OK that all those kids were horribly wrong, it doesn’t mean that you and I need to be, which is why, this week, I’m presenting one of the most sinful desserts I’ve made of late: a Payday-inspired pie.
This comes from the blog “House of Nash Eats” by Amy Nash. You can find her original post at https://houseofnasheats.com/payday-pie/. The only thing I added was some extra salt and some extra peanuts in my version.
Payday Pie
Ingredients
Bottom Layer Ingredients
- 1 unbaked pie crust for a nine-inch pan
- 10 ounces peanut butter baking chips
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 large pinch of salt
- 2 cups miniature marshmallows
Top Layer Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups dry-roasted peanuts
- coarse or flaked sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Place your unbaked pie crust into a nine-inch pie tin, crimp the edges and then prick the bottom all over with a fork.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper into the crust to line it and fill it with pie weights or dry beans.
- Bake for 15 minutes, and then carefully remove the parchment paper and weights, and bake for another 15 minutes or until the crust is golden.
- Set it aside to cool.
- In a saucepan, add the peanut butter chips, sweetened condensed milk, butter and salt and heat over medium heat. Stir regularly until everything is melted together.
- Add in the marshmallows, and continue stirring until they melt into the mixture.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared crust.
- Evenly sprinkle all of the peanuts on top of the filling, and set the pie aside.
- For the final layer, add just the sugar to a small pot and heat it over medium, stirring constantly. The sugar will melt and turn amber. At that point, add the butter, and stir until it is melted.
- Carefully pour in the heavy cream, and let the mixture cook, still stirring constantly, for another minute on the heat.
- Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let the mixture cool for at least five minutes before pouring evenly over top of the peanuts.
- Refrigerate for about four hours or until the pie is cooled through. Before serving, sprinkle the top with coarse or flaked salt, to taste.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container.
This was so dense that it was actually a little tough to slice, but I take that as a sign of greatness. The pie was peanut-buttery and sweet, with plenty of salt to balance it all out. It really was much like eating a candy bar.
And if my small amount of market research is any indicator, you might not have to share this dessert with any teenagers in your life.
No promises, though, and I’d recommend having a secret stash of Snickers bars to distract them, just in case.
This piece first appeared in print Oct. 23, 2025.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
