Pay Day Bars--Kelly (Ahlden) Milk Recipe

Kelly and I have always LOVED desserts!

             Sometimes I’m a little sweet, and sometimes I’m a little salty.  I like M & M’s in my popcorn and chocolate covered pretzels.  Sweet and salty is the perfect combination to satisfy all your taste buds.  Today Grams and I made Kelly Milk’s recipe for Pay Day Bars.  At my house, we refer to them as Frito Bars.  Over the years, these have become a staple at Ahlden family gatherings.  We have made it Kelly’s duty to bring this delicious sweet and salty treat to every holiday.  The truth is, this dessert isn’t visually appealing.  It looks kind of strange, and the ingredients don’t sound like an appetizing combination.  They taste delicious though, and that’s the most important thing!  I asked Kelly what the story was behind the Pay Day Bar recipe.  Apparently, when Kelly worked for Aunt Jan and Linda Kuipers at The Wedding Center, one of her co-workers brought it in, and she was hooked!  It’s a little odd, just like the Ahlden clan!

            You may recall that my favorite recipes are those with four ingredients or less. These desserts are easier for me to make and for Grams to understand.  After I measured the sugar, peanut butter, and corn syrup in the saucepan, Grams was in charge of the simmering.  She has patience in baking that I will never know.  I want to turn the burner on high and increase the oven temperature an extra fifty degrees to make everything done a little faster.  Baking my way through the Ahlden Family Cookbook, I have learned that this isn’t a good idea.  Now I leave the slow simmering and tedious jobs to Grams who approaches all things with patience and love.

           

             If you visit my mom’s house during Christmas, you know that she LOVES Christmas decorations.  I am not exaggerating when I say that there is a Christmas decoration within 12 inches of every space in our home.  My house basically turns into Santa’s Village during the month of December.  Grandma’s eyes lit up when I brought her into our house today.  We took a long tour of the rooms and looked at each of the holiday decorations.  Grams and I talked about our favorite decorations and the memories we have of each piece.  Not surprisingly, this lead to a trip to The Gathering in Gilman to check out their new holiday decorations. 

            Frito Bars are something unexpected.  Drizzled over corn chips, they don’t look anything like they taste.  I can tell you, but you really have to taste them to believe it.  They are a bit odd, but surprisingly delicious.  If you like Pay Day candy bars or anything sweet and salty, this recipe is for you.  They’re a little odd, but who isn’t a bit odd at times!

Pay Day Candy (a.k.a. Frito bars)

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup white corn syrup

1 bag Fritos corn chips

Bring first three ingredients to a boil in medium saucepan.  Simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly.  Spread corn chips onto cookie sheet or platter.  Pour mixture over corn chips and let cool.  Break into pieces and enjoy.

Note from Kelly:  I like to bring this to family functions, and we never have any to bring home!  It’s also fun to make just for a special treat at home.