PayDay & Recipe using Peanuts and Candy Corn Snack Mix

One of my favorite candy bars is the PayDay. There’s just something about that salty peanutty crunch mixed together with the sweet caramel flavor. I’m not sure if it’s the peanuts, or the caramel, or a combination of the two, but it just seems to hit the spot.

Let’s look at the history of the PayDay candy bar.

Frank Martoccio, founder of the F. A. Martoccio Company, introduced the PAYDAY Peanut Caramel Bar in 1932. The F. A. Martoccio Company later became Hollywood Brands, Inc.

In 1967, the Martoccio family sold Hollywood Brands to Consolidated Foods Corporation, which was purchased by Huhtamaki Oy of Helsinki, Finland in 1988 when it then became a part of Leaf, Inc.

Leaf North America confectionary operation was acquired by Hershey from Huhtamaki Oy in 1996.

The Hershey Company then released a new candy bar in 2003, the PAYDAY Honey Roasted Limited Edition Bar. In 2005, they introduced the PAYDAY PRO, a high protein energy bar containing 15 grams of protein per serving.

Now we are going to take a slight detour and look at Peanuts and Candy Corn, and then tie it all together.

Some people are deathly allergic to peanuts. The rest us get to enjoy them. And not only are peanuts good, they are also good for you. Don’t you wish we could say that about the caramel also? Let’s look at some of the benefits of eating peanuts.

• They are an excellent source of the “good fats”. Since fat tastes so good, it’s always nice to have good ones.
• They are cholesterol-free.
• Peanuts contain a healthy dose of the nutrient resveratrol. This is the same nutrient that makes red wine and grape skins good for you.
• They are an excellent source of protein.

Candy corn was invented in the 1880’s by George Renninger of the Wunderlee Candy Co. In 1900, the Goelitz Candy Company which later became the Jelly Belly Candy Company started making candy corn in 1900.

When candy corn, which is a mixture of sugar, water, corn syrup, wax and marshmallow was first made, it was an extremely labor intensive process. Because the process was so tedious, candy corn was only available from March to November. Today, the process is more automated with machines doing most of the labor.

It is estimated that 20 million pounds of candy corn is sold and consumed yearly. That’s over 9,000 tons!

Candy corn originally appeared in the colors of yellow, orange and white. This is still the most common color combination sold. But other color combinations are available to help make holidays more festive. These include:

• Valentine’s Day – “cupid corn” – red and pink with white tips
• Easter– “bunny corn” – usually only two colors, a pastel of pink, green, yellow or purple with white tips
• Thanksgiving– “Indian corn” – chocolate brown and orange with white tips
• Christmas– “reindeer corn” – Red and green with white tips

The traditional variety can be purchased year round but is very popular in the fall, especially for Halloween. October 30, the day before Halloween, is National Candy Corn Day. And just for those inquiring minds who want to know …. candy corn is fat free … and each little kernel has 3.57 calories.

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Copyright © 2011 Cindy Murdoch (homesteadbound)

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Now let’s tie it all together. If you mix equal parts salted skinless peanuts and candy corn, you will create a wonderful snack mix that tastes exactly like a PAYDAY candy bar. Sounds like a great colorful snack mix to serve at your next party, doesn’t it!

Want to make some homemade candy corn like that pictured to the right?