Salted Peanut Chews-Family Favorite

Chewy, crunchy, sweet and Ooooo so tasty!

The Good: This recipe is great for carry-ins, parties or whatever occasion!  Also, I am not a fan of salty foods and I love this dessert.  It does not taste salty at all.
The Bad: The original recipe calls for yellow cake mix plus but it no longer exists... I've found the newer version (super, I believe) is harder to get to set right.
The Ugly: Since bringing this dish into work I have had coworkers threatening to do terrible things to me if I do not give them the recipe.

Suggestions before starting:
It is important to make sure the butter is completely softened before mixing.  Otherwise it is increasingly difficult to mix the cake batter.
Although the recipe says the base will be crumbly, it needs to be moist enough to hold the base ingredients together.  Egg size can be an issue for this step.  If you use too small of an egg it will just fall apart.  It is almost better to have too much egg than not enough.  One extra-large egg would be best for the recipe but using two small and gradually mixing it in will do just as well.
If you are someone who like to jump ahead on a recipe, DON'T! Timing is everything for this recipe, follow the order the recipe gives you and the timeline it gives you.
Easy cutting tip: Use a knife to run around the inside edge of the pan. Then take a large cutting board and sit it on top of 13 x 9 pan and flip until it breaks free from dish.  If you have a second cutting board you can flip it again and cut the bars while they are free from the pan.


Salted Peanut Chews

Recipe Total Time: 20-40 minutes+ chill time

Recipe Yields 12 Servings

Preheat Oven to 350

Ingredients:
Base:

• 1 Pkg Yellow Cake Mix Plus (Super Moist)
• 1/3 cup Margarine or Butter, softened
• 1 Egg
• 3 Cups Miniature Marshmallows

Topping:

• 2/3 Cup Corn Syrup
• 1/4 Cup Margarine/Butter
• 2 t Vanilla
• 12 oz Peanut Butter Chips
• 2 Cups Rice Krispies
• 2 Cups Salted Peanuts

Directions:
In a large bowl combine all base ingredients except marshmallows.  Mix at low speed until crumbly.  Press into ungreased 13 x 9 pan. Bake 12-18 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and top with marshmallows.  Return to oven for 1-2 minutes until marshmallows begin to puff.  Cool while preparing topping.  In a large sauce pan heat syrup, margarine, vanilla and chips until smooth.  Stir constantly.  Remove from heat and add nuts and cereal.  Mix well, spoon and spread on top of marshmallows.  Chill, cut into bars.  Store covered.