NABISCO HEYDAY BARS (copycat recipe)

1 (9 oz.) package of vanilla sugar wafers
1 (14 oz.) bag caramels
1/4 cup of water
3 or 4 cups chopped peanuts
1 (8 oz.) Hershey's Chocolate Bar (Milk or Dark)

Separate the sugar wafers with a knife, carefully removing the filling, so that all you have left are the wafers themselves. Stack the empty wafers in stacks of 3.

On a sheet of wax paper, take one (1) wafer from each stack, and lay them out on the wax paper.

Put the caramels in a microwave safe bowl and add the water to them. Microwave them on high for 5 minutes, stopping after each minute to stir them.

When the caramel is completely melted, use a spoon to drizzle it on each wafer, doing on 5 at a time, then put a second wafer from the stack on each when you finish. Drizzle caramel on all the remaining wafers on the wax paper the same way, 5 at a time. Drizzle caramel on all the cookies you just finished, and add the third wafer to each of them. You should end up with between 20 and 25 completed cookies with three wafers each with caramel in between.

Put the chopped peanuts in a bowl.

Using a pair of tongs, dip each cookie in the melted caramel, drain off the excess caramel, then roll in the peanuts, completely covering the cookie, and set on wax paper. Finish all the remaining cookies the same way.

After letting the cookies sit for ten minutes to set, break up the chocolate bar in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave on high 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each time, until its completely melted.

Using a spoon, drizzle the chocolate in stripes over the cookies. Let the cookies rest until completely set.

Notes from author: "I had been annoyed for years that Nabisco had stopped making Heydays,one of my favorite cookies from my youth, that I decided to create a recipe on my own. These measurements are just estimates since I started with much more of each ingredient and just played it by ear when I was making them. Everyone that tried them said they were similar to the old Heydays, and I enjoyed them myself. I think next time I will use dark chocolate instead, but that's just a personal preference.T hey are labor intensive, but for me they were worth it."

Makes 20-25 cookies
Adapted from source: Desi Chef (author, unknown)