Scotcheroos
Published on April 12, 2024
Quick Summary
Scotcheroos are an easy no-bake dessert made with crispy rice cereal, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips. Basically, the ultimate Rice Krispie Treats. They are always a crowd pleaser!
Scotcheroos!!!!
If you’ve had a scotcheroo, you know of their goodness. And if you haven’t, get ready to be WOWED!
Scotcheroos are similar to Rice Krispie Treats but they are loaded with peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch. They are soft, chewy, super sweet, and a little salty, thanks to the flaky sea salt that gets sprinkled on at the end. They are basically the perfect no-bake treat!
And if you are wondering if peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch go together? The answer is a big fat YES! The combo is sooooo decadent!
Every time I take a pan of scotcheroos to a potluck or party, they are always the first dessert to go! Everyone loves a classic scotcheroo! They are nostalgic and the name is fun to say too:)
Table of Contents
Scotcheroo Ingredients
- Peanut butter– use a creamy peanut butter like Skippy or Jif.
- Light corn syrup– the corn syrup (Karo) sweetens the bars and makes them chewy. If you don’t want to use corn syrup, I know others have had success with using honey.
- Brown sugar– I prefer brown sugar over granulated sugar. Keeps the bars extra chewy and adds a slight caramel flavor.
- Butter– a must!
- Vanilla extract– always vanilla!
- Salt– to balance out the sweet!
- Crispy rice cereal– Use classic Rice Krispies! If you are a chocolate lover, you can make them with chocolate Rice Krispies.
- Chocolate chips– I prefer semi-sweet, but you can use milk chocolate chips.
- Butterscotch chips– Guittard is my favorite brand.
- Flaky sea salt– for sprinkling on bars! I love sweet and salty!
How to Make Scotcheroos
- Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out, and gently spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large pot, combine the peanut butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, and butter. Heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Do NOT boil the mixture. If you do, you will end up with dry sccotcheroos and you don’t want that. You only need to cook the mixture long enough so the sugar can dissolve. As soon as it starts bubbling, remove from the heat. It’s done!
- With the pan off of the heat, pour in the cereal and gently stir until combined.
- Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a spatula until the mixture is evenly in the pan. DON’T press down firmly and compact the mixture or the bars will harden as they cool and not be chewy.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Microwave on HIGH in 30-second intervals, stirring after every 30 seconds, until chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the bars and spread evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Don’t cut until the chocolate is set. To speed up the process, you can transfer the pan to the refrigerator and chill for about 30 minutes.
- Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Use a sharp knife to cut the scotheroos into squares.
How to Store
Store the bars covered at room temperature for up to five days. Don’t keep in the fridge or they will dry out.
To freeze, allow topping to set, cut into bars, and place in a freezer bag or freezer container. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, let sit out at room temperature before serving.
More Easy Desserts
- Rice Krispie Treats
- No Bake Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- One Bowl Brownies
- One Bowl Blondies
- No Bake Peanut Butter Bars
Scotcheroos
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter, like Skippy or Jif
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 cups crispy rice cereal
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling on bars
Instructions
- Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out, and gently spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large pot, combine the peanut butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, and butter. Heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Do NOT boil the mixture. Remove from heat when the mixture just begins to bubble along the sides of the pan.
- With the pan off of the heat, add in the vanilla, salt, and cereal. Stir until combined.
- Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a spatula until the mixture is evenly in the pan. DON’T press down firmly and compact the mixture or the bars will harden as they cool and not be chewy.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Microwave on HIGH in 30-second intervals, stirring after every 30 seconds, until chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the bars and spread evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Transfer the pan to the refrigerator and chill for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate is set.
- Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Use a sharp knife to cut the scotheroos into squares.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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Hi Maria..
Can you suggest a butter replacement for my daughter? She is VEGAN..
Thank you
You can use a vegan butter or coconut oil.
this recipe is a must-have for any gathering in our family – we make ours with Special K cereal instead of Rice Krispies – seems to make them even more chewier.
I will have to try Special K. Fun!
You forgot to say when to add the vanilla.
See step 3. Enjoy!
Way too complicated. :-). Mom’s recipe: One cup each Karo, granulated sugar, PB, butterscotch chips and milk chocolate chips. Big hit at every church, school and other various social gatherings.
And maybe Maria’s spin on it might just bring a wow factor you hadn’t thought of.
You have altered the recipe that the big cereal company has on their website…I’ll have to try your version. These are literally the only treat I make that I cannot walk away from! So amazingly delicious! You are hilarious for even saying they can be stored for five days. They don’t last 24 hours at my house
We grew up making them, but I put my spin on them. I think they are even better with a few minor adjustments:) I hope you love them! And you are right, they never last long:)
Maria, your recipes never disappoint and these yummy Krispy treats are no exception. Love the butterscotch/chocolate topping. Everyone LOVED them.
Thinking about using a 9×9 pan the next time I make them. Is there any reason to stick with the 9×13? I love the thicker squares, just like you.
Sure, you can use a 9×9 pan if want them a little thicker. Glad you loved the recipe!
This recipe is amazing!
So glad you loved the recipe! Thanks for letting me know!
Love these and so does everyone in my family! We do prefer the milk chocolate chips though. Everyone should make these!
My 6 year old helped me make them tonight and they were so yummy! Everyone loved them.
These were fun to make! I like having the brown sugar (vs white sugar). I didn’t have corn syrup so used Log Cabin table syrup instead – it worked! The only thing … I think the combination of ingredients made my rice krispies not crispy but had a stale texture like when rice krispies are old … are they supposed to be crispy like rice krispie treats? My rice krispie cereal was fresh beforehand … But nonetheless, everyone enjoyed them!
Only issue i had was the amount of butterscotch and chocolate chips was not enough to cover the base in a 9×13, made another round of topping and covered the remaining base.
With Celiac disease I often use regular flour when baking for my kids, I have a wicked sweet tooth. Made the mistake of making these GF and couldn’t stop eating them.
As a midwestern girl I am very familiar with this recipe. There are two camps in the MIdwest camp Scotcharoo and camp Special K Bars. The same recipe but one with rice cereal and one with Special K. I am team Special K but will gladly scarf down either one. Thanks for sharing a favorite.
They are so good! I grew up in the Midwest:)
Thank you for this recipe!!! I bought these at a cake sale and they were SO much better than Rice Krispie Treats. I have been looking for the recipe and this is it! They are AMAZING.
So glad you love them!
Perfect. Though I do add another 1/2c of both chips, this is the right recipe. All others leave out atleast one ingredient that brings it up that extra notch.
Nice!