Scotcheroos Recipe

Chocolate and peanut butter is my all time favorite dessert combination and these bars are the reason why — chewy, rich, and completely impossible to eat just one. My kids have been making these with me for years!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe!

• Just $0.38 per bar — $9.11 total for the whole batch
• No bake — no oven required
• Make ahead friendly
• Perfect for holidays, bake sales, potlucks, and everyday after school snacking
• Ready in under 30 minutes with simple pantry ingredients

What are Scotcheroos Bars?

Chocolate Scotcheroos bars are a puffed rice, peanut butter and chocolate treat. The reason they are called Scotcheroos is because of the butterscotch chips that are added.

This no bake dessert is on the top of my list every holiday. I like the twist from the traditional Rice Krispie Treat that are usually made. They still have the chewy texture and delicious taste like my 7 layer bars.

Ingredients

• Rice Krispies Cereal – Feel free to use the generic brand or Special K Cereal
• Peanut Butter – Skippy creamy peanut butter or Jif Peanut Butter works great but for an extra crunch combine with crunchy peanut butter
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and Butterscotch Chips – The combination of these two chocolate chips gives the best flavor

Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe in the recipe card.

How to Make Scotcheroos Bars

These no-bake treats are quick to make that even the kids can help!

Step 1 – Grease a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and then set aside. You can also line with parchment paper to easily remove the bars.

Step 2 – Pour Crispy Rice Cereal into a large bowl.

Step 3 – Bring peanut butter and Karo syrup to a boil in a large saucepan while dissolving the sugar. Once this mixture has started boiling, cook over medium heat. Be sure to stir constantly.

Step 4 – Remove pan from heat and pour hot mixture over rice krispies. Stirring peanut butter mixture in well.

Step 5 – Then pour into the greased 9×13 pan and gently press down with a spatula.

Step 6 – Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips together in a small pot, stirring constantly on medium-low heat. You can also melt in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl in 30-second intervals.

Step 7 – Pour melted chocolate chips and butterscotch chips over the pressed Rice Krispies cereal mixture.

Step 8 – Make sure to spread the chocolate mixture evenly over the cereal mixture.

Step 9 – Let this classic scotcheroo recipe set before cutting and serving.

We love to put them in the refrigerator to speed up the process of cooling down.

How to Keep Scotcheroos Soft and Chewy

The secret is one simple step — remove the sugar and corn syrup mixture from the heat the moment it starts to boil. Even 30 extra seconds of cooking is the difference between soft chewy bars and hard brittle ones.

Stir constantly while heating, work quickly when mixing with the cereal, and never use natural peanut butter — the separated oils prevent the bars from holding together properly.

Expert Tips and Tricks

Here are a few things that we have learned when making this Scotcheroos Bars Recipe:

• Chill Bars to Set – If you want to speed up the process of when you can eat these bars, you can put them in the refrigerator to set. Once they are a solid bar, then pull them out of the refrigerator and let them get to room temperature before cutting.
• Melting Chocolate – Be sure not to rush melting the chocolate. I put the chocolate chips in the sauce pan to heat up. I make sure that the temperature is low so that my chocolate doesn’t burn and it is evenly melted.
• Chocolate Chip Variation – These Scotcheroos bars would even be good with dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips or white chocolate as well.
• Baking Dish – If you are wanting a thicker bar, use a 8×8 pan instead of a 9×13 pan.

Substitutions and Variations

Peanut Butter
Creamy peanut butter gives the best texture — Skippy or Jif are our top picks. Crunchy peanut butter adds a fun texture variation and almond butter works as a peanut-free swap. Never use natural peanut butter — the bars will not hold together properly.

Cereal
Rice Krispies is the classic choice. Special K gives a slightly crispier bar, Corn Flakes add a toasty crunch, and Cocoa Pebbles make a double chocolate version my kids go crazy for.

Chocolate Topping
Semi-sweet and butterscotch chips combined is the classic. All chocolate chips work if you are out of butterscotch, dark chocolate gives a richer result, and peanut butter chips double down on the peanut butter flavor.

Sweetener
Honey or brown rice syrup can replace corn syrup in equal amounts — the bars will be slightly softer with a subtle flavor difference but still delicious.

Topping Ideas

These Scotcheroos Bars are great just the way they are but we do like change things up and add some additional toppings. Here are some of the ones we have tried:

• You can drizzle butterscotch chocolate on top.
• Try adding some sprinkles on top to make them more festive.
• Crush some nuts and layer them on top of the chocolate.
• Sprinkling some sea salt on top gives it that perfect mix and sweet and salty taste that I know you will enjoy.
• We have also used different cereals other than Rice Krispie and Special K. You could also use Cocoa Pebbles or Corn Flakes.

Really the options are endless and so fun to do.

Storage and Freezing Instructions

These are one of the best make-ahead desserts. They actually taste better the next day after the chocolate sets completely and the flavors come together.

Refrigerator

• Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. My family prefers them slightly chilled straight from the refrigerator

Freezer

• Freeze the whole pan or cut into individual bars — wrap each bar in plastic wrap then foil and store in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving