Scotcheroos are delicious dessert bars that are almost impossible to resist! They combine chocolate, peanut butter, rice krispies and butterscotch chips into one amazing treat. Your friends and family will all smiles when you whip up a batch of these easy peanut butter rice krispie treats!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe:
- These bars are packed full of the classic flavor combo of peanut butter and chocolate.
- While delicious year round, they are a great addition to holiday dessert tables and cookie exchanges.
- If you love Rice Krispie treats, Scotcheroos take them to a whole new level.
- They are easy to make and no-baking is required.
- Need a make ahead treat? Whip up a batch in advance.
Scotcheroos
If you’ve never had opportunity to try Scotcheroos, you are in for such a treat! And good news, they are super quick and easy to make. A little melting and a little stirring, and that’s about all there is to it. You can make them in advance, and they travel well. Anyone who loves peanut butter rice krispie treats will go wild for these. The peanut butter and chocolate fans in your life will cheer!
Let’s discuss how to these Scotcheroos, as well as the ingredients that are needed for it. Please take note that below you will find discussion, expert tips, and answers to frequently asked questions about this recipe to help you recreate it in your kitchen.
If you *just* want the recipe itself, scroll down. The full printable recipe itself, with exact measurements and instructions, is found at the bottom of this page
How To Make Scotcheroos
Ingredients
- Rice Krispies – the classic puffed rice cereal is the start of these tasty treats.
- Peanut Butter – your favorite creamy peanut butter will be perfect in this recipe. If using a natural peanut butter that needs to be stirred before use, make sure you stir it extremely well just before using.
- Butterscotch Chips – you can find these at your local grocery store, next to the regular chocolate chips.
- Chocolate Chips – I highly recommend semi-sweet chocolate chips. In my opinion, milk chocolate is a bit too sweet for this recipe.
- Sugar – Granulated white sugar works best in this recipe.
- Corn Syrup – Corn syrup helps give these bars their signature chewy texture.
Directions
These bars only require a few steps, they are very simple to make. Start by grabbing a 9×13 inch pan and some non-stick cooking spray.
Then combine the corn syrup and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture just starts to boil.
Next, remove the mixture from heat, add in the peanut butter and mix well. Once the mixture is well combined, stir in the rice cereal and stir well until it’s all coated. After that, scoop the mixture into the baking pan, after spraying it with non-stick cooking spray, and spread the mixture evenly throughout the pan.
For the last step, you will melt your chocolate and butterscotch chips together. This can be done in a saucepan over low heat, with constant stirring. You can also do this in the microwave, just take care not to overheat the chocolate, which will cause it to seize. I recommend placing in a microwave safe bowl and microwaving for 30 seconds at half power, giving a good stir, then repeating. It’ll take a few minutes, but the stopping and stirring step helps make sure you don’t overcook the chocolate in some areas.
The chocolate mixture is then spread over the rice krispies layer. You’ll want to give the chocolate topping 1-2 hours to firm up for the best results.
Once the chocolate has firmed up, you can cut the bars. I usually cut them into about 18 bars, but you could cut them even smaller. They are deliciously rich!
Expert Tips
Before measuring your corn syrup and peanut butter, give your measuring cups a light spray with non-stick cooking spray. This will help them easily come out of the measuring cups.
You can store your scotcheroos for up to a week. Keep in an air tight container at room temperature. You can store them in the fridge, but this can make them harden.
Make sure to remove the sugar and corn syrup from heat as soon as it starts to boil. If the mixture boils for a bit, the bars won’t be as soft as they are intended to be. Cooking the mixture too long leads you down the road to making hard candy with it.
Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)
I don’t like butterscotch, can I use a different flavor chip? Yes, you can. Peanut butter chips make a great replacement.
Do I have to use a full cup of sugar? No, if you would like, you can reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup. They won’t be as sweet, but if that suits your taste, then perfect.
If you love the flavors in this recipe, make sure to also try my Crockpot Christmas Crack Candy (Peanut Clusters).
Scotcheroos
Ingredients
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal or other puffed rice cereal
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Prepare a 9×13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray, then set aside.
- Combine corn syrup and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture just starts to boil. Once it starts bubbling, immediately remove from heat.
- After removing the mixture from heat, add in the peanut butter and mix well. Once the mixture is well combined, stir in the rice cereal and stir well until it’s all coated. Scoop the mixture into the prepared baking pan and spread the mixture evenly throughout the pan.
- Melt your chocolate and butterscotch chips together. This can be done in a saucepan over low heat, with constant stirring. You can also do this in the microwave, just take care not to overheat the chocolate, which will cause it to seize. I recommend placing in a microwave safe bowl and microwaving for 30 seconds at half power, giving a good stir, then repeating. It’ll take a few minutes, but the stopping and stirring step helps make sure you don’t overcook the chocolate.
- Spread the chocolate mixture over the rice krispies layer. You’ll want to give the chocolate topping 1-2 hours to firm up for the best results. Once the chocolate has firmed up, you can cut the bars. I usually cut them into about 18 bars, but you could cut them even smaller.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Mary Ann says
I’ve made these bars for over 40 years and they are my favorite treat! I use light brown sugar instead of white, which provides a caramel-like flavor and texture. But the bars are also perfectly tasty when I skip the sugar altogether, getting enough sweetness from the corn syrup and the topping. Friends and family never notice the difference, whether I add sugar or not. Scotcheroos freeze well, thawing on the counter.