Scotcheroos
Scotcheroos: An easy-to-make, no-bake bar recipe featuring rice krispies, peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch. Such a fun treat!
Hellooo, my friend! It’s been a while since we last chatted.
Without going into a lot of boring detail, let’s just say it’s been a rough month or so. I’m sure you can relate.
But here I am! Finally! With a new recipe for you to add to your list of favorites: Scotcheroos!
Have you ever had one? These are a classic treat and I can remember seeing them at parties & bake sales all my life. I love them because they’re so quick & easy, and you don’t even have to turn on your oven to make them. Easy-peasy and especially perfect for early fall, when the weather is still pretty hot and sticky.
If you’re a fan of no-bake desserts (like me!) you’ll probably love this bananas Foster recipe, this easy peanut butter fudge, and this no-bake cheesecake. They’re all perfect for when you’re looking for something no-muss/no-fuss, and I’ve got lots more for you in my No-Bake archives.
But today is all about scotcheroo bars. So let’s dive in to all the details!
WHAT ARE SCOTCHEROOS?
Have you ever had a rice krispie treat? Well, these are very similar. They’re a no-bake, cereal-based treat, and they’ve got that same ooey-gooey, soft & chewy quality.
- Instead of marshmallows & butter, scotcheroos are bound together with a honey, sugar, & peanut butter mixture.
- They also have a luscious chocolate and butterscotch layer on top.
They’re quick and easy to make, and such a beloved treat. I like to mix up a batch to give to my kids as an after-school snack, and they’re really great to bring to potluck dinners too. They’re best enjoyed at room temperature, so they make a perfect bring-along dessert, bake sale item, or homemade gift.
HOW TO MAKE SCOTCHEROO BARS
This is a quick and easy recipe to make, and you’ll only need a handful of basic ingredients. If you follow my guide on How to Stock Your Baking Pantry, you probably already have most of what you’ll need on hand.
FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER RICE KRISPIE LAYER
Start by adding honey and sugar to a small pot. Stir these 2 ingredients together over medium-low heat, just until they’re combined.
Then let the mixture come up to a boil.
Remove it from the heat, and stir in the peanut butter and salt.
I use regular old Jif for my scotcheroos, and I’m always really happy with the way they come out. I haven’t tested the recipe with natural peanut butter or any other brands, so I can’t say for sure how they might impact the final result. But I’d encourage you to play around to find your own favorite.
Once the peanut butter and salt are evenly combined, pour the hot mixture over your rice krispies.
Then mix everything together until every grain of cereal is evenly coated in that yummy sweet goodness.
Transfer it to a greased pan. I recommend a 9×13 pan but you could use a different size/shape if you’d like thicker or thinner bars.
And I like to line the pan with a sheet of parchment paper to make it easier to pull the scotcheroos out when it’s time to cut them.
Press everything down to a nice, even layer, then get going on the topping.
FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTERSCOTCH LAYER
Melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips together until smooth and glossy.
I like to do this in the microwave, in 20-second bursts, stirring after each interval. But you can also do it over a double-boiler if you’d like.
*Pro tip: for a softer, smoother topping, try stirring about 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil into your melted chocolate.
Pour the melted topping over the bars, smooth it out into an even layer, and allow it to cool and set.
Once the chocolate has set, cut your bars and dig in!
Here is a link to the kind of knife you see me using in the video: pastry scraper/bench knife. It’s one of my favorite kitchen tools!
TROUBLESHOOTING: WHY DO SCOTCHEROOS GET HARD?
If your scotcheroos come out hard instead of soft and chewy, it’s probably because your sugar/honey mixture got too hot. The longer sugar cooks, the harder it becomes as it cools. Think about all those stages on your candy thermometer: soft ball, firm ball, hard crack, etc. Make sense?
Be sure to remove the sugar and honey from the heat as soon as it comes to a boil, stir in the peanut butter and salt right away, and mix it right in with the cereal, and you’re sure to have scotcheroos that are the perfect soft texture.
ARE THESE GLUTEN-FREE OR DAIRY-FREE?
Rice krispies are made from rice (not wheat), so they are gluten-free. But certain types may contain additives, so if you are very sensitive to gluten, you may want to play it extra-safe and look for gluten-free rice krispies specifically. Here’s a link to purchase them online: gluten-free rice krispies.
The only dairy present in the recipe would be the milk products that may be hiding in the chocolate and butterscotch chips. Again, if you’re very sensitive, look for dairy-free chocolate chips and dairy-free butterscotch chips.
None of the other ingredients here would have any traces of gluten or dairy.
If you’re looking for a vegan scotcheroos recipe, you’ll just want to replace the honey with something like corn syrup. Here are some other ideas for vegan honey swaps: Substitutes for Honey.
HOW TO MAKE SCOTCHEROOS WITHOUT BUTTERSCOTCH CHIPS
Not crazy about the taste of butterscotch? No worries at all. You can replace the butterscotch chips with an equal amount of semi-sweet chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or milk chocolate chips.
HOW LONG ARE THEY GOOD FOR?
These scotcheroo bars should keep for several days at room temperature. Keep them in an airtight container so they don’t dry out.
If you’d like to make them ahead, they’ll keep in the fridge for a few weeks, or in the freezer for several months.
A FEW MORE OF MY BEST BAR RECIPES:
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Scotcheroos
Ingredients
- 1 cup (339 g) honey
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (258 g) peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon (4.93 g) kosher salt
- 6 cups (112 g) puffed rice cereal
- 1 cup (180 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup (170 g) butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Lightly mist a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray, and line it with parchment paper, allowing excess to drape over the sides and act as a "handle" to pull the bars out later.
- Sitr the honey and sugar together in a small pot over medium-low heat.
- When the mixture comes to a boil, take it off the heat and stir in the peanut butter and salt until smooth.
- Pour the mixture over the puffed rice cereal, and stir together until well-combined.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, pressing it into an even layer.
- Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips together, stirring until smooth.*
- Pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal mixture, then smooth it into an even layer.
- Allow the topping to cool and set, then cut into bars and serve.