Scotcheroos {New and Improved}

I know, I know, people take their scotcheroos very seriously! This happens to be my favorite (new and improved) version. So simple, so yummy!

People aren’t kidding when they say scotcheroos should be taken VERY seriously. These classic treats have been around forever, and they inspire intense loyalties and ardent feelings.

Generally, I think most classic recipes are fine just the way they are. But over the years, I’ve tweaked the scotcheroo recipe that graced my family’s recipe vault so that it is…well…how do I say it? Better.

Scotcheroo purists might say I’ve messed with a good thing. Good thing we can agree to disagree, because as for me and my house, we’ll take this new and improved version any day of the week. 🙂

What Makes a Scotcheroo a Scotcheroo?

Scotcheroos are essentially rice krispies smothered in a peanut buttery, caramelly mixture and topped with chocolate and butterscotch. Interesting and yummy! (Also: slightly addicting.)

The classic scotcheroo recipe uses corn syrup, granulated sugar, and peanut butter. My version is slightly different (but not any more difficult) by:

• adding a *little* butter and vanilla
• amping up both the corn syrup and peanut butter just a bit
• using half brown sugar, half granulated sugar
• increasing the rice krispies to compensate for the other ingredient boosts

{I will giggle a bit if anyone comments that I made this recipe less healthy by adding butter. :)}

Once the rice krispies are added, everything gets a gentle mix (no aggressive crushing of the cereal here, ok?) until the rice krispies are evenly coated with the magical chewy peanut butter mixture.

Press all this goodness lightly into a 9X13-inch pan. Compressing it too much will make the bars hard instead of soft and chewy. So again, go easy here.

Scotcheroo Topping

The topping for scotcheroos couldn’t be easier. It’s two simple ingredients:

• chocolate chips
• butterscotch chips

You can use milk chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate chips. I’m going to really try to resist telling you which variety I think you should use, cough, semisweetforlife, cough.

That butterscotch flavor peeking through the chocolate just screams scotcheroo!

Scotcheroos for Life

While scotcheroos won’t win any fancy pants gourmet dessert awards, they still remain one of my favorite treats of all time.

They are simple. Quick. Crazy delicious. And my family is always ecstatic when I make them (particularly Brian, they are probably one of his favorite treats of all time).

If you have a favorite scotcheroo recipe (I’m guessing it might be the classic standby recipe floating around on all the blogs that have ever lived on the internet!), I’d say stick with it.

But if you’re looking for a new and improved scotcheroo recipe, this is the one!

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Scotcheroos {New and Improved}

Yield: 24 bars

Prep Time: 25 minutes mins

Cook Time: 5 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

4.91 stars (32 ratings)

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Ingredients

• ¼ cup (57 g) salted butter
• 1 ¼ cups (425 g) light corn syrup
• ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (106 g) packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups (320 g) peanut butter (see note)
• 8 cups (227 g) crisp rice cereal (like rice krispies)
• 1 cup (170 g) chocolate chips (milk or semisweet)
• 1 cup (170 g) butterscotch chips

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Instructions 

• Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan with butter or cooking spray or line with foil/parchment and grease the foil/parchment. Set aside.
• In a large saucepan or pot, add the butter, corn syrup, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Cook on low heat until the butter is melted. Bring to a simmer and immediately remove from the heat.
• Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until well-combined.
• Add the cereal and stir gently (so the cereal doesn't get crushed) until evenly coated with the peanut butter mixture.
• Press the mixture lightly into the prepared pan. Don't compress too much or the scotcheroos will be too firm.
• Add the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips to a microwave-safe bowl and cook for 1-minute increments at 50% power until melted. Stir until well-combined.
• Spread the melted chocolate mixture evenly across the bars. Let the chocolate cool and set before cutting into bars and serving.

Notes

Peanut Butter: I always make these with creamy peanut butter (like Jif or Skippy). Feel free to experiment with chunky peanut butter or with a natural-type peanut butter or nut butter alternative.

Pan Size: if you want the scotcheroo rice krispie base a bit thinner, you can use a larger pan. You can also play around with the rice krispie amount – adding more or less – for a gooier/less gooey version, depending on how you like them. 

Author: Mel

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Method: Stovetop

Serving: 1 bar, Calories: 285kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 12mg, Sodium: 186mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 33g

Recommended Products

9X13-inch Metal Baking Pan

Silicone Spatula

Bench Knife/Scraper

Small Offset Spatula

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