How to Make Scotcharoos

PB + Chocolate + Butterscotch = Bliss

If you've ever seen any of my other recipes, you know that one of my favorite flavor combinations is chocolate and peanut butter. So I was really surprised when I heard about this recipe, especially since it has been around for a long time.

A friend suggested I give it a try, and I am glad she did. This is one of the best sweet treats I've made in a long time. The blend of chocolate, peanut butter, and butterscotch is delicious. Add to that the crispy texture of puffed rice cereal, and you have a dessert that is pretty much perfect.

I think my family finished off an entire pan in about two days, not a fact that I am entirely proud of.

So if you need a sweet snack that is sure to please just about anyone, then this is the recipe you need to try. I know that I plan on making it a lot more. It will be perfect for the next time I need to bring a dessert to an event or an item donate to a bake sale.

Whether you've tried Scotcharoos before or are just discovering this recipe, I'd love to know what you think about it.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 6 cups puffed rice cereal
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips

Instructions

1. Before starting to cook, assemble all of the supplies you'll need. This is one of those recipes that needs to be prepared quickly before everything cools completely.
2. Line a 13x9-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside. Place the cereal into a large bowl and set aside.
3. Stir together corn syrup and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the hot burner. Stir in the peanut butter until the mixture is smooth.
4. Pour the warm sugar and peanut butter mixture over the cereal and stir. This takes a little time and muscle since the mixture gets thicker as it cools.
5. Spoon the cereal mixture into the parchment-lined pan and spread evenly. I use my hands, but it is still warm at this point, so use care.
6. Set aside pan to cool. Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips in a microwave bowl and stir until smooth. Spread evenly over the ingredients in the pan. Set aside until the chocolate is firm.
7. Once set, cut out the bars. If they last in your house, then the bars can be stored in an airtight container between layers of wax paper. If you are planning on keeping them for a while and refrigerating them, bring them back to room temperature before serving. When they get cold, they get hard to eat.

Tips

• You can use a non-stick spray to prepare the pan instead of parchment paper, but it's not my favorite thing. The paper makes cleanup and removal easy. I used a large enough piece so I could lift the bars right out of the pan.
• Use smooth peanut butter. These bars are crunchy enough without pieces of hard peanuts in them.

Ingredients

The ingredients are straightforward. With the exception of the puffed rice cereal, you need a cup of everything else. It's that easy to remember.

Before you start cooking, prepare the pan and the ingredients so you can work fairly quickly.

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Over medium heat, stir the corn syrup and sugar until dissolved. Bring just to a boil and remove from heat.

The peanut butter mixes in easily.

Work quickly when mixing the sugar and peanut butter mixture since it gets thicker as it cools and gets harder to stir.

Press the cereal mixture into the lined pan, making sure to spread it evenly and fill in the corners of the tray, and set it aside.

Using care not to heat the chocolate and butterscotch chips too much, microwave them in a microwave-safe bowl. Check after about 30 seconds and stir. Check every 15 to 20 seconds, stirring until smooth.

Be careful with this step as the chocolate will seize up if overheated.

The bars don't have to be completely cooled when spreading the melted butterscotch and chocolate chips on top. Set aside to cool completely and until the melted chocolate mix has hardened. Cut into 24 bars.

Cut the bars before you have refrigerated them; otherwise, they will be too hard to cut. If refrigerated, then allow them to come to room temperature before serving. They taste better at room temperature and get really hard to eat if they are refrigerated.

These Scotcharoos are so good they are almost addictive. You won't be able to eat just one!

How many stars would you give this recipe?

© 2017 Claudia Porter