Scotcheroos are delicious Rice Krispie treats with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and peanut butter. This classic Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treat is always a hit!
I know that everyone always makes fun of food bloggers for the whole ‘my grandma used to make this’ thing… but my grandma really does always make these! 😉 It’s a crunchy and chewy dessert bar that is easy to make and does incredibly well at potlucks or as a “just because” treat. Serve it up on a nice plate for after church or bring it out for the holidays and summertime BBQs, it does great anywhere and everywhere!
You can make scotcharoos with just a few basic ingredients and within a few minutes, the pan is ready for chilling and setting up. If you’re ever in need of a low maintenance dessert to serve at a party, this will be your new go to!
This easy scotcharoos recipe makes enough to fill a 9×13 pan and if you cut the bars into little 2 or 3 inch serving sizes then you have enough to feed quite a few people but feel free to double the recipe to feed a crowd. Don’t forget that these dessert bars freeze well, so you can even make a double batch for yourself and just keep half of it in the freezer for when you want a quick sweet treat.
What’s In Scotcheroos?
- Sugar: just regular granulated sugar is what you will want on hand.
- Corn Syrup: sometimes this is known as Karo Syrup, either way, you will want the light corn syrup, not dark.
- Creamy Peanut Butter: Classically this recipe uses creamy peanut butter but you could definitely use chunky to give it a little extra crunch if you’d like!
- Vanilla Extract
- Rice Krispies: You can use name brand or store brand of the crisp rice cereal, I have made Scotcheroos with both and both have worked well.
- Milk Chocolate Chips: This is more of a preference type of thing, if you like your chocolate more dark than sweet, you can definitely substitute semisweet chocolate chips (or even dark if you’d like!), my family just happens to be a milk chocolate loving kind of fam.
- Butterscotch Chips: This is where the Scotch in Scotcharoo comes from. While I have totally made them without the butterscotch chips, they really make all the difference in this no bake dessert.
How to Make Scotcharoos
Making scotcharoos is really simple, all it takes is a little stirring and boiling on the stovetop. The sugar and corn syrup are brought to barely a boil. If it really gets boiling, the scotcharoos will be hard and not soft and chewy. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as it starts to boil and add in the peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until it is completely combined.
Pour over your pre-measured Rice Krispies and quickly stir to coat. Press into a greased 9×13 pan.
How to melt chocolate in the microwave
Next we will melt the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in the microwave. When microwaving chocolate chips to melt them, it is important to take care that they do not get over heated. Over heating them can burn them. To insure that they do not burn, always heat for 30 second intervals, stirring in between each interval. Generally it will take a total of about 1 1/2-2 minutes to achieve smooth, melted chocolate.
Who invented Scotcheroos?
While we may not know who originally came up with the idea for these scotcheroos, we do know that they’ve been around for a few decades. The original recipe for these dessert bars was printed on the Rice Krispies box in the mid 1960’s which is why your grandma probably made them for you as a kid, too. 😉
Why do my Scotcharoos get hard?
This could easily be because you overboiled your sugar mixture. Boiling sugar can be a bit tricky and overdoing it will create a much harder sugar while underboiling will create a soft sugar that doesn’t want to set. Getting it right can require careful attention to detail and trial and error.
Love No Bake Treats? Try these other recipes!
- Puppy Chow
- Reese’s Fudge
- Microwave Peanut Brittle
- Egg Free Monster Cookie Dough
- No Bake Cheesecake
- Cookie Dough Bites
- Oreo Pie
- Rice Krispie Treats
- No Bake Cookie Dough Cheesecake
- Buckeye Balls
- Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Scotcheroos
Ingredients
- 1 cup (230g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (327ml) corn syrup
- 1 cup (246g) peanut butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 6 cups (162g) rice krispie cereal
- 1 1/2 cups (300g) milk chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups (300g) butterscotch chips
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, melt together the sugar and corn syrup until it just begins to boil.
- Once it starts boiling, remove from heat.
- Add in the peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until combined.
- Pour over Rice Krispies and stir to coat evenly.
- Press into a greased 9x13 pan.
- Melt the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until completely smooth.
- Pour and spread over the Rice Krispies. Allow to cool completely before cutting.
Angie says
My favorite treat as a kiddo. First time making them as an adult and they didn’t disappoint, so perfect!
Patricia Tomczewski says
I made these for the first time this weekend and they were a hit! The recipe was easy to follow and everything came together very quickly. I used chunky PB because that’s all I had and you couldn’t even tell. Can’t wait to make them again!
Carla Campbell says
This was a treat i had from years ago , that i had lost . My family love them !