Easy Scotcharoo Recipe
Make this chewy, no-bake Scotcharoo recipe — a beloved Midwest favorite made with peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch. Learn the secret to keeping your bars soft and perfectly chewy every time.
Servings: 16 bars
Calories: 350kcal
Ingredients
To make the Scotcheroo Bars
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup I grew up calling it Karo syrup
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 6 cups crispy rice cereal like Rice Krispies
To make the Chocolate Chip and Butterscotch Topping
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment or grease lightly.
- Combine sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring constantly, until mixture just begins to bubble. Do not bring to a full boil.
- Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until smooth.
- Add cereal and stir until fully coated.
- Press into pan evenly without compacting too firmly.
- Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring until smooth.
- Spread over bars and let set. Cut into squares and serve.
Video
Notes
Here are some tips to make the best scotcharoo bars!
Don’t overcook the syrup. When heating the sugar and corn syrup, remove from heat as soon as the mixture starts to bubble around the edges. If you let it boil too long, your bars will turn hard instead of chewy.
Use fresh cereal. Stale Rice Krispies can make the texture dense or soggy. Open a new box for best results.
Work quickly. Once you mix in the cereal, press the bars into your pan while the mixture is still warm — it sets up fast!
Don’t press too firmly. A gentle press gives you chewy bars. Pressing down too hard will make them compact and tough.
Storage: Keep bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. In hot weather, refrigerate briefly and let come back to room temp before serving.
Freezing: Slice into squares, layer between sheets of wax paper in a freezer-safe container, and freeze up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1grams | Calories: 350kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 185mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 44g
