Scotcharoos
This scotcharoos recipe is the best one out there, featuring a soft, peanut buttery Rice Krispies base topped with a smooth chocolate and butterscotch topping.
Butterscotch is such a fun flavor for any and all desserts. I use butterscotch chips in my 7-layer bars, my butterscotch chocolate chip cookies, butterscotch muddy buddies, and in my oatmeal butterscotch cookies! Plus, it’s the best in my butterscotch buttercream in my 7-layer bar cake! If you’ve never eaten a scotcharoo, you’re going to love these scotcharoos — and if you’re a butterscotch expert, then you can level up with my Scotcheroo Cake too!
What are Scotcharoo Bars?
They’re a no-bake cereal bar treat that replaces the marshmallows and butter for sugar, corn syrup, and peanut butter. They’re topped with a melty combination of milk chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.
These bars are so gooooood! I literally have to slap wrists to keep people from eating them straight off the pan.
This is my go-to potluck dessert recipe, and let me tell ya… it’s always the first dessert gone.
Ingredients
You’ll need 6 ingredients to make this recipe.
- Corn syrup – this recipe uses corn syrup. There’s really no beating around the bush in this regard. The corn syrup adds sweetness and helps the Rice Krispie mixture to set and give that signature Scotcharoo flare.
- Granulated sugar
- Creamy peanut butter – I always use creamy, but if you’re wanting small peanut chunks in your treat you can substitute the creamy for a crunchy peanut butter.
- Rice Krispies
- Butterscotch chips
- Milk chocolate chips – I always use milk however, semi-sweet will work too.
How to make Scotcharoos
- Prep the pan. Spray a 13″x9″ pan with cooking spray, or line it with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Set aside while you prep the other ingredients.
- Measure out the Rice Krispies. In a large bowl add 5 cups of Rice Krispies cereal. Tip: you don’t want to add too much Rice Krispies otherwise the cereal base will be dry because the sauce:cereal ratio will be off. I always start with 5 cups and add more Rice Krispies after I’ve started stirring the sauce mixture into the cereal. This will make more sense as you continue reading.
- Make the “sauce.” In a medium saucepan over low to medium low heat, stir the corn syrup and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved. The mixture should be hot, however, you DO NOT want the mixture to come to a boil. Once the mixture is hot, remove it from the heat. You might see a few bubbles along the sides of the pan, if so, REMOVE from heat. If the mixture begins to boil (even just a little bit) remove from heat and continue with the recipe. (I figure if I repeat myself multiple times you’ll catch my drift. Did it work?) 😊
- Once the pan is off the heat, stir in the peanut butter.
- Pour the hot mixture over the rice krispies. Mix until combined. If it appears like the mixture needs more rice krispies, add more, a little at a time. Tip: work quickly because the mixture will set fast.
- Transfer the rice krispies to the baking dish and spread into an even layer. Tip: you can place a sheet of wax paper over the mixture and use your hands to get the mixture into a nice flat layer. Be careful as it will be hot.
- Make the chocolate topping: in a medium bowl add the butterscotch chips and chocolate chips. Heat in the microwave at half power in 20 second increments. Stir after each interval. Continue until fully melted.
- Pour the melted chocolate + butterscotch mixture over the scotcharoos. Using an offset spatula or rubber spatula, spread the chocolate until it covers the entire surface of the scotcharoos.
- Let set, slice and serve.
FAQ and Tips
What kind of chocolate chips are used to make the Scotcharoo topping? I use milk chocolate and butterscotch chips. If you don’t have milk chocolate you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips instead.
To make the topping extra smooth and shiny: You can add 1 tsp of coconut oil to the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips prior to melting in the microwave, this will give the topping a beautiful sheen and make the topping extra silky and smooth. Note: I did not add the coconut oil for the pictures you see… as you can tell the topping is a tad lumpy. Still tastes great! But if you’re a perfectionist, this is just one tip you can utilize if you’d like to.
How do you prevent the scotcharoos from being super hard? The key to making soft scotcharoos is to NOT let the sugar mixture boil. If you see any signs of boiling, immediately remove the mixture from the heat. In addition, don’t add too much Rice Krispies.
Related Recipes:
- 7 Layer Bars
- Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treats
- German Chocolate Brownies
- Cosmic Brownies
- M&M Rice Krispies
Scotcharoos
Ingredients
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 5-5 1/2 cups Rice Krispies - See note #1
Topping
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Measure out 5 cups of Rice krispies and place them in a large bowl. Set aside. See note #1
- Spray a 13”x9” inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over low to medium low heat, stir the karo syrup and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved and no longer grainy. You DO NOT want the mixture to come to a boil. (If by chance, the mixture begins to boil, immediately remove from heat and continue with the recipe).
- Once the mixture is hot… almost boiling, but not actually boiling (you might see a few bubbles come up along the sides of the pan… as soon as this happens), remove it from heat and stir in the peanut butter.
- Pour the hot mixture over the rice krispies. Mix until combined. If it appears like the mixture needs more rice krispies, add more, a little at a time. Tip: work quickly because the mixture will set fast.
- Transfer the rice krispies to the baking dish and spread into an even layer. Tip: you can place a sheet of wax paper over the mixture and use your hands to get the mixture into a nice flat layer. Be careful as it will be hot.
Topping
- In a medium bowl add the butterscotch chips and chocolate chips. Heat in the microwave at half power in 20 second increments. Stir after each interval. Continue until fully melted.
- Pour the melted chocolate + butterscotch mixture over the scotcharoos. Using an offset spatula or rubber spatula, spread the chocolate until it covers the entire surface of the scotcharoos.
- Let set, and then cut into squares. Store in an airtight container for 5-7 days.
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59 Comments on “Scotcharoos”
Delicious!
Amazing!
10-outta-10 Incredible!
Easy to follow recipe. I enjoy your writing style and I appreciate all the tid-bits and tips. Bless you for providing the world with such a tip top scotcharøø recipe!
So glad you love it, Jenn! Thanks for the great review.
I usually let it simmer for about a minute and then the rice krispy mixture is super chewy. So delicious!!
OMG thank you for tip for making soft. My family loves these but my recipe said to bring sauce part to Boil and then add peanut butter. Gonna make later today but IK they gonna be much better. Butterscotch chips are so good with chocolate!!
So good and so easy! It doesn’t get any better than these!
YUM! So tasty and chewy! Agreed that this is the best scotcharoo recipe. Will make again. Thank you!!
These are so delicious! My husband remembers these from childhood and said this recipe tastes like the ones his grandma used to make. If followed exactly how its written, these turn out chewy and decadent! Sidenote – we used semi-sweet chips because that’s what my family prefers and they are pretty good. Thank you!
Roughly how long do I need to whisk the sugar and corn syrup together? Cooking novice here. Tried it for the first time and they came out better than my grandma’s version ever has (love you dearly, grandma!), but I made a dish for Christmas to take to her house and they came out terribly. I got lucky the first time, and I’m overthinkinking it this time.
Last night when I made them, I stirred and stirred at the stove setting 4, but could never get the sugar completely dissolved.
Maybe try turning up the heat a tad. Sometimes it can take 15 minutes or longer to get the sugar to dissolve. But my biggest tip is as soon as it starts to boil, remove from the heat! Whether the sugar is dissolved or not, at that point you need to take it off heat because boiling it (for too long) will result in hard scotcharoos.
Christmastime favorite to share with family and friends. Love it.
It’s definitely a fun holiday recipe because it makes a lot to share! Thanks for the great review!
These scotcheroos are amazing! They are sooooooo soft. PERFECTION. This recipe will totally be replacing the scotcheroos recipe I’ve been using for years.
This recipe yields rock-hard scotcharoos. I had to throw them out for fear of breaking teeth. My search continues….
If they were hard, it’s because you cooked the mixture too long on the stove.
Yep, this is it – the perfect, soft scotcharoo! This was my first time making them and they turned out just like the ones I’ve had in bakeries. Thank you!
These were really good according to my fellas. Thanks for the recipe!
Perfect recipe – just like my grandmother makes! These were a big hit at work. Will be using this recipe again!
Needs 3 Cups of Chocolate on Top ~ Otherwise easy to make and tasty.
I’m guessing you receive some stipend which is why you allow advertisements to cover up your ingredients list. So sad …
The ads never cover up the ingredients. I have reached out to my ad company to make sure this is the case. I apologize the ads have frustrated you so. I for one, am very grateful for them as they allow me to pay rent for my family.
I had been craving Scotcharoos, and this recipe was perfect and chewy! 5 stars for sure!
I have made these twice and they are delicious..the only thing I did different was add a few more chocolate & butterscotch chips ( we like it thick) and warmed it on the stove to melt (instead of the microwave) with a little milk
Sound delicious, but is there a substitute I could use in place of the corn stripe?
Maybe butter?
I haven’t tried replacing the corn syrup before. You’d probably have better luck trying a recipe that’s developed specifically for zero corn syrup.
You could search for a recipe using honey instead of corn syrup, if honey would work for you.
If you’re concerned about high fructose corn syrup, it is much different from regular corn syrup. The major name brand corn syrup does not contain any high fructose corn syrup. Standard corn syrup is naturally derived and has no funky stuff in it. As with all sugars including honey and maple syrup, it is very high in calories and should be consumed in moderation.
Commenting here because my sister made these for our family reunion and I LOVED them. Had to get the recipe. Thanks for sharing! I’ll definitely be making these.
We grew up eating these all the time! They were always such a treat to have.
Another tip for soft, chewy bars is to freeze them. I make a few pans at a time, freezing extras & taking them out 4-5 hours before I need them & they turn out awesome!!
Such a great tip! Thanks for sharing Melissa!
so they dont get hard if you freeze them?
They will get hard because they’ll be frozen. But once they are thawed they should be fine.
You can always heat them in the microwave for 5-8 seconds to help warm them up if you’d like!