These are THE BEST soft and chewy scotcharoos. I took my mom’s recipe and made a couple easy adjustments to make them extra gooey and soft for days!
What is a Scotcharoo?
If you’re not from the midwest, you might not have heard about these babies. They are a chocolate/peanut butter/butterscotch no bake rice krispie dessert that was an essential part of my childhood. Making appearances at every birthday party, school function, and family reunion. It wasn’t a party without a batch of scotachroos.
What makes these Scotcharoos THE BEST?
I tested several batches of these before finally landing on the perfect soft and chewy scotcharoos. I started with my moms recipe, the one I’ve had easily 100 times throughout my life. And while I love them and they hold that nostalgia factor for me, I knew I could do better by making the softer, and hopefully using less corn syrup.
I ended up adding honey and marshmallows and maybe some chocolate that’s a bit more high quality than the Tollhouse my mom used…… and YOU GUYS! These are the best scotcharoos I’ve ever had. They still have that classic flavor, but are SO soft and chewy and they stay that way for DAYS.
Ingredients
- Rice Krispies Cereal. You’ll need 6 cups for the base. I’ve also heard that people love using corn flakes for this too!
- Peanut Butter. Grab the regular creamy JIF style peanut butter. The natural kinds where the oil separates won’t work well in this recipe.
- Chocolate Chips. I prefer a high quality semi sweet chocolate for this recipe. My favorites are Ghirardelli, Valrhona, and Guittard.
- Butterscotch Chips. I used Guittard butterscotch chips and BOY are they a step up from the Tollhouse ones.
- Light Corn Syrup. The original recipe calls for 1 cup which I know seems like A LOT. I reduced it to 1/2 C by replacing half of it with honey.
- Honey. Any honey will work as long as it is one that always stays in a liquid form. The honeys that are more of a thick spread won’t work.
- Granulated Sugar & Pure Vanilla Extract.
How to make Soft and Chewy Scotcharoos
Line a 9X13″ pan with parchment paper and a spritz of non stick spray. Measure out all of your ingredients before you start because it comes together fast.
Start by adding the sugar, vanilla, honey, and light corn syrup into a large pot over medium heat and stir often. Make sure your pot is large enough to also hold the 6 C of rice krispies! As soon as the sugar mixture on the stove starts to barely come to a boil around the edges, remove it from the heat and whisk in the marshmallows and peanut butter until smooth. If you let the mixture boil too long, the scotcharoos will be hard and we can’t have that.
Add the rice krispies cereal and toss until everything is coated evenly. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Get your hands a little wet (or spray them with a little non stick spray) and press the mixture down into an even layer. Set aside while you make the chocolate topping.
Make the Chocolate Butterscotch Topping
In a medium microwave safe bowl, add the semi sweet and butterscotch chips. Melt in the microwave on 50% power in 30 second increments. Stir after each 30 second increment. Continue until completely melted. Microwaves are so high powered these days that to properly temper your chocolate I recommend doing this at 50% power. If you heat the chocolate too fast, when it sets up on top of the scotcharoos it can look cloudy instead of silky and shiny.
Pour the chocolate butterscotch mixture over the bars and spread into an even layer. Let set up and top with flaky salt. Slice and serve.
Soft and Chewy Scotcharoos FAQs
- Can I sub all honey and omit the light corn syrup? You can. The results will be very similar, but they might have a stronger honey taste and not taste exactly like the original version.
- Can I use milk or dark chocolate? Use whatever is your favorite! These bars do have quite a bit of sugar, so the milk chocolate might be a little too sweet, but dark chocolate would be so good!
- Can I make these Peanut Free? You could sub a creamy almond butter instead of the peanut butter if you need a peanut free version of these!
- Are these Gluten Free? Kellog’s Rice Krispie Cereal is NOT gluten free, but you could use Aldi’s version – Aldi Crispy Rice or Nature’s Path Crispy Rice Cereal for a gluten free version of these!
Soft and Chewy Scotcharoos
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 24 Bars
Description
An updated version of the classic chocolatey peanut butter dessert that stays soft and chewy for days!
Ingredients
- 1 C Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 C Light Corn Syrup
- 1/2 C Honey
- 1 C Mini Marshmallows
- 1 C Peanut Butter
- 6 C Crispy Rice Cereal
- 1 C Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 1 C Butterscotch Chips
- Flaky Salt, optional
Instructions
- Line a 9X13 pan with parchment paper and a light spritz of non stick spray.
- Measure out all of your ingredients before you start because it comes together quickly.
- In a large pot, add the sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, and honey. Stir often and bring to a simmer. As soon as it begins to boil around the edges, remove it from the heat. Cooking it too long will result in hard scotcharoos.
- Whisk in the peanut butter and marshmallows until smooth.
- Fold in the rice krispie cereal until it’s evenly coated, then pour into the prepared pan.
- Use some non stick spray on your hands, or just slightly wet them with water, to press the mixture into an even layer. Set aside.
- Make the chocolate butterscotch topping by microwaving the chips in 30 second increments until smooth. To make sure your chocolate tempers properly I recommend using 50% power on your microwave.
- Pour the mixture over the bars and spread into an even layer. Let set up, then top with flaky salt. Slice and serve.
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- Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies
- Classic Fudgy Crinkle Top Brownies
- No Bake Almond Butter Cheesecake Bars
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