Chocolate Scotcheroos Dessert Recipe

If you’re looking for an easy crowd-pleaser to bring to a potluck or a fun new recipe to add to the family’s regular rotation, you’ll love these chewy, fudgy bars. Scotcheroos are a Midwestern classic that’s been around for decades and for good reason: these bars have just the right combination of flavors and textures.

Why This Sweet Recipe Works

The texture of these chocolate scotcheroo bars is a big part of what makes them special. Corn syrup and sugar are heated together until they’ve just started to boil, giving the bars their chewy consistency.

Take the mixture any further and the bars would be rock-hard instead of chewy, but stopping too soon would leave the bars a little too soggy to stack and enjoy!

The recipe calls for an entire cup of peanut butter. This may seem like a lot, but it’s a good idea not to skimp on it.

Not only does the PB help the Rice Krispies stick together, it doesn’t leave the recipe feeling overly-greasy and ensures that the flavor of the peanut butter really shines through.

The combination of chocolate chips and butterscotch chips make the perfect topping. Heated together, they become a lusciously fudgy topping that cools to perfection and allows the bars to cut into perfect, clean squares without being too crumbly or overly-smeary.

What to Know Before You Start

These chewy fudge bars make an entire 9×13 batch of bars, or about 24-36 depending on the size of the slices, though I’m afraid I’m not one to measure everything I bake. They’re the perfect recipe to bring to church suppers and other get-togethers, and I’ve seen them at lots of bake sales throughout the years too.

Scotcheroos have been around for a really long time. This is the kind of recipe you can picture documented on an index card in an old recipe binder and has been a family-favorite for as long as I’ve had it.

Making these bars only takes around 30 minutes start-to-finish, and doesn’t call for any baking. Just a few ingredients and a trip to the store if you don’t happen to have Rice Krispies on hand.

Scotcheroos are sturdy enough to be packed into lunchboxes with parchment paper between them so they don’t stick together and taken along wherever you’re headed.

Easy to make, crowd-pleasing, and fun to eat, these bars will be a family-favorite for years to come.

Tips for Scotcheroos

• Light corn syrup is an important ingredient in Scotcheroos as it acts as the glue to hold it all together and gives Scotcheroos its chewy texture. Don’t substitute honey or maple syrup, as this will change the texture of the finished bars. Give your 1 cup measure a quick spray with cooking spray. Corn syrup has a mind of its own and tends to stay put, but with cooking spray it will slide right out.
• When cooking sugar and corn syrup it’s important to take it off the burner as soon as it starts to boil. You will see bubbles forming around the edges and the mixture will start to come up. It can go from barely bubbling to burnt in a heartbeat. Bars will still form if you cook it too long but they will be very hard to chew.
• I can’t stress this enough. Mix it together right away. This stuff firms up in a hurry when it starts to cool. Give your pan a light coat of cooking spray as well, just to be sure the base doesn’t stick to it. Pressing it down well will also help it not stick.
• You want this mixture pressed down as evenly as possible, otherwise your bars will be thicker in some areas than others. Use the back of a greased spoon or a greased spatula and press down firmly. This will help the cereal to be as even as possible.
• When making the topping make sure to cook it on a lower heat and keep stirring. Chocolate chips burn easily. You could also make the topping in a double boiler. If using a microwave, do so in 30 second increments and be sure to stir in between. There is no turning back if you burn the topping, especially after you’ve poured it over the bars. Yikes!
• I know you want to dive in but you have to let the topping set before cutting them otherwise they won’t cut nicely, the topping will smear and your bars won’t be nice and even. It usually takes about an hour on the counter to cool or about 20 to 30 minutes if you pop them in the fridge. Trust me, it’s worth the wait.

Ingredients

• One cup granulated sugar
• Corn syrup
• One cup peanut butter
• One cup butterscotch chips
• Six cups Rice Krispies or other brand of rice cereal
• One 14-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Step 1: Prepare Your Pan

Before beginning, be sure to coat a 9×13 inch pan with cooking spray. Since scotcheroos set up fairly quickly, you’ll want to make sure everything is prepped before you begin cooking.

Step 2: Cook the Sugar Base

Measure out the corn syrup and granulated sugar. Place corn syrup and sugar in a medium-to-large saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Cook until mixture reaches a boil and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat immediately.

The sugar/corn syrup mixture will appear fairly thin. Be careful, it’s very hot.

Step 3: Add the Peanut Butter

Remove the pan from the burner and add the peanut butter to the warm sugar mixture. It will melt into the mixture.

Stir until smooth. The peanut butter should be fully incorporated into the mixture with no streaks left behind.

Step 4: Add the Cereal

Immediately add the Rice Krispies and stir to coat with peanut butter mixture. This needs to be done quickly so work swiftly as it will start to cool and become difficult to stir.

Step 5: Press Into the Pan

Add the mixture to the prepared pan. Use a spoon or spatula sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to press cereal mixture firmly and evenly into the pan.

Press down really firmly as this will help the bars stay together when cut.

Step 6: Make the Chocolate Topping

In a large saucepan, combine chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Cook over low heat stirring often until chips have melted together about 3-5 minutes.

Alternatively you can combine both kinds of chips in a large microwave safe bowl and cook for 30 seconds stirring well after each 30 second interval until chips have melted.

Step 7: Top and Let Set

Spread chocolate mixture over the Rice Krispies treats, reaching all the way to the edges. Set aside at room temperature for at least an hour or chill in refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes until topping is hard and slice into squares or rectangles.

Run a hot knife between slices and wipe clean as you go for perfect squares.

Helpful Tips

The Most Common Mistakes

• Leaving the first part of the recipe, everything but the cereal, on the burner too long or cooking it at too high of a heat will result in really hard bars that are almost impossible to cut. Keep an eye on the burner and take it off the heat as soon as all of the sugar is dissolved.
• Make sure to stir in the cereal as soon as you take the pan off the heat. Waiting to add the cereal will result in a really thick mixture that is difficult to stir.
• Use a buttered or cooking spray greased spatula or spoon to really firmly press the Rice Krispie Treats down into the pan. The more firmly you press, the better they will hold together.

Easy Upgrades

Sprinkle flaky salt over the topping: If you’re a fan of sweet-and-salty combos, sprinkle flaky salt over the bars as soon as you pour on the chocolate topping while it’s still warm. It will help to temper the sweetness and make the chocolate flavor more intense.

Make a DOUBLE BATCH: My family loves these treats so much that I’m pretty much always making them in a jelly roll pan with a FULL 12 cup box of Rice Krispies. It’s not any more work, just requires more space on your baking sheet, and you’ll have TWICE as many bars.

Make them ALL-CHOCOLATE: Use Cocoa Krispies instead of plain Rice Krispies for a full-on choco-choco bar.

Peanut butter drizzle: Melt a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter and drizzle on top of bars after topping has set.

One Thing I Always Do

I always spray my measuring cup with cooking spray to keep the corn syrup from sticking to the cup. Saves some scrubbing.

Variations on Scotcheroos

The key to making scotcheroos is peanut butter. However, there are plenty of variations you can add to the recipe.

Try these suggestions to create a truly original treat:

All-Chocolate Topping

You can make these Rice Krispies Treats with an all-chocolate topping. Use 2 cups chocolate chips instead of the butterscotch chips.

It’s great if you don’t have butterscotch chips on hand or don’t care for them. It will still set up firmly.

Dark Chocolate Version

For the topping, use a 14 oz bag of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips. You’ll find that the recipe calls for one 14-oz. bag of semi-sweet chips AND one cup of butterscotch chips.

Use dark chocolate chips – Semi-sweet chocolate chips are the traditional topping for scotcheroos, but if you’re not a fan of super-sweet chocolate or want to enhance the contrast between the sweet and rich cookie and the bittersweet topping, try dark chocolate chips (60% cacao or more).

Almond Butter Swap

• You can use almond butter in scotcheroos in place of peanut butter if necessary. Commercially-made almond butter (not natural that separates) seems to work best. This changes the flavor of the recipe somewhat, but they’re still delicious.

What if my Rice Krispies Treats didn’t work out?

Topping is grainy/smells funny: The chocolate has been burnt. This happens when chocolate is melted at a high heat or is not stirred often enough.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to remedy it, you’ll have to start over with new chips.

Won’t cut: Make sure you press cereal mixture down FIRMly into pan. Also, wait for topping to be completely set before trying to cut.

Thick topping: Thick topping is the goal. If you prefer thinner topping, use less chocolate/butterscotch.

Are Rice Krispies Treats vegan?

As written, no. There’s nothing vegan-friendly about butterscotch chips.

You could try finding vegan alternatives and replacing the butterscotch chips with vegan dark chocolate chips. You’d also want to make sure you’re using a vegan-friendly butter.

I’m not sure if the result would set up correctly though, so proceed cautiously.

Serving Ideas

Scotcheroos are so rich and satisfying that they really don’t require any additional adornment, and they’re a whole dessert all on their own. That said, there are a couple of different ways you can serve them:

• This recipe makes a standard 9×13 pan of scotcheroos that is usually cut into 24 bars. However, scotcheroos are so rich that if you’re serving them alongside other treats on a dessert table or buffet, I would definitely cut them into 36 smaller bars.
• Once they’re set, they’re not at all sticky, so they’re a treat that can be packed into lunchboxes. Just wrap each bar tightly in plastic or drop them into snack-size plastic bags.
• Since they’re not sticky and travel so well, they’re a favorite at bake sales, potlucks, church suppers, etc. In fact, when I’m taking them somewhere like that, I skip transferring them into a separate dish altogether, so I cover my Wilton Recipe Right 9×13 Pan with Cover tightly with foil and bring the entire pan.
• Since scotcheroos can be served at room temperature, you can stack the bars and leave them on display for bake sales without worrying about them getting too soft during a long afternoon.
• Serve them cold because it is much easier to get nice, even pieces when scotcheroos are nice and chilled.

Storage, Make-Ahead, and Leftovers

Room Temperature

Scotcheroos keep well in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days and don’t seem to soften with storage.

While scotcheroos don’t need to be chilled, I find the base does firm up a bit. This means they’re not as chewy out of the fridge.

If you store them in the fridge, pull them out 10 to 15 minutes before serving to let them soften up a bit. Scotcheroos will keep for a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Can scotcheroos be frozen?

Absolutely. To freeze scotcheroos:

• Cut into squares and individually wrap in plastic wrap. Place in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag. Scotcheroos will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
• When ready to enjoy, remove from plastic wrap and set out at room temperature to thaw. This takes about thirty minutes.
• The texture is almost exactly the same as when they were originally made.

Can scotcheroos be made ahead of time?

You can definitely make these bars in advance. In fact, if you make them 1 to 2 days ahead they’re even better.

All of the flavors and ingredients have time to settle in and they’re amazing on day 2. Make the recipe the night before and slice them up in the morning.

Frequently Asked Questions

My scotcheroos are super hard.

What happened?

If the sugar and corn syrup mixture is on the burner too long or continues to boil for too long it can result in scotcheroos that set up very hard. It’s important to pull the pan of sugar and corn syrup off of the burner as soon as it comes to a boil.

If you find yourself struggling with this part of the process I’d invest in a candy thermometer. You’re looking for that mixture to reach a temp between 235 and 240 F.

Take them off the burner as soon as they hit that range.

Can you make scotcheroos with natural peanut butter?

Technically you can, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Scotcheroos call for smooth peanut butter and most brands include other ingredients besides peanut.

Those additional ingredients help the sugar incorporate more evenly. Natural PB, with just peanuts and salt, tends to separate which could result in very greasy scotcheroos that don’t come together quite as well.

If you do want to use natural PB I’d make sure it’s well stirred and sitting out at room temp before you get started.

Can I make scotcheroos with chocolate chips instead of butterscotch?

Yes, you can omit the butterscotch chips and add an equal amount of semi-sweet chocolate chips.