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Two scotcharoos on a plate.
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5 from 6 votes

Scotcharoos

This is the BEST version of the classic Scotcharoos recipe, including tips to make sure they turn out chewy, not hard!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cooling Time2 hours
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Bars
Keyword: Granola Bars
Servings: 20 bars

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1 cup Light Corn Syrup
  • 1 and 1/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 1 and 1/4 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 1 and 1/4 cup Butterscotch Chips
  • 6 cups Crisp Rice Cereal like Rice Krispies

Instructions

  • Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment and spray gently with cooking spray. Measure out 6 cups of rice cereal into a large bowl.
  • Place the sugar and corn syrup in a medium pot over medium or medium low heat. Stir together and cook for a couple of minutes until the sugar crystals dissolve. As soon as the mixture comes to a boil with bubbles rolling across the center, remove it from the heat.
  • Immediately stir in the creamy peanut butter to make a glossy sauce.
  • Pour the peanut butter sauce over the cereal in a large bowl and stir to evenly combine.
  • Pour the cereal mixture into the prepared pan. Using a damp hand, gently press the mixture into the pan and smooth the top. Do not push the cereal down hard or the bars will be hard.
  • Place the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave 30 seconds at a time until melted, stirring thoroughly in between each time in the microwave. Pour the melted chocolate over the cereal mixture and use a knife or offset spatula to smooth it out.
  • All scotcharoos to set up at room temperature until chocolate is firm, 2-4 hours. You can place the bars in the fridge to help chill the chocolate (and may need to on a hot day). Just remove the bars from the fridge as soon as the chocolate is set and allow them to come back to room temperature before serving.
  • Use the parchment paper to pull the scotcharoos out of the 9x13 pan and place on a cutting board. Cut into pieces and serve. Store covered.

Notes

The classic scotcharoo recipe calls for 1 cup of each kind of chips, but I always increase that to 1 and 1/4 cups of each chip. If you are making these for true chocolate lovers, you can even use a full bag of each kind of chips (close to 2 cups each).
You may also vary the type of chips you use or the ratio. Some people prefer to use more semi sweet chips and less butterscotch, while other people prefer using milk chocolate chips for a sweeter topping. Our favorite is a 1-1 ratio of semi sweet chips and butterscotch chips.