Ultimate Guide on How to Make Scotcheroos

Scotcheroos are among the most popular dessert bars you can make at home. With a long history, these tasty snacks have been a classic dessert for over half a century. So it only seems fitting to put together the ultimate guide to making scotcheroos for those with a sweet tooth. If you’re looking to know more about making scotcheroos, you are in the right place.

What are Scotcheroos?

Scotcheroos are a dessert bar made up of tasty layers of sweet and savory ingredients. They’re very easy to prepare as they don’t require baking, and are the perfect dessert to serve for any occasion. The main ingredients include Rice Krispies, chocolate, peanut butter, and butterscotch, which is the secret ingredient that lends this dessert its name. Most of these ingredients can easily be found in your pantry or at your closest grocery store. And just as they are easy to find, they are absolutely easy to make. 

The first recipe of scotcheroos surfaced around the 1960s on the Rice Krispie’s box. They were just one of many delightful recipes that Rice Krispies could be used for. And considering they’re still around, it’s not likely that this classic dessert is going anywhere. 

Scotcheroos Bars

Typically, scotcheroos are prepared and presented as easy-to-serve bars. Much like their sister dessert, Rice Krispie treats, these crunchy, crispy, and airy bars make for the perfect dessert to share with others. Whether they’re cut in small or large pieces, take these treats to any event or with you on the road and you’ll be sure to make some friends. 

Scotcheroos Recipe

Making scotcheroos is an easy and fun experience to share with friends and family. With just a few ingredients, this treat is bound to create cherished memories to last a lifetime. The ingredients that most scotcheroos recipes require are:

• Peanut Butter
• Sugar
• Rice Krispie Cereal
• Butterscotch Chips
• Unsalted butter
• Honey 
• Light Corn syrup
• Vanilla
• Sea salt (Optional, but some would say a Requirement)
• Chocolate chips

Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, you’ll typically start by mixing the sugar, corn syrup, and unsalted butter in a small pot, over medium heat.

The next step is preparing the base for the scotcheroos. In order to do this, you’ll add vanilla, sea salt (optional), and peanut butter to the syrup mixture you’ve already created. The sea salt is optional but recommended as it brings out the flavors and balances the sweetness. After you’ve combined the mixture, the next step is to add the Rice Krispies. You’ll then take the well-mixed treats and transfer them to a baking sheet or baking pan. Gently pat down the mixture, but not too compact. 

Last, but not least, it’s time to make the topping. For this step, you’ll melt down the chocolate and butterscotch chips to create a creamy chocolate topping. There are a few ways you can melt the chocolate and butterscotch. You can use a saucepan, place a bowl over a steamy pot, or microwave melt the mixture. Just be sure to not overcook or burn the melted sweets.

Once you’ve got your melted topping, pour the creamy blend over the flattened bed of Rice Krispies. Smooth the chocolate over for an even coating, then wait until the chocolate has hardened. Then, it’s ready to serve.

Best Scotcheroos Recipes

With a simple recipe structure, there are countless ways to make scotcheroos that perfectly fit your taste buds.

Being that this is an ultimate guide to scotcheroos, we only felt it was right to include essential scotcheroos recipes beyond the traditional. Whether you’re looking for seasonal, healthy, or easy-to-follow scotcheroos recipes, we’ve included them all here. Scroll down and simply take your pick of the best scotcheroos recipes out there. 

Classic Rice Krispie Scotcheroos Cookies/Desserts

Bake Time: 30 mins

Recipe Makes: 24 pieces

This is the original Rice Krispies scotcheroos recipe. With only six ingredients, we highly recommend you try this super simple and classic recipe if you haven’t already. Just imagine, 30 minutes from now, you could be enjoying the sweet taste of scotcheroos. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup of light corn syrup
• 1 ½  cups of peanut butter
• 1 cup of white sugar
• ½ cup of butterscotch chips
• ½ cup of semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 cups of crisp rice cereal

Directions: 

• Smear a 9×13-inch baking pan with enough butter and set it aside.
• Take a large pot and add peanut butter, sugar, and corn syrup and mix them well.
• Place the pot over medium heat and stir the mixture until the peanut butter melts down and the mixture starts to boil.
• Remove pot from heat and gently stir in Rice Krispies cereal.
• Transfer this mixture into the buttered pan that was set aside earlier.
• Gently pat the mixture down into the pan.
• Place the chocolate and butterscotch chips on a medium saucepan and melt them over low heat until smooth and creamy.
• Spread the smooth and melted mixture over the Rice Krispies you patted down.
• Let it cool until the chocolate mixture has hardened, then cut the Rice Krispies into even squares.

No-Bake Scotcheroos Recipe

Bake Time: 10 mins

Recipe Makes: 24 pieces

For an expedited version of scotcheroos, this no-bake 10-min recipe is perfect for whipping up this delicious treat in a short amount of time.

Ingredients

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• ¼ cup butter
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 ¼ butterscotch chips (divided)
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions

• Place Rice Krispies cereal into a large mixing bowl and set them aside.
• Place corn syrup, sugar, and butter in a saucepan, and stir while over medium heat.
• Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves and the butter has melted, but don’t bring it to a boil.
• Remove from heat and add peanut butter, salt, vanilla, and ¼ of butterscotch chips. Stir the mixture until everything combines and it becomes a smooth mixture.
• Transfer the resulting mixture into the large mixing bowl with the Rice Krispies.
• Gently stir this mixture to get a well-coated combination and set it aside.
• Spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray, or line it with waxed paper/parchment
• Transfer and press the well-coated mixture of Rice Krispies into the pan and set aside.
• Place remaining butterscotch chips and chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl.
• Microwave the butterscotch and chocolate chips mixture for 30 seconds and stir. In 15-second increments, keep microwaving the mixture until everything has melted. 
• Pour the melted chocolate-butterscotch topping over the cereal mixture on the pan.
• Let it cool until it is firm.
• Cut into bars and serve your no-bake scotcheroos.

Scotcheroos Without Corn Syrup Recipe

Bake Time: 2 hrs 20 mins

Recipe Makes: 20 pieces

For those who are looking for a scotcheroos recipe with fewer artificial sweeteners, this recipe without corn syrup is a perfect choice. To replace the corn syrup, you can simply use a mixture of honey and granulated sugar or any sugar of your choice. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup honey
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1tbsp butter/coconut oil
• 1 ½ cups butterscotch morsels
• Sea salt (optional topping)

Directions

• Prepare a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
• Place and mix granulated sugar and honey in a large saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir the mixture occasionally to bring to a gentle simmer for about 1 minute.
• Turn off the heat and remove the saucepan.
• Add vanilla extract and peanut butter into the saucepan and mix together.
• Add crispy rice cereal to the above mixture and stir until it is completely coated.
• Transfer the completely coated mixture to the round baking pan.
• Use a rubber spatula to gently spread the mixture all over the pan.
• Gently press the mixture down into the baking pan and set aside.
• With a small saucepan, add chopped chocolate, coconut oil, and butterscotch morsels.
• Stir the contents in the small saucepan while heating over medium-low heat.
• Keep stirring until everything has melted together, resulting in a thick cream.
• Spread this thick mixture evenly over the crispy rice in the baking pan.
• Optional: Add sea salt to the topping.
• Cover the baking pan and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Remove the baking pan and cut the scotcheroos into desired pieces. 

Festive Holiday Scotcheroos Recipe

Bake Time: 25 mins

Recipe Makes: 16 pieces

Holidays just became a little sweeter with this festive recipe added to the roster. Get into the Christmas spirit with this cute holiday scotcheroos recipe. Dress your scotcheroos bars as either Christmas trees or reindeers and make this a fun activity for the whole family to enjoy. 

Ingredients

• 5 ½ cups corn flakes cereal
• 1 cup light Corn syrup
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 drop green gel food coloring
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter

To Make Christmas Trees: 

• 8 mini peanut butter cups
• ½ cup white chocolate (melted)
• ¼ cup rainbow chips or sprinkles 
• 8 star sprinkles (or red hots)

To Make a Reindeer: 

• 16 small twist pretzels 
• 16 candy eyes
• ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (melted)
• 8 cinnamon red hots

Directions

• Prepare two 8-inch baking pans with parchment paper-lined inside, and set it aside.
• Add and mix sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan.
• Stir the mixture while heating over medium heat, until the sugar dissolves.
• Let the sugar-corn syrup mixture boil for one minute.
• Turn off the heat and remove the saucepan.
• Add peanut butter and green gel into a large mixing bowl.
• Transfer the sugar-corn syrup mixture to the mixing bowl and stir to obtain a smooth consistency.
• Add corn flakes to the peanut butter mixture and evenly coat the corn flakes.
• Transfer the resulting mixture into the 8-inch baking pan.
• Gently press this mixture with the back of a spoon or rubber spatula until it’s evenly flat.
• Leave this mixture to settle and cool for 30 minutes.
• Lift the parchment paper from each pan to remove the solid dessert. Set on a cutting board and evenly cut each circle into 8 even triangular pieces.
• Decorating Christmas Trees: Drizzle white melted chocolate across the triangle to get snowy stripes, sprinkle rainbow chips across and press a peanut butter cup into the bottom of each triangle piece to make a trunk.
• Decorating Reindeers: Drizzle melted brown chocolate over the triangle pieces to cover the topping as much as possible, and press on broken pretzel twists to make antler at the widest corners. Place two candy eyes just above the narrowest point and place a red hot candy as a nose right below. 

Scotcheroos with Marshmallows

Bake Time: 30 mins

Recipe Makes: 16 pieces

As the classic scotcheroos recipe has evolved over the years, one of the popular ways to make this delicious dessert without corn syrup has been to use marshmallows. This also makes for an even more fun recipe to make. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup Peanut butter
• 1 box of 12oz Rice Krispies cereal 
• 1 ½ packages mini marshmallows (16oz bag) 
• ¼ cup butter
• flake salt (to taste)
• 1 11oz package of butterscotch chips
• 1 11oz package of semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Directions

• Line parchment paper on a 9×13-inch baking pan.
• Using medium heat, melt butter in a large pot.
• Add peanut butter, salt, and vanilla into the pot and stir until everything has melted.
• Reduce the heat to low and add the marshmallows.
• Stir the mixture frequently. 
• Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stovetop.
• Add your Rice Krispies cereal to the mix and stir gently.
• Transfer this mixture to the parchment lined baking pan.
• Gently pat down the mixture into the pan with a piece of parchment paper to keep your hands clean.
• For the topping, use a small saucepan and add chopped chocolate, and butterscotch morsels.
• Stir these contents in the small saucepan while heating over medium-low heat until everything has melted.
• Pour the thick mixture evenly over the Rice Krispies in the baking pan
• Sprinkle flake salt on the chocolate topping while it is still warm
• Cool to room temperature or place the baking pan in the freezer for fifteen minutes.
• After cooling, remove the baking pan and cut the scotcheroos into squares

How Many Calories in a Scotcheroos?

As delicious as this treat may be, it’s important to be aware of the caloric intake so that you can modify or choose a recipe that’s right for you based on the nutritional value. A typical recipe of original scotcheroos will have the following breakdown of caloric intake: 

• 239.8 Calories
• 33.8g Carbohydrate
• 10.6g Fat
• 1g Fiber
• 3.5g Saturated Fat
• 139.7mg Sodium
• 16.3g Sugar.

How Do You Make Healthier Scotcheroos?

Most scotcheroos recipes include high sugar levels, corn syrup, and crispy rice cereal. If you want to make healthier scotcheroos, you should try to incorporate simple and organic ingredients such as brown rice cereal, coconut sugar, and honey. Try using these ingredients and give your family healthier options to enjoy scotcheroos.

How to Store Scotcheroos

Scotcheroos are rich and tasty treats, but what happens when you’ve made too many to enjoy in one sitting? There are several convenient ways to store scotcheroos and enjoy them at a later time. As a first step, it’s always best to keep scotcheroos in an airtight container. You can store them at room temperature for up to three days as that is the most optimal time to enjoy them while they’re soft and sweet. 

Can You Freeze Scotcheroos?

Yes, it is possible to freeze scotcheroos. When you finish preparing the bars, and pour in the melted chocolate topping, you can simply place the baking pan in the freezer and let the chocolate set for a few minutes. If you want to store the scotcheroos in the freezer, take the bars and wrap each piece with a square wax paper and add a plastic wrap on top. Place the wrapped bars in a resealable freezer bag. You can store the bars for up to six months.

Thawing Frozen Scotcheroos

Once you’re ready to enjoy those frozen scotcheroos, simply remove the wrapped bars from the freezer and set them out on the counter until it reaches room temperature or for 30-45 minutes. The bars should soften and be ready to enjoy. 

You are now fully equipped to create this classic dessert anytime you like. With this guide to making scotcheroos, you can even create a recipe of your own that puts a spin on this sweet and traditional treat.

A great way to share your signature scotcheroos recipe is through Morsel. With your monthly subscription, you can add friends and family to a recipe group so that they can see the delicious recipes you’ve been cooking up. Remember, scotcheroos are not only delicious to eat but they’re fun to make and share with the ones you love. 

Aida Solomon

Aida Solomon is a digital marketing specialist who’s passionate about bringing her creative ideas to life. As an avid homecook, Aida loves to explore the way food has the power of bridging the world together. When she’s offline, she loves to travel through new recipes, and run long distances — paying homage to her Ethiopian roots.