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Scotcheroos are an easy no-bake dessert made with peanut butter, rice krispies cereal, and a chocolate and butterscotch topping. Perfect for parties, potlucks, or anytime you need a quick sweet treat.
Scotcheroos are one of those classic desserts that instantly bring back memories of potlucks, bake sales, and family gatherings. They’re chewy, sweet, and packed with peanut butter flavor, topped with a smooth layer of melted chocolate and butterscotch that makes them completely irresistible.

This Scotcheroos recipe is so simple, reliable, and perfect for any occasion. Whether you’re making a quick dessert for a party or a treat for the kids, these bars always deliver. With just a handful of pantry ingredients and minimal effort, you’ll have a dessert that everyone recognizes and loves.

Ingredients You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Creamy Peanut Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Corn Syrup
- Rice Krispie Cereal
- Vanilla Extract
- Chocolate Chips – I use semi-sweet chocolate, but milk chocolate or dark chocolate both work as well.
- Butterscotch Chips


How To Make Scotcheroos
- Melt. In a saucepan melt together the corn syrup and sugar over medium heat. You want to bring the mixture just barely to a boil, and then immediately remove from heat.
- Mix. Add in the peanut butter and vanilla and mix until it is smooth.
- Cereal. Pour the mixture over the cereal and mix until it is evenly coated. Press into a 13×9 inch baking dish.
- Topping. Melt together chocolate chips and butterscotch chips until smooth. I microwave for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another 30 seconds. Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the bars and spread into an even layer.
- Serve. Let the chocolate completely set up, either in the fridge or at room temperature. Slice and serve.

Recipe Tips & Suggestions
- Boiling. Be careful not to really boil your corn syrup and sugar or your bars will be hard. You want bubbles to just start forming around the edges when you remove the heat. This will give you that chewy texture you know and love.
- Peanut Butter. Creamy peanut butter gives you the classic texture, but crunchy will absolutely work. You really just want to use a commercial brand peanut butter for the best results.
- Butterscotch. If you aren’t a fan of butterscotch chips, you can use all chocolate or you can use half chocolate and half peanut butter chips instead.
- Nut Free. If you have a peanut allergy, other nut butters can work. They aren’t quite the same, and your bars won’t be as soft and chewy. But you can use almond butter or a sun butter if you want to make it peanut free.
- Other Cereal. Another version of this same recipe is Special K Bars, that uses Special K Cereal. You really could use any flake or small piece cereal with a neutral taste.

Storage
These bars are best served within a couple days or they do start to dry out and harden. So you can make them ahead, but I wouldn’t make them much ahead of when you want them. I leave them at room temperature, otherwise they get too hard to bite into.
They do freeze well though, just wrap tightly and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let them thaw before serving.
More Easy Dessert Recipes
- Funfetti Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
- Golden Oreo Blondies
- Reese’s Puffs Cereal Bars
- No Bake Biscoff Bars

Scotcheroos
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 cups rice krispie cereal
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Spray a 13×9 inch pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, mix together sugar and corn syrup over medium heat. Stir frequently, gently dissolving the sugar. Heat the mixture until it barely starts to boil with bubbles forming around the edge. Remove from heat.1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup light corn syrup
- Immediately stir in the peanut butter and vanilla and mix until smooth.1 cup creamy peanut butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour over the cereal and mix until well combined.6 cups rice krispie cereal
- Press into prepared pan.
- Add chocolate chip and butterscotch chips to a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 60 seconds, stir, heat for another 30 seconds and stir until completely melted. If needed heat for another 15 seconds. Pour over bars.1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup butterscotch chips
- Let the chocolate set up completely before slicing to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.












