Chocolate Peanut Butter Scotcharoos

~Amanda~

I have always been quite the chocoholic, and I believe there isn’t anything out there than can beat the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. So naturally, one of my all time favorite desserts growing up (and today) was my Grandma Johnson’s Special K Bars. These bars have a peanut buttery cereal base and are topped with a smooth delicious layer of melted chocolate, what’s not to love?! One of my favorite memories is of our summer vacations to Minnesota… we’d arrive after about 16 hours of driving in the car and walk in the door by the kitchen at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and it was almost guaranteed that there would be a yellow, plastic tupperware bin on the counter with those coveted Special K bars in it. We would break into that within minutes and be in heaven. She had them at her house every time we went to visit her, and now whenever I have one, it is with so many fond memories of her and our time spent with her.

I haven’t had them in quite a while and have been craving them, so this 4th of July I decided to make them for a party we were going to, and boy were they a hit…the entire plate was gone by the end of the night and I had to pat myself on the back for being a little selfish and leaving a few at home to enjoy the rest of the week haha! Special K isn’t gluten free, so I had to modify Grandma’s original recipe and use Rice Krispies instead… so they are now called Scotcharoos – I couldn’t really call them Special K bars if they didn’t have Special K in them, although they taste exactly the same and bring back the same good feelings so who really cares what they’re called, it’s all the same to me!

The great thing about these is that there are only a handful of ingredients and they just take about 15 minutes to make. The first step, boil the sugar and corn syrup together then stir in the peanut butter until you get a nice, thick, peanut buttery sauce. You then pour the sauce over the Rice Krispies (in a very large bowl…this can get messy) and mix it up until all the cereal is coated. Press the mixture in a baking dish and finally, pour the chocolate and butterscotch chips over the top and stick it under the broiler for a few minutes until they start melting. Once they’re melted, you use a spatula to spread them out and put it in the fridge for a little while to set up. You want to cut the bars when they come out of the fridge and they’re still a little hard and easy to work with, but they should definitely be eaten at room temperature so they’re soft and gooey and insanely delicious. Try these out the next chance you get and you’re sure to be hooked on them too. And thank you for all the wonderful Special K bar moments in your kitchen, Grandma… these will always be eaten in your honor!!