Description
Childhood is calling, and these gluten-free scotcheroos are the answer! These no-bake bars have all the nostalgic flavor you crave, simply made gluten-free! Pro tip: don’t skip the flaky sea salt.
Ingredients
Scale
For The Cereal Base:
- 3 cups gluten-free crisp rice cereal* (NOT Rice Krispies Brand!)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For The Chocolate Butterscotch Topping:
- 1 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips*
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- Optional: Flaky sea salt, for garnish*
Instructions
- Prep. Line an 8×8 or 9×9 square pan with parchment paper. Measure 3 cups of cereal and set aside.
- Melt. In a large saucepan, combine honey and sugar. Stir over medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved, 5-7 minutes. Try not to let the mixture come to a boil since this can harden/dry out the honey mixture.
- Combine. Stir in the peanut butter and stir over low heat until well blended. Turn off the heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Add cereal and stir to combine until the cereal is evenly coated.
- Pat It Out. Transfer the cereal mixture to your prepared pan and gently pat it into an even layer with a flexible spatula or your fingers. (Try not to overly compact this mixture since you want it to have a soft texture!)
- Make The Topping. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and butter. Melt in the microwave on low power in 10-15 second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until the mixture is smooth and even. It will be thick! (Alternatively, you can melt this mixture in a small saucepan on the stovetop over low heat.)
- Layer. Spread the chocolate mixture over the cereal layer and use an offset spatula to smooth the chocolate into an even layer.
- Set & Serve. Let the chocolate topping set 2-3 hours before cutting into bars. (You can speed this process up by covering the pan and refrigerating for 45-60 minutes.) Garnish with flaky sea salt and cut into squares or bars. These scotcheroos are rich, so I prefer cutting them into 12-18 smaller bars.
- Store. Transfer leftover scotcheroos to an airtight container and store at room temperature 1-3 days.
Notes
- Crisp Rice Cereal. Rice Krispies brand cereal is NOT gluten-free. To stay celiac safe, make sure to use a certified gluten-free brand of crisp rice cereal, like Barbara’s, Aldi’s brand (Millville), etc. Be sure to use CRISP rice cereal, not puffed rice, which is soft and doesn’t work well.
- Peanut Butter. You *can* use either natural peanut butter or traditional peanut butter for these bars, but keep in mind that they have a harder time holding together and will dry out more with natural peanut butter than with traditional peanut butter (like JIF or Skippy)
- Chocolate Chips. While you absolutely can use milk chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate chips for scotcheroos, I much prefer using dark chocolate chips. These are VERY sweet as it is, and the dark chocolate is a nice balance for the sweet butterscotch chips. But, you do you!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
