Scotcheroo Bars
Now that Halloween is over we can focus on the holidays that count the most - Thanksgiving & Christmas. So get your stretchy pants and oversized college t-shirts ready, because this is not the time for your skinny jeans and crop tops. Thank Goodness! For Halloween, I dressed up as a very low-key elf because my Axl Rose costume was in the washing machine from a party on Saturday and I wasn't feeling the rocker vibe anymore. I can do Halloween, but it's definitely just a placeholder to get to the main events for me. I am definitely not one of the people that wait until after Thanksgiving to listen to Christmas music - don't deprive yourself of things you love. Unfortunately, it was storming here in Austin so the trick or treaters weren't out in full force, but we did get a lot of good costumes and got rid of all of our candy!
For both Halloween parties, I made some Scotcheroos! The perfect treat for a party because you can make them in under an hour, cut into bars, and even decorate them if you'd like. I realized that Scotcheroos are very much a Minnesota/Wisconsin thing as no one else had heard of them. My Texas friends had no idea what they were, PNW-ers didn't have any idea, East Coast crew never heard of them - so it was my duty as a midwesterner to share this regional delicacy.
I made them two ways, one the more traditional way with Rice Krispie cereal and butterscotch/milk chocolate top, and the other with Chex cereal and a dark chocolate bottom. There's no method to the madness, just using the ingredients that I had! I thought about making them into little mummies with candy eyes and white chocolate, but honestly, I hate white chocolate so that wasn't going to happen for me but would be super cute. You could also incorporate some extra Halloween candy into the topping of these - the options are unlimited.
These bars are really good for kid's school functions like bake sales and birthdays as they are gluten-free, dairy-free (with the proper chocolate chips), and can easily be made peanut-free by swapping in some almond butter. One thing that turns people off to these bars is that they contain corn syrup. I personally don't have a problem with it and like its starch content to keep everything together so I don't have to deal with messy marshmallows, but if you don't like corn syrup I would recommend using half maple syrup and half honey as a substitute.
Scotcheroos
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup smooth peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
Instructions:
In a large saucepan, heat sugar and corn syrup over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling but hasn't changed color, about 5 minutes. Take off heat and stir in peanut butter. Once combined, fold in cereal until evenly coated. Pour cereal into a 9X13 pan that's greased or lined with parchment and evenly pack it down. Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips together, stirring until smooth. Pour melted chocolate onto the top of the Rice Krispies and spread evenly. Let cool in the fridge until set, about 45 minutes, and cut into squares. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
*Alternate: If you use Chex mix instead of the Rice Krispies, it won't take up the whole 9X13 pan. I decided to form them into a square pan, let cool, slice, and then dip the bottom into the chocolate since it's a more even layer as shown in the photos above.