Honey Peanut Butter Scotcheroos
Published 5/3/2023 • Updated 1/19/2024
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These honey peanut butter scotcheroos are made sans corn syrup and white sugar and taste better than the OG.
Peanut Butter + Butterscotch + Chocolate = Love
Is there anything better than a Scotcheroo? You just can’t beat the peanut butter, butterscotch, and chocolate combination. These are a great dessert bar to make for picnics, birthday parties, potlucks, and just for a tasty treat!
Our signature recipe is made without white sugar and corn syrup. Instead, we’re using honey and a little coconut oil to give you the same great sweetness and texture! Read on to learn how to make them!
What You Need for these Scotcheroos
- Peanut butter: our go-to peanut butter for baked goods is Smuchers All-Natural.
- Honey: honey is used for both sweetness and stickiness.
- Rice crispies: feel free to either use normal rice crispies cereal or brown rice crispies. We’ve tried this recipe with both.
- Chocolate chips: the chocolate topping is made from chocolate chips. You can use either semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips.
- Butterscotch chips: every scotcheroo deserves a fair share of butterscotch chips!
- Coconut oil: coconut oil is used to slightly soften the chocolate topping so it’s easy to bite through.
Our Fav
Peanut Butter
Many of our recipes call for natural peanut butter that is drippy. This Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter is one of our go-to drippy nut butters. Go ahead and stock your pantry.
How to Make Honey PB Scotcheroos
For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card for a list of ingredients and instructions.
For the Bottom Layer
- First, line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Then, prepare the bottom layer of the bars by mixing peanut butter, honey, and salt into a large bowl. Mix until smooth and then fold in the rice crispies cereal.
- Transfer the rice crispy mixture onto the bottom of the pan and use your hands or a spatula to press the mixture into the pan.
For the Top Layer
- Add chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut oil to a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, and continuously stir until melted.
- Once melted, remove from heat and pour the chocolate mixture on top of the rice crispy layer. Shake the pan and spread chocolate evenly with a spatula.
- Then, place in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
- When ready to slice, remove from freezer and let chill for 20 minutes. Slice and enjoy!
How to Serve Scotcheroos
Feel free to cut these healthy scotcheroos into huge squares for a filling dessert, or cut them into bite-sized pieces for a sweet treat that serves a crowd.
Pro tip: We love to keep our bite-sized scotcheroos in the freezer for an easy dessert that we can just put on a platter and serve!
Turn these bars into balls!
Since we’re huge fans of bite-sized desserts, we tested this recipe by rolling the scotcheroos into balls and dipping them into chocolate. We promise you’ll love it. Here’s how to do it:
- Once you’ve mixed together your bottom layer, use a tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the “dough” into your hands.
- Roll the scotcheroos into balls. Sometimes it helps if you get your hands wet. Set them aside.
- Make the chocolate layer as directed.
- Roll each ball into the melted chocolate and place it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Freeze for 1 hour to ensure the chocolate has set.
Storage
Let the chocolate topping set completely. Then, transfer them into an air-tight container or gallon-size bag and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If your pan has a lid, feel free to keep the scotcheroos right in the pan for easy storage.
Freezing Scotcheroos
Let pan of healthy scotcheroos set completely, and then cut into individual bars and then transfer into a freezer-safe gallon-size bag. Remove as much air as possible and freeze for up to 3 months.
Honey Peanut Butter Scotcheroos
Ingredients
Bottom Layer
- 1.5 cups all-natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- pinch of salt
- 4 cups brown rice crispies
Top Layer
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup butterscotch chips
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
Instructions
Bottom Layer
- First, line a 9×13-inch* pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Prepare the bottom layer of the bars by mixing peanut butter, honey, and salt into a large bowl. Mix until smooth and then fold in the rice crispies.
- Transfer the rice crispy mixture onto the bottom of the pan and use your hands or a spatula to press the mixture into the pan. Set aside.
Top Layer
- Add chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut oil to a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat. Continuously stir until melted.
- Once melted, remove from heat and pour the chocolate mixture on top of the rice crispy layer. Shake the pan and spread chocolate evenly with a spatula.
- Place in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
- When ready to slice, remove from freezer and let chill for 20 minutes. Slice and enjoy.
- Store the bars in either the refrigerator or freezer (or else they will melt!).
Tips & Notes
- You can use any size pan you would like. For thicker bars, use a 9×9-inch pan and for thinner bars, use a 9×12-inch pan.
- Nutrition is based on a 9×13 pan, which makes 36 thinner bars.
To turn them into balls:
- Once you’ve mixed together your bottom layer, use a tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the “dough” into your hands.
- Roll the scotcheroos into balls. Sometimes it helps if you get your hands wet. Set them aside.
- Make the chocolate layer as directed.
- Roll each ball into the melted chocolate and place it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Freeze for 1 hour to ensure the chocolate has set.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I really love your all recipes, especially dessert recipes are awesome. I have started food blog.
This recipe was delicious, easy, and enjoyed by the whole family. I will definitely be making it again!
A household favorite! Prefer this way over “traditional” & also of course dark chocolate chips. I always cut into 36, no problem. So delicious 🤤
Hi – These look great! Do you have a favorite natural peanut butter? Thank you!
Our favorites are Kirkland brand or Smuckers!
These are literally so amazing. I’m 8 months preggo and craving sweets and I didn’t feel guilty eating 3 of these at a time 😂
YESSSS! Glad you love them 😀
Just curious what the purpose of the coconut oil is with the chips? Is it just to add healthy fats? Most other recipes don’t require coconut oil and the bars can be left on the counter.
You can omit if you want, but the coconut oil softens the chocolate a bit making it much easier to bite into once it cools completely.
I grew up in small town Minnesota and Scotcheroos were a staple at every family/church/school event. Have made these a few times now and LOVE THEM!! I did put them in an 8 X 8 however. Personal preference on how thick you want the bars to be. My three kids prefer these over the “real deal” scotcheroos. Thank you for this recipe. It is my new go to!
SO EFFING GOOD.
The taste is great! Using a 9X13…hahaha… Stick with a 9X9!
Just made for my Daisy Girl Scout troop tomorrow. I melted the honey, pb and coconut oil in a pot so would blend better with rice crispies . Thanks Lee.
“classic church lady basement bar” YES. totally remember those. The special k crack bars.
Can you replace the honey with maple syrup or brown rice syrup? I would LOVE to make these–I haven’t enjoyed too many Scotcheroos as a kid, but boy oh boy I wish I did. Guess I missed out on a lot!
I used about half maple syrup half honey. You could probably just use maple syrup I’d you wanted to
This is PERFECT! Will be making these all summer 🙂 🙂