Scotcharoos From an Iowa Girl

 

Delicious Scotcharoo!

Ahhh, this is the most Midwest recipe ever.  However, truth be told, I never had these growing up.  My Serbian Mom and Italian Dad were not the Scotcharoo type.  My sister is a true Iowa farmer, and I have had these many times at her farm.  When I saw the recipe I was sort of taken aback.  Why did it have sugar, and corn syrup and NOT have marshmallows?  I mean marshmallows are essentially made of corn syrup and sugar, AND they taste delicious.  

So let's start with the marshmallows. I have always used the big brand from the supermarket, (Target really, I hate those grocery stores!). But recently I found Dandies, and dang.  These are the best marshmallow ever.  But they are a bit high brow, because I guess being vegan makes them more expensive? Regardless, they are always in my house because no marshmallow tastes better out of the bag than these.  I'd love to try the maple ones, but I cannot find them here.  For this recipe I used the Whole Foods 365 brand, a whole bag, and the last of my Dandies, about 20 or so.  Why this weird amount?  because who wants a couple of cups of rice cereal getting stale in the pantry?

The cereal is of course traditionally Rice Krispies.  But since my grocer route is mostly Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, I opted for the Whole Foods 365 Brown Rice Cereal, and I like them.  A little darker, crispy, tasty.  The box is 12oz, and about 8 cups.  Most recipes call for 6 cups....that is frustrating, so I used the whole box. 

No substitute here!

My first job out of college was selling Jif Peanut Butter, so there is no option but Jif here.  It is smooth and sweet and melts beautifully.  Did I mention it is delicious?

Finally the chips.  My favorite, hands down is Guittard.  But when you are mixing all these flavors, don't bother.  I used the Trader Joe's Chips to melt over the top, and the last of some Whole Foods Butterscotch chips inside the bars.  

Sweetie Petitti Scotcharoos

1 full bag (10oz) large marshmallows

1/2 a bag (10 oz) of marshmallows, roughly 20

6 Tablespoons butter (I use salted)

1/2 cup Jif peanut butter, creamy

1 full box (12 oz.) brown rice cereal, roughly 8 cups (according to the box) 

1 cup (roughly half a bag) butterscotch chips

1 bag chocolate chips (I used semi sweet, but milk is more traditional)

In a large pot with a wide bottom, melt the butter, marshmallows and peanut butter on low heat.  This takes a while, but if you speed it up you will get a mess.  When all the marshmallows are smooth and melty, add the entire box of rice cereal and stir until incorporated. Then add 1 cup butterscotch chips and stir in.  All I had was a cup, I would have added a whole bag if I had one.  

Nice and stretchy and gooey....

Press the entire mixture into a buttered 9x13 pan.  Butter your fingers for easy pressing. Then melt the chocolate chips in a glass bowl over simmering water.  When they are smooth, spread over the pan of treats and let the chocolate harden before cutting into squares.  

I melted the chips in a bain marie before spreading. I didn't use the whole bag, but I should have.