Special K Bars (Scotcheroos) - Celebrating Sweets (2024)

Published: · Modified: by Allison · 26 Comments

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This easy no-bake recipe features chewy peanut butter cereal bars topped with a chocolate and butterscotch frosting. Maybe you know these tasty bars as Scotcheroos? In my family we call them “Special K Bars” (because we make them with Special K cereal), but whatever you call them, you are bound to love them.

If you’re a fan of dessert bars you’ve come to the right place. Try our S’mores Bars and Sugar Cookies Bars, too!

Special K Bars (Scotcheroos) - Celebrating Sweets (1)

These bars are always part of our holiday dessert spread, and they are one of the first things to disappear. Prefer Rice Krispies? Try my Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats.

Recipe overview

Bars: These chewy bars are made with only 4 ingredients: Special K cereal, sugar, corn syrup, and peanut butter. They are chewy, sweet, and loaded with peanut butter flavor.

Special K Bars (Scotcheroos) - Celebrating Sweets (2)

Topping: The easiest “frosting” ever! Melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips and pour over the bars. This glossy, delicious frosting is what takes these bars over the top.

Special K Bars (Scotcheroos) - Celebrating Sweets (3)

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • No bake – No need to turn on your oven. These bars come together on the stovetop.
  • Quick and easy – Literally under 15 minutes from start to finish.
  • Basic ingredients – Only 6 ingredients needed.
  • Flavor – Peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch. Yum!

Special K Bars (Scotcheroos) - Celebrating Sweets (4)

Recipe tips

  1. Work quickly. Once your sugar “syrup” begins boiling it is go-time. Be ready to add the peanut butter, then immediately add the cereal, then immediately press into the pan. As the mixture cools it will firm up and get more difficult to work with.
  2. Use a commercial brand emulsified peanut butter. This is not the time to use a “natural” (oil on top) peanut butter, as you want the peanut butter to mix easily into the sugar syrup.
  3. Use a 9×13 pan for thinner bars, or an 8×11 pan for thicker bars (pictured).

Serving: You need to give these bars a couple hours to “cool” so that the frosting can firm up. The texture is best when they are served at room temperature.

Storage: Store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Leftover butterscotch chips? Make my Salted Butterscotch Cookies.

Special K Bars (Scotcheroos) - Celebrating Sweets (5)

More Peanut Butter Recipes:

Peanut Butter Bars
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Brownies
Peanut Butter Pie

Recipe

Special K Bars (Scotcheroos) - Celebrating Sweets (6)

Special K Bars

This easy no-bake recipe features chewy peanut butter cereal bars topped with a chocolate and butterscotch frosting.

4.92 from 34 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 20

Calories: 245kcal

Author: Allison - Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

Bars:

  • 6 cups Special K cereal
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • One 16-oz jar room temperature peanut butter*
  • butter, for greasing the pan and bowl

Frosting:

  • cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • cups butterscotch chips
  • flaky sea salt, for topping (optional)

Instructions

Bars:

  • Grease a large bowl with butter and place the Special K in the bowl.

  • Grease a 9x13 or 8x11 baking dish. The 9x13 will make thinner bars, the 8x11 bars will be thicker (as pictured).

  • Place sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat the mixture stirring occasionally, until the edges start to bubble. Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately stir in the peanut butter.

  • Working quickly (before the mixture cools), pour the peanut butter mixture over the Special K and stir until combined. Scoop into the prepared baking dish and press into an even layer. Proceed with the frosting.

Frosting:

  • Place chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in the bowl of a double boiler. Cook, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Note: make sure the boiling water is not touching the bottom of your bowl, only the steam.

  • Immediately pour the frosting over the bars and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Allow several hours for the frosting to firm up, then cut and serve.

Notes

*Use a commercial brand emulsified peanut butter, not natural (separated peanut butter).

Serving: You need to give these bars a couple hours to "cool" so that the frosting can firm up. The texture is best when they are served at room temperature.

Storage: Store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 245kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 123mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 170IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.

Special K Bars (Scotcheroos) - Celebrating Sweets (7) Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!

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Comments

  1. Salli Rarick

    Special K Bars (Scotcheroos) - Celebrating Sweets (8)
    Turned out perfect!

    Reply

    • Allison

      I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

      Reply

  2. Lisa Webster

    Special K Bars (Scotcheroos) - Celebrating Sweets (9)
    Great recipe! Everyone loves them!

    Reply

    • Allison

      I’m so glad! Happy holidays! 🙂

      Reply

  3. Betsy

    Are you sure you use 16 oz peanut butter? It seemed like a lot. All related recipes only use 1 cup

    Reply

    • Allison

      Yep, it’s one 16oz jar.

      Reply

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About

Special K Bars (Scotcheroos) - Celebrating Sweets (10)Hi, I'm Allison! I'm a busy wife and mom with a passion for cooking and baking. This is where you'll find my favorite homemade recipes, designed to help you make every day delicious! Read more....

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FAQs

What happened to special K cereal bars? ›

Special K's current cereal bars will be replaced by four new flavour variants; Juicy Red Berry, Milk Chocolate, Apricot & Sultanas, Dark Chocolate & Cranberries. Each snack has a partially transparent wrapper to display the ingredients, such as wholegrain oats and fruit, to shoppers.

What are the ingredients in K bars? ›

Premium Quality Ingredients

GLUCOSE; SUGAR; VEGETABLE FAT; CORN FLOUR; CITRIC ACID; FLAVOUR; EMULSIFIER (SOYA LECITHIN); COLOUR (E123, E102, E133, E132); ANTIFOAM (E900A). MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF WHEAT FLOUR. Crafted in Porirua, NZ.

Who makes Special K bars? ›

Special K® Bars

Whether you're sitting down to a nice quiet breakfast or running here and there and everywhere… Kellogg's® has a variety of delicious Special K® products to help nourish your journey to your best self.

Are special K bars vegan? ›

Vegan scotcheroos, also known as special K bars, are an irresistibly delicious dessert! The sticky-sweet, light and crispy peanut butter bars are coated with a creamy chocolate topping. It's a healthier twist on the classic Midwestern treat, made with no corn syrup and no butterscotch chips.

Can diabetics eat Special K cereal? ›

You can also have different forms of dairy. You can also have cheese or yogurt as well. Recommended cereal: Something that has more protein in it like Special K or even hot cereal that has more almonds or things that are beneficial as well. Remember your blood sugar: Look to see how these foods affect your blood sugar.

Are Special K cereal bars healthy? ›

Special K cereals & cereal bars (excluding Biscuit Moments & Special K Protein Bars) contain ≥ 15% of the nutrient reference value of vitamins B3, B6 and B9 which contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Special K Protein Bars are a source of protein which contributes to the maintenance of muscle mass.

Can you still buy K bars? ›

Whittakers have been making these fruity flavoured classic toffee treats since the 1950's. Yup, you can still get 'em!

What does the K in K bar stand for? ›

According to company records, the letter was only partially legible; "ka bar" could be read, as fragments of the phrase "kill a bear". In 1923, the company adopted the name Ka-Bar from the "bear story" as its trademark. From 1923, the KA-BAR trademark was used as a ricasso stamp by Union Cutlery Co.

Why are they called Scotcheroos? ›

Scotcheroos is a crispy dessert treat with origins in the United States of America. It consists of cereals based on rice or corn, peanut butter, and a decadent butterscotch-chocolate coating. Scotcheroos got their name after one of the key ingredients used in the preparation process – butterscotch.

Why did they change Special K? ›

Special K is being given its first recipe change in 30 years as brand owner Kellogg's looks to turn around declining sales. From April, all variants of the cereal will include barley in addition to the current rice and wheat, and will be made with wholegrain.

What does the k in Special K stand for? ›

Does the K in Special K stand for Kellogg's? It is named after the daughter of one of the researchers in the Kellogg's food kitchen.

How many flavors of Special K are there? ›

In the US, Special K cereal currently comes in fifteen different varieties: Original, Chocolatey Delight, Chocolatey Strawberry, Cinnamon Pecan, Red Berries, Vanilla Almond, Fruit & Yogurt, Brown Sugar Gluten Free, Oats & Honey, Touch of Honey Granola, Chocolate Almond, Cranberry Granola, Protein, Cinnamon Sugar Crunch ...

Are Special K bars peanut free? ›

Contains: Peanut, Milk, Soy, Almond.

What is in Special K chocolate bar? ›

INGREDIENTS: Wholegrain cereals ( wholewheat (31%), whole oats (5.5%)), milk chocolate (14%) (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, emulsifiers { soy lecithin, E476}, natural vanilla flavouring), cereal crispies (11%) ( wholewheat flour, rice flour, sugar, malted barley flour, malted wheat flour, salt), ...

What happened to cereal prizes? ›

But in the mid-2000s, in-box cereal prizes began to slowly die away. There isn't a clear-cut, singular reason for this; It was likely a combination of factors such as environmental reasons (less waste), the possibility that some toys could break and become choking hazards, and companies wanting to cut extra costs.

What happened to peace cereal? ›

Peace Cereal was owned by Golden Temple of Oregon until the brand was acquired in 2010 by Hearthside Food Solutions, a contract manufacturer of breakfast cereal and other breakfast foods based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and owned by Wind Point Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm.

What cereal did Kellogg's discontinue? ›

KELLOGG'S has confirmed that a fan-favorite cereal is gone despite pleas to bring it back. The food brand giant told a fan that the Cinnamon Frosted Flakes flavor was permanently pulled from shelves.

Is there a recall on Special K? ›

Kellogg's has recalled its Special K Red Berries cereal because the company says some boxes may be contaminated with glass fragments. Sizes other than these packages are not affected by the recall, nor are packages with the letter codes KXA, KXB or KXC which are found after the “Better if Used Before Date.”

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