Gluten Free Scotcheroos

Covered in chocolate and butterscotch, these Gluten Free Scotcheroos are peanut butter rice crispy treats that are easy to make and the perfect treat!

Does anyone remember these treats from your childhood? Or am I just showing my age now? I remember my mom or myself making something like this, but I guess I didn’t know they were called Scotcheroos. I don’t remember them being in bar form either. They were more like a drop cookie type and I remember cutting the recipe out of a magazine.

What are Gluten Free Scotcheroos?

The original recipe for Scotcheroos was found on the back of a box of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies. And of course the main ingredient was Rice Krispies. Instead of the usual rice krispy treats marshmallow mixture, Scotcheroos are held together with a peanut butter syrup. And then the whole thing gets covered in chocolate and butterscotch.

This all sounds innocent enough, right? Rice cereal, peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch. Where could gluten be hiding in that lineup? Oh, but there’s always gluten hiding in places you’d never think. Rice cereal, particularly Kellogg’s Rice Krispies, are made with barley malt, which makes them NOT gluten free.

When I was first diagnosed, I was buying all this stuff that I just didn’t think about having gluten, and Rice Krispies was one of ’em. And I kept getting sick and didn’t figure out why until months later when I finally started reading labels. I found out about the Rice Krispies, but also found out that certain brands of butterscotch chips also contain gluten!! Who knew?? Nestle brand are NOT gluten free, but I do know Hershey’s are (although they’re hard to find in my area).

Luckily, if you live near an Aldi, their store brand are gluten free and they’re really good actually! To make it even easier, Aldi’s store brand rice cereal is also gluten free!! So hit up your local Aldi before making these gluten free scotcheroos to get all the necessities.

How to Make Scotcheroos

It’s so simple to make any rice crispy treats and these scotcheroos are no exception! It’s a little different procedure than you might be used when making rice cereal treats, so here’s the easy steps:

• Add sugar and corn syrup to a small saucepan and allow it to come to a boil.
• Remove from the heat and add peanut butter to the syrup and mix well.
• Pour the peanut butter syrup over the rice cereal and mix to combine.
• Spread rice cereal mixture into a parchment-lined 9 by 13-inch pan, pressing to the edges.
• Combine chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a microwave-safe container and microwave at 30-second intervals until almost melted. Stir until completely melted and smooth.
• Spread chocolate mixture over rice cereal.
• If desired, melt a couple tablespoons additional butterscotch chips in small microwave-safe container for about 30 seconds, or until smooth. Dollop small spoonfuls over top of chocolate mixture and, using a toothpick, swirl this through the chocolate topping.
• Allow scotcheroos to harden in the refrigerator until set.
• Cut into squares and serve.

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Take a nostalgic trip down memory lane and make these gluten free scotcheroos. They’re a little bit of everything all rolled into one small square!

Adapted from The Kitchn’s Scotcheroos