How to make heaven: AKA peanut butter scotcheroos

Have you ever had a scotcheroo? Where I grew up in Minnesota, no backyard cookout, birthday party or post-Little League pizza dinner was complete without a plate piled high with these squares. Imagine if Rice Krispies Treats had a run-in with a jar of peanut butter and then got doused in a melted medley of chocolate and butterscotch chips. An improbable combination? Perhaps. Insanely good? You betcha.

Buying ingredients for scotcheroos

You can go as fancy-pants or as generic-store-brand as you like with scotcheroos. When I was a kid, it was Skippy peanut butter, Rice Krispies cereal and Nestle chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Upgrading the ingredients makes a more grown-up scotcheroo, but it's not so big of an improvement that I bother seeking out special ingredients when I make these. Use what you have in your cupboard, and that should be just fine. (One note: You can make these with natural peanut butter, but use a very creamy variety, and if the oil has separated, mix it in very well before making the bars.)

One thing you can't skip, and which I think just needs to be accepted in this recipe, is the corn syrup. This is a necessary ingredient for that chewiness; without it, the bars tend to be hard and brittle. You can use rice syrup or other corn syrup substitutes, but I find the flavor just isn't the same.