Scotcheroos, What's in a Name anyway?

 

• 1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 cup light corn syrup

• 6 cups toasted rice cereal

• 1 ⅔ cups butterscotch chips

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Coat 13 x 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray

2. Combine peanut butter, sugar and corn syrup in a large pot. Cook over medium low heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Simmer for approximately three minutes.

3. Remove from heat. Add cereal. Stir to coat.

4. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.

5. Microwave the butterscotch chips and chocolate chips in a large microwave-safe bowl for one minute. Stir, then microwave for 20 more seconds, then stir. Continue microwaving for 20 seconds and then stirring until the mixture is smooth. 

6. Spread smoothed chocolate/butterscotch mixture over cereal mixture.

7. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

8. Cut into bars

*****

It is not an exaggeration to say that the day I had my first Scotcheroo was the first day of the rest of my life. There was the time in my life when I didn’t really have a favorite dessert. Then there was the day I had my first scotcheroo, and all of the time since then, the scotcheroo has been my favorite dessert. 

There is a gas station and convenience store in Slade, Kentucky.  It is on the Mountain Parkway and is approximately halfway between my family home in eastern Kentucky, and the big city of Lexington.  It is a convenient place to stop for a coffee, a soda, a snack, or to stretch your legs when making the trek. 

It is such a common stop for us on such trips that my mother-in-law assigned it the apt nickname of “The Watering Hole”. That is what we have called it ever since. 

It was during one of these refreshing mid-jaunt visits that I chanced upon this life-altering item. I stopped to have a short rest, and walk around a bit. I got a diet Pepsi, and browsed the various candy bars, jerky, snack cakes, and potato chips.  I noticed a shelf of Amish made sweets. There were copycat confections of Twinkies, Paydays, and Twix bars. There were also other favorite at-home classics like potato candy and buckeys. Then amongst these other yummy morsels was a peanut buttery, chocolate topped square called a scotcharoon. It looked like it would be tasty so I picked it up and I was on my way. (I learned much later that these are much more commonly referred to as scotcharoos).

The impact was immediate and long lasting.  From that day forward, whenever I drove to Lexington, I would always stop at the watering hole, and I would always get a scotcharoo. 

I looked at the local gas stations in eastern Kentucky, but no one near home had scotcheroos available. There are also a couple of Amish markets relatively nearby, but no luck there either. 

If I heard that a friend or family member was going to Lexington, I would ask them to bring me a scotcheroo. Maybe I had a problem.

There was a time when I lived in Lexington for a couple of years. My fiance, my family, and my friends were all still in eastern Kentucky. Visits back home would invariably include a scotcheroo.

That job came to an end, and once I was back in eastern Kentucky full time, my access to scotcheroos decreased dramatically. There were still occasional trips to Lexington. There were trips to the airport for work conferences; dinners and conventions for either my work or my wife’s. 

One of these visits to Lexington that I remember was for my Lasik eye surgery. My wife and my mother-in-law were with me. We stopped at the watering hole on the way to Lexington. I bought my treat, but didn’t eat it right away. I was saving it for the ride home. 

The surgery went well. There were no complications and the results have given me 20/20 vision. After the surgery, I was given some pain medication and some blinders. These were saucer sized green plastic platters to cover my eyes with elastic bands to hold them to my head. My mother-in-law and my wife somehow led me out of the facility and to the car. They deposited me in the back seat and we started back toward eastern Kentucky.

I don’t remember much about that ride home. I had my eyes closed. I had protective goggles, and I had my scotcharoo. I remember that the scotcheroo had warmed a bit and it was softer and messier than usual. I remember that at one point someone worried aloud that I might choke on my snack. I remember mumbling a reassurance around a mouthful of peanut buttery goodness. What I remember most vividly is that the scotcharoo was clinging to every internal surface of my mouth. The peanut butter, chocolate and crispy rice were all there in the perfect ratio. 

I am a little embarrassed to say that it took much longer than it should have for me to think of googling the recipe for scotcheroos so that I could make them myself. Once I did, I was able to make them anytime. I was also able to engage in some experimentation. After a few attempts, I have adopted a couple of modifications that I feel enhance the recipe. Firstly, I routinely use milk chocolate chips instead of the semi-sweet chocolate chips the recipe calls for. I don’t use regular granulated sugar in the recipe. We are just more likely to have sucralose or stevia in the house than we are to have regular sugar. Lastly I leave out the butterscotch chips, and use peanut butter chips instead. I just think they taste better. 

I feel like that last modification means that I should call them something different. Should they still be called “Scotcharoos” if there is no butterscotch anywhere. I have considered calling them “Peanut Butteroos” or “Chocoroos” or “PB Squares”, but nothing really seems right. So I have continued to call them scotcharoos anyway. 

Our recipe is well used, and well loved. Take a look at this:

This piece of paper is a mess. It has been through a lot. It has been around for over a decade. I haven’t been secretive with the recipe. I have shared it liberally with my friends and family. They say that even when they follow the recipe, and even when they use my modifications, their scotcharoos are good, but not as good as when I make them. 

I am not sure how these scotcharoos became a Christmas thing. It probably came about by happenstance, the way a lot of things happen. I probably made them one year, then the next year they were requested, then the next year they were expected, then the next year they were required. They are certainly a requirement now. We always make a couple of batches for my wife to share amongst her coworkers, and we would make a batch for me to share with mine. We would make a batch or two for our families, and neighbors, and there may be a couple left for us to have at home. 

Please give these a try. They are delicious and easy to make. If you do try them, leave a comment to let me know how it went. Tell me about any modifications or new ingredients that you try and if they made the scotcheroos better. 

Try the scotcheroos. I recommend them.