The Chewy, Peanut-Buttery Bar That Guidelines Midwestern Potlucks

Within the Midwest, we blunt our heavy-hitters with cutesy diminutives. So it’s with the scotcheroo: an uncommonly chewy cousin to the Rice Krispies Deal with, certain with salty peanut butter and capped with a wealthy layer of melted chocolate and butterscotch.

For those who go to a espresso store or fuel station within the area, you’re liable to see particular person scotcheroos wrapped up in plastic by the money register. (In pockets of the Higher Midwest, you’ll discover a variant known as the Particular Ok bar, with an ingredient swap I don’t want to elucidate.) However scotcheroos are actually extra of a group dish than a industrial one. I grew up consuming them at potlucks and concession stands—anywhere the place one may must fulfill a crowd with a couple of low-cost components. 

Scotcheroos are easy, however they are often surprisingly finicky. Most recipes begin with a cooked sugar syrup that’s a straight 50/50 cut up of corn syrup and granulated sugar. The difficulty? For those who boil the syrup only a hair too lengthy—or pat the bars into place with just a bit an excessive amount of oomph—your scotcheroos will harden into sweet. 

Understanding just a bit of the science behind that sugar can assist you construct a extra resilient ‘roo. The information beneath assist foolproof the system, preserving the scotcheroo’s traditional peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch taste profile with out tasting cloyingly candy.

The three Guidelines for Foolproof ‘Roos

1. Cling to the corn (syrup). There’s no means round it: Corn syrup is probably the most simple path to a tantalizingly chewy scotcheroo. Early in testing, I attempted changing the corn syrup with different liquid sweeteners to common disappointment. Maple syrup led to crumbly bars with little cohesion; honey hijacked the traditional taste profile and made the bars overly candy. Jettisoning liquid sweeteners fully made the scotcheroos rock-hard.

There’s a purpose confectioners have been utilizing corn syrup for many years. Corn syrup, in contrast to different sweeteners, has extra-long glucose chains that stop crystallization and lend physique and chewiness to sweets. 

There’s additionally a purpose most scotcheroo recipes lower the corn syrup with granulated sugar. An excessive amount of corn syrup yields bars which are each too delicate and too—effectively, corny, within the commodified industrial sense. I performed round with totally different ratios, however a 60/40 cut up of corn syrup to sugar yielded a chewier, extra supple bar with out noticeable taste alterations. 

2. Substitute the white sugar with brown sugar. Whereas most scotcheroo recipes name for granulated sugar, brown sugar has each textural and taste advantages right here. The molasses in brown sugar boosts the bars’ butterscotch notes, yielding a ‘roo that tastes extra like itself. It additionally provides to the sugar’s moisture content material, providing further insurance coverage towards a too-crunchy bar. 

3. Pair your butterscotch with a bittersweet chocolate bar. For those who’re solely prepared to make one tweak to the back-of-the-cereal-box recipe, it ought to be this one: Chop your chocolate. Chopped bar chocolate melts far more evenly than chocolate chips. That’s the key to a pourable topping that appears shiny and clean. I additionally advocate utilizing bittersweet chocolate to assist mood the at-times cloying sweetness of butterscotch–search for a bar that’s 60% cacao. 

The one remaining trick is an non-compulsory sprinkling of flaky sea salt, reminiscent of Maldon, over the topping earlier than it units. Positive, it’s a barely fussy contact for the common-or-garden scotcheroo. However there’s one other Midwestern lesson right here: Simply because it’s easy doesn’t imply it needs to be plain.

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