From her brand new book – The Chocolate Addict’s Baking Book – author Sabine Venier shares with us one of her favorite quick treats – just one of the 75 chocolate recipes packed in to this terrific book:
“This recipe wakes up my inner kid! I’m thrilled to share my marriage of two beloved childhood sweet treats: rocky road candies and scotcheroos.
“These bars are everything that kids and grown-up kids could ask for: a crunchy peanut buttery and chocolatey base topped with super delicious milk chocolate, colorful mini marshmallows and peanuts.
“Instead of regular crispy rice cereal, I used chocolate-flavored for an even more intense chocolate taste.
“Let’s be kids again and have some fun trying these sweets!”
Recipe yield: 20 bars
Rocky Road Scotcheroos: Recipe
- 6 cups (300 g) chocolate crispy rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies
- 1 cup (240 ml) light corn syrup
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1 tbsp (14 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (250 g) creamy peanut butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp butterscotch extract
- Pinch of salt
For the topping:
- 3 cups (75 g) mini marshmallows
- 1⁄4 cup (38 g) peanuts, chopped
- 12 oz (340 g) bar-style milk chocolate, chopped
- 1⁄4 cup (42 g) butterscotch chips
Rocky Road Scotcheroos: Method
Line a 9 x 13–inch (23 x 33–cm) baking pan with parchment paper with an overhang around the sides and set aside.
To make the bars place the cereal in a large bowl and set aside.
In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine the corn syrup, sugar and butter and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved for 3 to 5 minutes. Do not bring to a boil.
Remove from the heat, stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and butterscotch extract and add salt to taste. Stir until well combined.
Pour the mixture over the cereal and stir until well combined.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, press evenly into the bottom of the pan and set aside.
To make the topping: In a large bowl, combine the mini marshmallows and peanuts, then set aside.
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate and butterscotch chips and microwave on a medium setting, stirring every 20 seconds until melted, about 2 minutes.
Pour the chocolate over the marshmallow mixture and stir until everything is evenly coated with chocolate. Then, spoon the mixture on top of the cereal mixture and distribute evenly.
Let cool and harden completely before you cut into 20 bars.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Note: If you can’t find butterscotch chips for the topping, replace them 1:1 with peanut butter chips and add 1⁄2 teaspoon of butterscotch extract before you melt the chips in the microwave.
Rocky Road Scotcheroos recipe reprinted with permission from The Chocolate Addict’s Baking Book by Sabine Venier, Page Street Publishing Co. 2020. Photo credit: Sabine Venier