Caramel Scotcharoos

I've posted about the awesomeness of scotcharoos before...the crunch of a Rice Krispie treat mixed with a sweet honey and peanut butter twist, and topped with a rich chocolate and butterscotch mixture...what's not to love?!

Scotcharoos are also great for their versatility. You can get creative with them, change the cereal, melt different flavored chips on top, throw in something crazy.

 This past weekend I experimented with caramel, a first for me. I love the combination of chocolate and caramel. In ice cream, fudge, brownies, you name it. Caramel and chocolate are meant to be together. I've never made caramel sauce on my own however, and now I know why. The recipe I used from keyingredient.com asks you to unwrap a bag of those little caramels that are so chewy and tasty, it's a wonder I had enough left to make a topping for my scotcharoos. I could eat those things all day.

So after a lot of will power, I melted all those caramels with about 3T. of water, until they were all melted and boiling. Then I mixed in 1/2c. of peanut butter and poured the mixture on top of the already made Rice Krispie dish. Let it chill while you melt the chocolate part. That's right, we're not done yet!

This recipe has you mix the melted chocolate with 1/2c. peanut butter as well. (This treat is going to be intensely sweet, if you couldn't predict that.)

Look at that yummy caramel! 

At that point, Kyle asked what I was going to do with the pot of melted chocolate. I said, "Pour it over these." The pan of caramel-covered Rice Krispie marshmallow goodness waited anxiously for its top and final layer, when Kyle said, "Who would eat all that??!!"

Easy answer: Chalkey women. My sweet Grandma Barb. Sweet tooth crazies.

The real question is, who wouldn't want to try it? They look like your usual scotcharoos, but once you take a bite, prepare to chew for a while on the gooey, tasty caramel, and slip into scotcharoo bliss.

Caramel Scotcharoos

Ingredients

• 3T. butter
• 10oz. bag mini marshmallows
• 1T. vanilla
• 7c. Rice Krispies cereal, or Special K
• 14oz. bag unwrapped caramels
• 2T. water
• 1 1/2c. peanut butter, divided
• 12oz. bag chocolate chips

Directions

1. Butter a 9X13in. pan.
2. Place 3 tablespoons of butter and the marshmallows in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until melted. When completely melted and smooth, stir in vanilla. Turn off heat and stir in cereal until completely coated; the mixture will be very sticky. Pour into buttered pan. Coat hands with butter and press in mixture firmly. Place in the refrigerator to chill. In another saucepan, place caramels and water over low heat, stirring frequently as caramels melt until smooth. Add 1 cup of the peanut butter to the caramel and stir until completely blended. Pour onto the chilled Rice Krispies mixture and spread to the edges. Place pan back in the refrigerator.
3. Over low heat, melt the chocolate in a saucepan, stirring frequently and being careful not to scorch the chocolate. When melted, add in the remaining  1/2 cup of peanut butter, stirring until smooth. Pour chocolate mixture over caramel layer, spreading to the edges in an even layer. Place dessert in the refrigerator and allow to set up for about 1 hour or until chocolate is firm to the touch. Cut into squares or rectangles when firm.