Polydish city guide

Best Scotcheroos in San Francisco

“Crisped rice, peanut butter, butterscotch and chocolate—a Midwestern bar that earned its own state fair competition.”

Scotcheroos

What the real thing tastes like

Scotcheroos are dessert bars made with chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, corn syrup, and crisped rice. They are similar to Rice Krispies Treats, except that they contain peanut butter instead of marshmallows, and are topped with melted butterscotch chips and chocolate chips. In Minnesota, scotcheroos are known as Special K bars. The recipe was originally printed on boxes of Rice Krispies breakfast cereal in the mid-1960s. Also called chocolate scotcheroos and peanut butter scotcheroos, they are popular in the Midwestern United States, especially Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota. In 2025, the Iowa State Fair hosted its first baking contest specifically for scotcheroos.

0 voices, one story

Scotcheroos are the Midwest's answer to Rice Krispies Treats—crisped rice bound together, but swapped marshmallows for peanut butter and crowned with a two-chip topping of melted butterscotch and chocolate. Born from a mid-1960s Rice Krispies box recipe, these bars have become quietly iconic across Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas, where they're so embedded in the regional dessert landscape that Iowa now hosts a baking contest dedicated solely to them.

Order it here when it has

  • simple, accessible recipe
  • regional popularity and cultural significance
  • versatile enough to inspire dedicated baking contests

Walk away when you see

    Restaurant-level rankings for San Francisco land as the Polydish review engine processes this city's reviews. Explore the dish itself while you wait —

    Scotcheroos on Polydish →