Chocolate Peanut Butter Special K Bar
Chocolate and peanut butter is by far my favorite culinary combination there is. Whether it be a Reese’s peanut butter cup or a bowl full of puppy chow, when chocolate or peanut butter are involved I can’t be trusted anywhere near the dessert table at a potluck. These Chocolate Peanut Butter Special K Bars are no exception.
Now don’t let the name of these bars fool you.
Special K has become known as a healthy cereal option.
And on its own, I’m sure it is.
But with the tasty addition of…
Sugar
Corn Syrup
Peanut Butter
and Chocolate!
The health benefits of Special K seems to take a bit of a nose dive.
Now Special K Bars are very similar to the Midwest staple, scotcheroos.
The reason I may love these bars (slightly) more… They are ridiculously soft and chewy.
As long as you follow this simple rule.
DON’T! let the sugar and corn syrup mixture come to a very hard boil. Once the sugar has been heated and dissolved, and I see the first few bubbles of the mixture starting to come to a simmer, the heat gets shut off and the peanut butter stirred in.
And presto! The best soft and chewy bars that have ever walked this earth.
These Chocolate Peanut Butter Special K Bars are perfect for any family potluck, after school snack, church bake sale, or harvest meal in the middle of a cornfield.
Alright… I’ll be honest.
They are also perfect for saying that you made them for one of the above events, but then end up eating a few out of the pan before they even get shared.
And by a few, I mostly mean half the pan.
Please don’t judge.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Special K Bars
Ingredients
- 5-6 cups Special-K Cereal
- 1 cup White Sugar
- 1 cup Corn Syrup
- 1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1 cup Peanut Butter Chips
- 1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
Instructions
-
In a saucepan, combine the sugar and corn syrup over medium heat. Heat until sugar is dissolved and JUST starting to come to a simmer. If you let mixture boil the bars will be hard instead of soft and delicious.
-
Remove sugar mixture from heat and stir in peanut butter. Pour over bowl of Special-K. Gently stir to combine.
-
Spread cereal mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
-
For frosting: Distribute peanut butter chips and chocolate chips evenly over the top of the bars. Place bars in a 300 degree F oven for two to three minutes until the chips just start to melt. Remove from oven and using a spatula smooth melted chips over the surface of the bars.
-
Allow frosting to set before cutting bars.
I’ve been making them for years and Love ‘em! Thanks for the tip about not letting the mixture come to a hard boil—I always wondered why they turned out hard sometimes.
I’m so glad you love them too! My co-worker gave me the tip about not letting the mixture boil and it was life changing! 😉
I totally messed these up and made a few modifications due to not having the right stuff on hand, and dietary restrictions. First off I only had this organic cereal flakes on hand (Nature’s path organic Mesa Sunrise. Blend of corn, flax, buckwheat, quinoa,& amaranth) I realized while putting this together that I didn’t have enough corn syrup for both recipes. For the first I used almost all the corn syrup I had with a little agave syrup, the second was pancake syrup with more agave syrup. I should point out here that listed on the back of the pancake syrup was the exact same ingredients as my corn syrup bottle with some added color. Lol. After mixing together the cereal and the syrup, peanut butter mixture I didn’t realize that I did not have anymore peanut butter or peanut butter chips. So I just measured out 2 Cups of chocolate chips per pan ( I made two 13×9 pans) and did that instead of the chocolate & peanut butter chips combo. I hope they will be just as tasty. I did notice that these are very very soft even after letting them completely cool and letting the chocolate harden. I’m hoping they are just a softer bar. So I did put them in the refrigerator. I’m hoping that someone can tell me if that’s ok or if anyone has experience with that. Next time I’m going to completely skip the corn syrup and use only agave syrup. I’m sure they will be just as tasty. I don’t know anyone that can eat the actual special K cereal due to dietary needs so I’ll stick to this cereal or perhaps try another cereal “flake” that is gluten free. Thanks for the awesome recipe!! Any experience with putting butterscotch chips in these? Not sure if I can find gluten free, but if not maybe I can add some butterscotch flavoring.
Wow Angie! You have been busy. All the adjustments sound like they will work out well. These bars are very soft so on warm days I do usually stick them in the fridge to set up a bit. And yes. I have used butterscotch chips. Equally delicious!
Hi, for a gluten free bar use rice chex. I also add one cup of dry roasted peanuts. I let my mixture come to a boil. I had trouble with the mixture sticking together. But love the idea of usinh peanutbutter chips abd chocolate. I nexer was a fan of butterscotch. And putting them in the oven ..great one less dirty pan.!! Try the chex cereal, rice is better than the crn but they will both work. And they will be a little crunchier. Enjoy gluten free bars. Lori from Faribault Minnesota. 🌻
Sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing Lori!
Used this as a basis for my new experimental version !! I used double batch of a 16 ounce bottle of Karo’s light corn syrup,large bag of vanilla marshmallows, 16 ounce jar of White Chocolate Peanut Butter from Peanut Butter Company,whole box of Special K cereal and a whole bag of 70% Ghirardelli dark baking chocolate chips….. Heated the syrup and melted in the marshmallows (kept removing it from the heat to not burn the marshmallows on the bottom of the pan) DID NOT use any added sugar AT ALL!!! Added in the jar of peanut butter then stirred in the cereal after completely mixing the peanut butter mix together, then buttered a baking sheet and spread the mix out on top then chocolate chips on top 300 for a couple minutes to melt spread evenly and then PUT the sheet directly in the fridge uncovered to set it up, next morning took out cut into squares and releases from the pan nicely after sitting out a couple minutes when you the butter!!! Ooeey Gooeey greatness!!!!!
That sounds delicious Don! Thanks for sharing.