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Swirled Chocolate Butterscotch Bars. You don’t need to be a professional baker to make these deliciously EASY homemade treats. These bars require no oven, very little prep time, almost no effort, and use just seven pantry staple ingredients. But the very best part…they’re fun to make and are so DELICIOUS. These bars will make the perfect homemade Halloween “candy bar”, but will be equally great for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Trust me, you’ll be making batch after batch of these easy bars.

overhead close up photo of Swirled Chocolate Butterscotch Bars

After a whole lot of requests for these bars, today we finally have chocolate butterscotch bars! I mentioned to you guys last Friday that I’d been waffling back and forth on whether or not to share these bars here on HBH. I just wasn’t sure how everyone felt about butterscotch. It’s not a flavor I bake with much, and to be honest, my self-doubt was really taking over last week. It happens to us all, right?

Thankfully I have you guys to help talk me out of the crazy mind games I play with myself. Since so many of you kindly encouraged me to make a sweet butterscotch recipe, I decided to stop second-guessing. I am finally sharing the recipe I’ve been braining storming for weeks.

And you know something, I’m so glad I did!! These cute little bars are not only easy to make, they are delicious. So. Very. Delicious.

process photo of Swirled Chocolate Butterscotch Bars

Here’s the story.

Originally I had pictured these to be much more of a spooky homemade Halloween style “candy bar”. But after testing out the recipe I decided, while these are great for Halloween, they’ll be equally awesome for Thanksgiving, and even Christmas too.

So I switched up the picture I had in my head and I made these instead.

The recipe is somewhat inspired by my mom’s Special K-Bars (my second recipe ever posted on the blog!). K Bars (as we call them) are really just an old school recipe for chocolate peanut butter bars. Mom’s made these bars for every family party I remember. And at the very least, once a week when my brothers and I were kids. We all loved her bars…we still do. So these bars are somewhat inspired by her recipe, but with my own little twists.

They’re fun and easy, and every chewy bite is roll your eyes back good.

process photo of Swirled Chocolate Butterscotch Bars

Making these bars is easy, here are the steps.

As mentioned, these bars are made using seven pantry staple ingredients. Honey, peanut butter, butterscotch chips, vanilla, a little coconut oil, and of course, plenty of sweet chocolate.

Oh, and flaky sea salt too…if you desire.

To make the bar base…simply melt together the honey, peanut butter, and half of the butterscotch chips until smooth and creamy. I prefer to do this on the stovetop, low and slow. Butterscotch chips can burn easily, so using a low heat here is key.

Once everything is melted, stir in the corn flakes and dump the mixture out onto a baking pan.

Now add a very thick, even layer of melted chocolate (you can use dark, semi-sweet, or milk – use your favorite!). Next, take melted butterscotch and dollop it right over the chocolate. Then grab a knife and gently swirl the butterscotch through the chocolate. The design looks tricky, but it’s actually the easiest to do and always comes out looking so pretty

Chill. Top with sea salt (if desired). Cut the bars. And done. So simple and easy, right?

overhead photo of Swirled Chocolate Butterscotch Bars

Once I had these made and cut, I knew they were going to be great. I could tell from the texture of the cereal base and the thick, thick layer of chocolate that these would be a new favorite.

The peanut butter combined with the sweet butterscotch is really the perfect pairing. The melted butterscotch creates the chewiest, sweet bars that leave you wanting just one more bite. As Asher said, “these are so addicting”.

Both Asher and my mom have decided these are actually better than the original recipe. Yes, they are similar, but it’s the butterscotch that really changes the game and makes these bars oh so extra special. YUM.

front on photo of Swirled Chocolate Butterscotch Bars

So, what would these bars be great for?

Well, aside from a deliciously quick treat to enjoy on an October Tuesday…pretty much everything!

As I said, I am excited to make these for Halloween. The word on the street is that Asher is having her own family Halloween party…since trick-or-treating is canceled this year. All Halloween parties need dangerously delicious treats, so I will be bringing these!

And then? Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yes, these are great for both! I’ll be setting them out for my family to snack on after Thanksgiving dinner. And I’m already planning to wrap these up in my usual holiday cookie box. The options for these sweet treats are endless.

Whatever route you go, these bars will be loved and devoured. Making a double batch is highly recommended…and testing them out tonight…also highly recommended.

overhead close up photo of Swirled Chocolate Butterscotch Bars

Looking for other quick Halloween desserts? Here are a few ideas: 

Monster Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Homemade Vegan Twix Bars

Hocus Pocus Spellbook Brownies

Lastly, if you make these Swirled Chocolate Butterscotch Bars be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Swirled Chocolate Butterscotch Bars

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 20 bars
Calories Per Serving: 448 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
    2. In a large pot over low heat, melt together the honey, peanut butter, and 3/4 cup butterscotch chips until melted smooth, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat. Add the vanilla, then stir in the corn flakes, tossing to combine. Spread the mix out into the prepared pan.
    3. Melt the chocolate and 1 tablespoon coconut oil together in the microwave until melted. Pour the melted chocolate over the bars, spreading in an even layer. 
    4. Melt the remaining 1/2 cup butterscotch chips and 1 teaspoon coconut oil together in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Spoon small teaspoon size dollops of butterscotch onto the chocolate. Using a wooden skewer or the tip of a knife, gently swirl the butterscotch in a circular motion through the chocolate.
    5. Transfer the bars to the fridge and chill 1 hour, until set. Top with salt, if desired. Let the bars sit at room temp 15-20 minutes before cutting, then cut into bars. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve. 
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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    My first half baked harvest dessert dish I’ve made. I saw Tieghan making these on her instagram story and immediately went out and bought all of the ingredients. These were unbelievable!!!! SO GOOD. I even used gluten free corn flakes to make these a gluten free recipe and they were still amazing! I love the no bake. Only cooking involved in the peanut butter honey butter scotch corn flake crust. This was easy for a novice “baker” like myself.. The first bite will make you cry it is so delicious!

  2. We have a peanut allergy in our family. Do you think these would work with almond butter or sun butter? They look delicious!

    1. Hey Carrie,
      Yes I think either of those butters would work. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

    1. Hey,
      The recipe calls for 6 cups of corn flakes. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

  3. 5 stars
    I am going to start Christmas baking Am older can’t do it all at once can these be frozen until I need them if so for how long this recipe is right up my family’s alley sounds so good

    1. Hey Barbara,
      I would not freeze these for more than a month or so. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

  4. “K squares” have always been a staple in my house too so, naturally, I’m drawn to this recipe. I drew the unlucky card of have a Peanut allergy kid and I’ve struggled to find an alternative with the same consistency to make those bars, or these, taste like they should. Do you have a suggestion? Almond butter seems to be to thick and sun butter can be so runny. Trying to help my kid experience this deliciousness!

    1. Hey Molly,
      You could try a mix of nut butters or you could sub for 1 bag of marshmallows. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

  5. Mmmm! We make something similar (using almond butter due to a peanut allergy) dropping them into cookie form on parchment. Bars with the chocolate addition sound amazing!!!! Thanks! For sure will add these to our Halloween celebration!

    1. Hey Rebeeca,
      You could do 1 bag of marshmallows! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

    1. Hey Lucinda,
      Yes that would be fine to use. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

  6. Oh my gosh my mom makes something similar to these and I’m so excited to try your version! I’m not the biggest fan of corn flakes, do you think it would be okay to substitute rice krispies type of cereal?

    So excited, thanks for all of your delicious creations! 🙂

    1. Hey Jessika,
      Sure you could use rice krispies. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

  7. 5 stars
    This looks AMAZING!!! Is there any chance I can replace the butterscotch chips with something else? Maybe butterscotch soft candy? I cannot find the chips in my country. Thanks 🙂

    1. Hey Ale,
      You can use additional peanut butter and simply omit the butterscotch portion of the recipe. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

    1. Hey Catherine,
      You could simply use more peanut butter and omit the butterscotch. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

    1. Hey Sandra,
      I would try using sunflower butter. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

  8. Ohhhh far too delicious, How can I ever resist this???!? Thank you so much for your conversiontool. I will only make a few pieces.
    Thank you very much for your recipe.