Special K Bars are a no-bake dessert bar made with Special K cereal, peanut butter, milk chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips. Try my Snickers Special K Bars for more Special K bars covered in Snickers frosting!
Special K Bars Ingredients
With just half a dozen common ingredients, you can get these bars made!
Sugar: Granulated sugar is what you will need for this recipe.
Corn Syrup: We used light corn syrup. You could get by using dark corn syrup, but it will change the flavor a bit.
Peanut Butter: Creamy was used in this recipe, but chunky would work as well.
Cereal: For Special K Bars, use Special K original cereal. You can use any cereal you prefer.
Baking chips: Both milk chocolate chips and butterscotch chips were melted and added to the bars. If you don’t like butterscotch, you could stick with all milk chocolate chips.
How to Make Special K Bars
These no-bake bars are a staple at most get-togethers. For one thing, they are chewy, chocolatey, and delicious. For another thing, they are so easy to put together! To get started, line a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper. And, in a large bowl, measure the 6 cups of cereal and set the bowl aside.
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to boiling. Next, stir in the peanut butter. Then, remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the mixture over the cereal that is in the large bowl.
After you pour the mixture over the cereal, fold the cereal in with the mixture to coat it. This is the ‘glue’ that holds the bars together. Using an oiled spatula, pat the coated cereal down into the lined pan. Let it sit while you melt the chips.
Chocolate & Butterscotch Topping, Oh My!
I used both milk chocolate chips and butterscotch chips to top the bars. Again, you could just use milk chocolate chips if you are not a fan of butterscotch. Add the baking chips to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat the chips in 20-second intervals until they have melted.
Pour the melted chips over the pan of bars, smoothing it out with a knife. Let the bars sit for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. To freeze the bars, let them cool completely before freezing them in a single layer in a freezer-safe container. Be sure to label and date the package; they will last up to 3 months.
How to Store Special K Bars
Keep the bars in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag to keep them fresh. They should be kept in a cool, dry place to prevent melting or spoilage.
More No Bake Treats
Special K Bars
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups (511.5 g) corn syrup
- 1 ½ cups (387 g) peanut butter
- 6 cups Kellogg's Special K cereal, original
- 6 ounces milk chocolate chips
- 6 ounces butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Prepare a 9×13-inch baking dish by lining it with parchment paper. Measure the cereal in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat until boiling.
- Stir in the peanut butter until smooth.
- Remove from heat. Pour the mixture over the bowl of cereal and fold in the cereal to coat.
- Pat the cereal mixture into the lined baking dish using an oiled spatula.
- Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe bowl, add the milk chocolate and butterscotch chips. Heat the chips in 20-second intervals until they have melted and the mixture is smooth with no lumps.
- Pour the melted chocolate and butterscotch chips over the bars, smoothing with a knife.
- Let the bars sit for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
These look SO good! And I still think you can call yourself “i am baker”! 😉 Do you know I’ve never even heard of these? But, I’m glad to know about them now!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Yum! Special K bars are totally my favorite!!! At least in Iowa, they aren’t the same as Scotcheroos. Scotheroos are made exclusively with rice krispie cereal. In our family we have a genuine divide of loyalists to one or the other–and you must pick sides! Way too intense for sugar, I know!
I would love to switch it up with green, but the sugar mob disagrees. ;). Still, you’ve created a craving!
I can’t wait to try these! This is something my kids can help with. Have an awesome day!
I’ve never made scotcheroos. They do still teach home ec though 🙂 These look super yum!
I’ve never made scotcheroos. They do still teach home ec though 🙂 These look super yum!
This may be a totally random question, but when I make something like this, I can never get pretty, neat, cut squares like you have in your pictures. Any tips? And BTW, I am a new follower–the Oreo Cherry Cordial thingy totally sucked me in–and i think one of the best things about blogging, is that your blog belongs to you, you can call it and do with it what you want!
oooh, I can’t wait to try these Amanda!!
Love the green addition!
You ARE baker. I love reading your blog. (Even though I’ve only recently come out of lurking, I’ve been here..) These look delicious. I’ve never heard of “Scotcheroos” but being Canadian might have something to do with that. Either way, they look delicious and I’m on the food color kick for holidays too. There’s either been a baby in mah belly or I’ve been nursing since April of 2008. 🙂
Only you could make something so simple look so crazy delicious!!
I have never made scotcharoos either. Isn’t that weird?