Cakespy: Chocolate Peanut Butter Special K Bars
Note: Jessie Oleson (aka Cakespy) chimes in every week with a delicious dessert recipe.
[Art and photograph: Jessie Oleson]
To me, the American Midwest is a magical land where bars reign supreme. I'm not talking about places where people meet and drink, although there are plenty of those too. I'm talking about bar cookies. Bakeries in the Midwest seem to devote prime bakery case real estate to the decadent treats in a way I've seen in no other part of the country--it's a truly beautiful thing.
And while recently taking a road trip through this veritable bar country, I came across an especially fascinating specimen at several different bakeries: the Special K Bar. These no-bake bars, which generally resemble bricks in both size and weight, were comprised of a dense, crunchy-chewy mixture of corn syrup, sugar, peanut butter, and Special K cereal, all topped with about a half-inch of fudgy chocolate topping.
They're almost indescribably rich, but completely addictive--so bad, but so good. Needless to say, upon returning home I immediately set out to recreate this magic in my own kitchen. My version is just as decadent as the ones I found in bakeries, but they seem slightly more virtuous when served in small, truffle-sized portions.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Special K Bars
- makes about 36 -
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cups light corn syrup
2 cups peanut butter (a creamy, no-stir type works best)
6 cups Special K cereal
12 ounces (1 bag) semisweet chocolate chips
Procedure
1. In a large, microwave safe bowl, combine the brown sugar and corn syrup; mix well. Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
2. Remove from microwave and stir the mixture, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Microwave the mixture again on high for 2 minutes, or until the mixture starts to bubble around the edges.
3. Remove bowl from microwave and add 1 1/2 cups of the peanut butter; stir until smooth and fully incorporated. Add cereal and mix until it is fully coated.
4. Spoon cereal mixture into a well greased 13 x 9-inch pan, pressing down with either clean fingers or the back of a spoon to make sure it is evenly and firmly packed into the pan.
5. In a medium microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and the remaining 1/2 cup of peanut butter. Heat on medium power for 2 minutes; remove and stir mixture. If chocolate chips are not fully melted, return the mixture to the microwave and heat in 20 second intervals until fully melted. Stir until smooth, and spread over the cereal mixture.
6. Let cool completely, and then cut into bars. Do not chill the mixture before cutting.
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17 Comments:
Had these growing up in Montana. They're delicious.
Fildred at 2:40PM on 09/21/09
i love the irony in these. take something so light and low cal and turn it into something so yum.
and btw, i originally thought you were actually about to profess your love for the 90 calorie special k bars.
_greenbean at 2:58PM on 09/21/09
Classic Fargo fare. We usually use 6oz. chocolate chips and 6oz. butterscotch chips for the frosting. There isn't any better comfort food, in my opinion!
wheatfoot at 3:00PM on 09/21/09
Wow, these look amazing. And I don't even eat Special K!
@greenbean--I too love the irony. (Although most cereals, including Special K and Sugar Pops have around 110 calories per cup and its diet reputation is really canny 80s marketing).
Now, if anyone ever gives me cereal aggressively marketed as diet food, I know what to do with it!
HeartofGlass at 6:20PM on 09/21/09
Thanks all! Yes, I instantly fell in love with these. I am so glad that I have come across them, even if I have to lament all those childhood years spent without them!
@wheatfoot: I love the idea of the butterscotch chips with chocolate chips for the topping. Thanks for the tip!
@greenbean and @heartofglass: Oh yeah--you've got to have a big plate of these nearby and take a big bite the next time one of those Special K diet commercials come on!
cakespy at 6:31PM on 09/21/09
Mmmm . . . Midwest comfort food. :) These are a staple at church bake sales (which are packed to the GILLS with delicious, so-bad-for-you, simple foods). May have to make a pan for the roommates . . . Lord knows I don't need to eat more than one (or two)!
SconnieGirl at 2:40AM on 09/22/09
I grew up with a variation on these...peanut butter, powdered sugar and butter, mixed in roughly equal proportions, with Rice Krispies, and rolled into balls and dipped in tempered chocolate. Best from the freezer.
Peanut butter + crunch + chocolate = win!
NotAmerican at 3:15AM on 09/22/09
I rarely saw these growing up in Chicago, but they seem to show up at most family get-to-gethers that I have attended in Minnesota. They are very tasty, but very addictive. We have since moved to Hawaii, and most people had never seen anything liked them, but loved them nonetheless.
freakyhair at 8:48PM on 09/22/09
Our school cafeteria -- the venerable ladies of our Louisiana country community made it the best place to eat imaginable -- served these made with peanut butter, corn syrup, butter and Corn Flakes. I grew up eating them and, yes, they rank among the ultimate comfort foods.
The chocolate topping is a new one on me -- one I can't wait to try! Think I'll go make a pan for my kids (wink, wink)...
Editmom at 4:40PM on 09/23/09
At my house, we used chocolate and butterscotch in the topping, with peanut butter in the bar, but Rice Krispies rather than Special K. This was mine and my siblings' favorite dessert when we were kids!
maribel105 at 5:12PM on 09/23/09
Yup, these are pretty much amazing, although I too make them with Rice Krispies and also with a chocolate/butterscotch topping. I've also seen them made with Honey Nut Cheerios, which I think would be interesting. The one problem I sometimes have with them is that the cereal layer can get too dense and hard, but I solved this last time by adding half a bag of marshmallows. I know it upped the calorie & sugar count even more, but it's not like they're diet food to begin with...
kimberlymac at 5:18PM on 09/23/09
Cereal bars are an excellent solution for using up cereal you don't like... My 2 roommates and I had a never-ending bag of Puffed Wheat *gag* and I made them into bars using peanut butter, corn syrup & chocolate chips. Didn't take long for us to devour those!
Sugar at 1:06AM on 09/24/09
If you don't want the corn syrup, Lyle's golden syrup makes a good substitute. It is cane sugar syrup.
figeemom at 11:23AM on 09/24/09
We make these the same as maribel105 described - maybe slightly lighter tasting with the Rice Krispies than the Special K? They are either Scotchy Bars or Scotcharoos, depending on which side of the family you ask! Completely addictive, I have been known to share an entire pan with my sister (took us 2 days, but still...)!
flamingo at 4:02PM on 09/24/09
@figeemom - just so you know, the corn syrup we buy and use isn't high-fructose corn syrup. It's nearly 100% glucose. In High-F corn syrup some of the glucose has been converted to fructose, making High-F corn syrup about 50-50 frustose and glucose, which is what sucrose is. So my guess is that Lyle's is actually closer to HF corn syrup than regular corn syrup.
lemonfair at 7:29AM on 09/26/09
Wow, as a lifelong Wisconsinite, I had no idea there were people out there who have never had a Special K bar (or Scotcheroo)! We also used Butterscotch chips with the chocolate in the topping and peanut butter in the bars. But in our family, the texture of Special K is preferred to Rice Krispies or other cereals. These are always snatched up quickly after ballgames and at parties. My husband's Aunt and Uncle are beekeepers and she has a similar recipe that uses honey and is softer and even more addictive than just the regular bars.
howlate at 11:36PM on 09/28/09
OMG. I am a few days late on this, but have to say- I got this recipe from a friend here in Montana a few years back....and since I have been known to make a pan, and eat nearly 1/2 of it the same day (by myself). When I was recuperating from a hospital stay earlier this year, had no appetit, and lost maybe 12 pounds- the ONLY thing I wanted to eat was these bars- all day long. They are sooo easy it is crazy. BTW, I gained back the 12 pounds.....
Greatfallsdeb at 10:54PM on 10/05/09