The mast and peanut-beury bar that governs the Midwest potlucks

In the Midwest, we blunned our heavy strikers with cute dimintes. The same goes for the Scotcheroo: an unusually soft cousin in the treat of the Krispies Rice, linked with salted peanut butter and wearing a rich layer of melted chocolate and Scottish caramel.

If you visit a coffee or a service station in the region, you are likely to see individual scotcheroos wrapped in plastic by the cash register. (In the pockets of the Upper Midwest, you will find a variant called The Special K Bar, with an exchange of ingredients that I don’t need to explain.) But Scotcheroos is really more a community dish than a commercial dish. I grew up eating them in potlucks and concession stands – the place where you might need to satisfy a crowd with some cheap ingredients.

The Scotcheroos are simple, but they can be surprisingly capricious. Most recipes start with a cooked sugar syrup which is a 50/50 right division of corn syrup and granulated sugar. The problem? If you boil the syrup just too long – or tap the bars in place with just a little too much punch – your tapes will harden in candies.

Understanding just a little science behind this sugar can help you build a more resilient roo. The advice below contribute to the infallible formula, preserving the classic peanut flavor profile of the Scotchero, chocolate and caramel flavor profile without tastes, awkwardly.

The 3 rules for infallible roos

1. hang on to the corn (syrup). There is no way to get around this: corn syrup is the simplest way to a very exhilarating scotcherororo. At the start of the tests, I tried to replace corn syrup with other liquid sweeteners with universal disappointment. Maple syrup has led to fried bars with little cohesion; Honey diverted the classic flavor profile and made the bars too sweet. Liquid release sweeteners made the Scotcheroos Rock completely.

There is a reason why confectioners have used corn syrup for decades. Corn syrup, unlike other sweeteners, has extra-long glucose chains that prevent crystallization and lend the body and mast of candies.

There is also a reason why most Scotchero recipes cut the corn syrup with granulated sugar. Too much corn syrup gives bars that are both too soft and also – well, well, worn out, in the commercialized industrial sense. I played with different reports, but a 60/40 distribution of the sugar corn syrup gave a more soft and more flexible bar without alteration of notable flavor.

2. Replace the white sugar with brown sugar. While most of Scotchero recipes call for granulated sugar, brown sugar has advantages of both texture and flavor here. The brown sugar molasses stimulates the caramel notes of the bars, giving a roo that has more taste. This also adds to the humidity content of sugar, offering additional insurance against an overly crunchy bar.

3. Combine your Scottish caramel with a bit of bitter chocolate. If you are only ready to make one adjustment to the box recipe in the background, it should be this: Chop your chocolate. Chocolate with chopped bar melts much more uniformly than chocolate chips. It is the secret of a versable garnish that looks shiny and smooth. I also recommend using soft -amer chocolate to help temper the disgusting sweetness of butter – look at a 60% cocoa bar.

The only remaining tip is an optional pinch of laminated sea salt, like Maldon, on the garnish before its whole. Of course, it is a slightly difficult touch for the humble Scotchero. But there is another Midwest lesson here: it is not because it is simple that it must be clear.

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