Chewy Special K Bars (2024)

These Chewy Special K Bars are tasty, peanut butter goodness. This is a simple no-bake recipe that makes delicious bars with crunchy cereal, chocolate, and butterscotch chips.

You have to try our no-bake chocolate caramel pretzel bars, and if you love peanut butter, try these peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (video).

No-bake Special K Bars

These no-bake Special K bars are chewy and delicious. They’re packed with salty-sweet flavor, from the chocolate to the butterscotch, and especially the peanut butter. And you will love the texture that comes from the Special K cereal used in this recipe. These easy dessert bars require no cooking and are a breeze to make. They’re perfect for a sweet snack or laid out on a dessert table. And you can even cut them out into festive shapes for the holidays!

What you’ll need

• Sweeteners- Light corn syrup and Granulated sugar
• For a little crunch- Special K cereal
• Unsalted butter- For greasing the pan
• Extra flavor- Creamy peanut butter, Semisweet chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips
• Coarse sea salt- For topping (optional)

How to make Chewy Special K Bars

• Boil the sweeteners. Place the granulated sugar and the light corn syrup into a saucepan over medium-high heat and stir. Let it come to a boil and then remove it from the heat
• Add the peanut butter. Stir in the room temperature peanut butter.

• Combine with the Special K cereal. Now pour the cereal into a large bowl and then add the peanut butter mixture to it. Stir everything with a large spoon, working fast before the cooling sugars firm up.
• Press the cereal mixture into the pan. Once everything is combined, press the cereal mixture into a buttered 9×13-inch deep baking dish.

• Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate chips and the butterscotch chips. Do not rush this process or the chocolate might burn or seize up.
• Top the cereal mixture with it. Once the chocolate has melted, pour it over the baking dish and smooth it out. Top it with some coarse sea salt, if you like. Let it set for about 2 hours before cutting and serving.

Tips for the best Special K Bars

Here are a few ways to make sure your chewy Special K bars turn out just perfect:

• Use room temperature peanut butter– The peanut butter should be room temperature so it can better mix with the sugars and not clump or cool the liquified sugars when mixing with them.
• Choose creamy emulsified peanut butter- While natural peanut butter (the kind that needs stirring before use) is good, for this recipe, an emulsified brand will mix more easily into the sugars. Also, creamy mixes more smoothly.
• Work fast once the peanut butter mixture is added to the cereal- Since the sugars are beginning to cool down, you will need to mix everything together quickly and press it into the baking dish before it firms up too much.
• Don’t rush melting the chocolate- Melting the chocolate and butterscotch over low heat is important to avoid it either burning or seizing up. Try to be patient and you’ll be rewarded!

Add-ins and Substitutions to try

Try this recipe with a few variations to tweak it to your tastes. Besides Special K cereal, you could also make these bars with another cereal, like Rice Krispies or even Cocoa Pebbles. Corn Flakes or a puffed rice cereal can be used to create a gluten-free recipe. If you want Special K bars that are dairy-free, you can substitute oil for butter on the baking dish and use dairy-free chocolate and butterscotch chips. Speaking of chocolate chips, you could also sub different varieties, such as dark chocolate or white chocolate.

How to Store them

Store these chewy Special K bars at room temperature in an airtight container. They will last for about 4 days.

Can these bars be frozen?

Yes, these Special K bars freeze really well. Just wait for them to cool completely before cutting and then lay them in an airtight container or ziplock bag. Place wax or parchment paper in between if you need to make another layer. These will last in the freezer for 3-4 months.

More tasty no-bake desserts!

• No Bake Mini Cheesecakes (VIDEO)
• Chocolate Caramel Pretzels Bars
• The Best No-bake Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
• The Best Chocolate Salami

Full Recipe Instructions