Chocolate Scarecrow Bars are a crunchy treat loaded with the combined flavors of chocolate and peanut butter. These are definitely part of the “just treats, no tricks” category. In my adapted recipe, this original Halloween dessert gets the most delectable makeover I could think of- a chocolate one.
So I saw several recipes for Scarecrow Bars a year or two ago and set my heart on making them and sharing, if appropriate. By the way, “sharing, if appropriate,” is when My Cowboy and I both agree that a recipe is worth sending out on the worldwide web, because we each found it delicious! As I reread this recipe, I realized two things.
- Scarecrow Bars begin with a yellow cake mix. (And I immediately thought, “Isn’t there a way we can improve that?”)
- Scarecrow Bars crunchy rice crispy topping includes a decent amount of peanut butter, which I naturally translated to a more generous amount of peanut butter. (My mind raced to thoughts of my favorite flavor combination. “If there’s peanut butter, why not let there be chocolate too?!”)
Chocolate Scarecrow Bars were then born. These were a relatively easy treat that totally satisfied My Cowboy and I’s Halloween sugar fix this past weekend. Chocolate, peanut butter, and Halloween. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Happy Halloween! Enjoy!
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- 1 box devil's food cake mix
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla, divided
- 3 cups mini marshmallows
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup peanut butter
- 2 cups rice crispy cereal
- 1 cup almonds OR peanuts (I used slivered almonds)
- 1 cup candy corn
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Combine cake mix, melted butter, egg, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Mix well. Press into a greased 9x13 pan and bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove pan from the oven and sprinkle marshmallows over top of the cake/brownie layer. Move the oven rack closer to the top of the oven and bake bars an additional 1-2 minutes, until the marshmallows begin to puff up.
- As soon as you pull the bars out of the oven, begin working on the top layer. Do not let the marshmallows cool, or the topping will not attach to the bars and when cut, the top layer will come apart from the bottom. Combine corn syrup, brown sugar, sugar, and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stirring frequently, bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then remove from heat. Add peanut butter and mix until fully incorporated. Add rice crispy cereal, nuts, and candy corn. Mix well. Place mixture over top of the marshmallow layer. I found it easiest to drop it on top in tablespoon size heaps and then pressed the mixture together. Cool completely before serving. Enjoy!
