No Bake Dessert Bars

When it's hot outside, I hate turning on the oven.  Thankfully, in the summer, I can get my homemade chocolate fix with these easy bars.  The recipe is one that my mother has made for years.  In fact, I remember the day she got the recipe.  It was 1967 and we were on our way home from Montreal, where we had been to the world's fair.

We were camping in Lake Placid, NY and my mother came into the trailer all excited about this recipe the lady next door had given her.  That was the beginning of scotcheroos for our family.  Since then, my mother has brought them to every family reunion.  I, in turn, introduced them to my husband's family, and  now I have the burden of bringing them to every family gathering.  My nephew, Joe, even made them for a class in high school where he needed to do a demonstration.  He calls them "Aunt Mindy's Scotcheroos".  They are so easy and so good.  Enjoy!

Scotcheroos

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups rice cereal
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Measure cereal into a large mixing bowl.  Bring corn syrup and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Remove from heat.  Stir in peanut butter.  Pour over cereal and mix.  Press into a greased 9x13-inch pan.

Melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a double boiler over hot water, stirring to blend well.  Spread over the peanut butter mixture.  Cut into bars.  Let stand until firm.

A few notes from my past mistakes:
Do not use natural peanut butter.  It will not blend well.  I made this mistake and put it back on the stove to try and get the peanut butter to blend.  The scotcheroos came out so chewy, they could have been used to remove loose teeth.
That brings me to the next point.  Once the sugar and corn syrup comes to a boil, remove it from the heat right away.  Again, if it is left to boil too long, they will be hard to chew.  
Last point, cut them into bars right away while they are still warm.  If you let them cool first, it's more difficult.  And if you've ignored the other two points, you will need a crow bar.