The original scotcheroo runs on corn syrup and white sugar. This version swaps both out for honey and coconut sugar, uses brown rice cereal instead of the usual puffed rice, and comes out tasting close enough that nobody at the table asks questions.

Thirty minutes, most of it sitting in the fridge. No oven.

Melt on low and stop before it boils

Coconut sugar, honey, peanut butter and vanilla into a pot over medium-low, stirred until smooth.

Medium-low is the instruction to follow carefully. Honey and sugar heated hard begin moving toward caramel, and caramel sets hard. What you want is everything melted together into a loose smooth mixture and nothing more. Take it off as soon as it is combined.

Overheat it and the finished bars are tooth-breaking instead of chewy. There is no fixing it once it happens.

Coconut sugar behaves differently to white sugar

It has more moisture and a lower melting point, and it carries a caramel note of its own that white sugar does not. That flavour works in favour of the recipe here.

It also means the mixture stays a little softer than a traditional scotcheroo. These are chewier rather than snappy, which most people prefer anyway.

Line the pan with an overhang

Spray an eight by eight pan, then line it with parchment paper cut long enough to hang over two opposite sides.

Those overhanging edges are handles. Once the bars are set you lift the whole slab out in one piece and cut it on a board, which is far easier than trying to lever squares out of the pan and much better for clean edges.

Press firmly, but not too firmly

Tip the coated cereal into the pan and press it down into an even layer.

Under-pressed and the bars crumble when you cut them. Over-pressed and you crush the cereal, losing the airiness that makes a scotcheroo pleasant to eat. Firm and even, using the back of a spatula or your hands with a sheet of parchment between.

Melt the topping gently too

Dark chocolate chips and butterscotch chips together in a microwave-safe bowl, thirty second intervals, stirring between each until completely smooth.

Chocolate seizes when overheated and butterscotch chips are more prone to it than chocolate is, because of the milk solids and sugar they carry. Short bursts and patience. It should take under two minutes total.

Pour it over the base and spread it even, then tap the pan against the counter a couple of times. The vibration settles the surface flat and pushes out air pockets, giving you a glossy top instead of a streaky one.

Butterscotch or all chocolate

The classic topping is half chocolate and half butterscotch chips melted together, and butterscotch is what gives a scotcheroo its name and its particular flavour.

Butterscotch chips contain dairy, so swapping them for more dark chocolate is the move if you need the bars dairy free. You lose the caramel note and gain a cleaner, darker topping that works perfectly well on its own terms.

Salt at the end

Flaky sea salt sprinkled over just before serving, and it is marked optional but it is the thing I would fight for.

These are sweet, and honey and coconut sugar are both assertive. Salt on top gives every bite somewhere to land and stops it going cloying halfway through a square.

Setting and cutting

Thirty to sixty minutes in the fridge, until the chocolate has firmed up completely.

Lift out using the parchment handles and cut into sixteen bars with a sharp knife. Wiping the blade between cuts keeps the chocolate layer from dragging.

Peanut butter choice

Natural creamy peanut butter made from just peanuts and salt is what the recipe calls for, and it keeps the bars from tasting overly sweet. Regular peanut butter also works and gives a slightly sweeter and more stable result.

Cereal options

Crispy brown rice cereal is the recommendation and certified gluten free versions are widely available. If you cannot find it, plain rice squares cereal works as a substitute, though it is not gluten free unless labelled so.