These Butterscotch Bars are thick and chewy with an irresistibly rich, sweet, salty, and buttery flavor. It’s a perfect make-ahead dessert for any time of the year.
And if you’re looking for more easy cookie bar recipes, be sure to try our Root Beer Blondies, Lemon Strawberry Blondies, Grasshopper Brownies and, of course, our Lemon Blondie Bars
Butterscotch Bars
It’s hard to resist these super soft and chewy butterscotch cookie bars. Made with butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butterscotch chips, these dessert bars are packed with rich butterscotch flavor.
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Sometimes known as butterscotch blondies, these cookie bars are incredibly easy to throw together no matter how busy you are. Plus, since they are so full of butter and sugars, they can be made in advance without fear of drying out. In order to avoid the tragedy of overbaking an entire batch, just be sure to pull them as soon as the edges begin to turn golden.
Serve with a scoop of ice cream for dessert, bring to your next holiday party, or even pack into lunches.
Key Ingredients
- Butter – you can use salted or unsalted butter, depending on your preference. Just make sure it is room temperature, either by pulling it out ahead of time or warming gently in the microwave. In fact, melted butter would even work in this recipe.
- Sugars – you will need both granulated sugar and light brown sugar for this recipe. If you want an even deeper molasses flavor you can use dark brown sugar.
- Eggs – any kind of large eggs work great to help hold the batter together and give it a nice chewy texture.
- Baking Soda – this helps the batter to stay nice and soft.
- Butterscotch Chips – you can use either mini or regular sized butterscotch chips. Or, you could use half butterscotch and half white chocolate chips.
How to Make Butterscotch Bars
- Mix the batter. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar using an electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat until light and fluffy, or about 2 minutes. Slowly add the eggs and vanilla, mixing on low to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking soda and flour, and add into the butter mixture, mixing on low just until combined.
- Transfer to a baking pan. Lightly spray a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, or line with parchment and spray. Spread the batter into your prepared baking pan, then sprinkle the butterscotch chips evenly over the top.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated oven for about 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and use an offset spatula or butter knife to swirl the butterscotch in a circular pattern through the batter. Return the cookie bars to the oven and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are just slightly golden brown.
- Cool and cut. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before cutting into bars . Enjoy!
Recipe Variations
Here are a few simple recipe variations to help you experiment with different flavors and textures.
- Sprinkle a pinch of flaky sea salt on top before baking.
- Swirl caramel sauce into the batter before baking, then drizzle additional caramel on top after baking.
- Mix in a generous amount of chocolate chips into your butterscotch bar batter.
- Swirl or layer peanut butter on top of the batter before baking. You can also toss in some chopped peanuts for a little added crunch.
- Stir toasted shredded coconut into the batter to add a delightful texture and tropical flavor.
- Top with mini marshmallows and crushed graham crackers before baking to make s’mores butterscotch bars.
Frequently Asked Questions
Butterscotch refers to the flavor made by combining a variation of brown sugar and butter. It’s most often seen in desserts as butterscotch chips, blondies, cookies, dessert bars, and pudding. It can also refer to a hard candy with the same flavor profile.
These Butterscotch cookie bars can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days as long as they are in an airtight container. It’s a good practice to store with a layer of parchment paper between them so that they don’t stick to each other. If you have a lot left over, you can also freeze them for up to 2 months.
The trick to soft and chewy Butterscotch Bars is making sure not to over bake. You want to bake just until they are set in the center and slightly golden around the edges. If you bake them for too long, they’ll be firmer and lose that super soft texture.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
- Room Temperature: store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: cut bars, then store in an airtight container separated by layers of parchment paper. Store frozen for up to 2 months.
Butterscotch Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lightly spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the room temperature butter, sugar, and brown sugar using an electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat until light and fluffy, or about 2 minutes. Slowly add the eggs and vanilla, mixing on low to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking soda and flour, and add into the butter mixture, mixing on low just until combined.
- Spread batter into your prepared baking pan, then sprinkle the butterscotch chips evenly over the top.
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and use an offset spatula or butter knife to swirl the butterscotch in a circular pattern through the batter.
- Return the cookie bars to the oven and bake an additional 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are just slightly golden.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely before cutting into bars . Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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This recipe for Butterscotch Bars is an easy dessert that can be made for any occasion. They’re soft, chewy, buttery, and packed full of sweet and salty butterscotch flavor.
