These Butterscotch Bars are thick and chewy with an irresistibly rich, sweet, salty, and buttery flavor. They’re the 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.
Email This Recipe
Get a link to this recipe emailed so you can save it for later + get all the latest Carefree Kitchen recipes!
By submitting this form you consent to receive emails from The Carefree Kitchen
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.
- 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, salt, 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
These butterscotch bars are easy to customize. Here are a few favorite ways to switch them up:
- Butterscotch chocolate chip. Use 1 cup of butterscotch chips and 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Salted butterscotch. Sprinkle the top with flaky sea salt right before baking.
- Caramel swirl. Drop spoonfuls of caramel sauce over the batter with the butterscotch chips, and swirl together.
- Peanut butter. Drop 6 small spoonfuls of creamy peanut butter on top with the chips and swirl them in, then sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Love that combo? Try my Scotcharoos.
- Coconut. Stir 1 cup of toasted shredded coconut into the batter.
- S’mores. Top with 1 cup of mini marshmallows and ½ cup of crushed graham crackers for the last 5 minutes of baking.
- Pecan butterscotch. Stir 1 cup of chopped toasted pecans into the batter.
- Oatmeal. Replace ½ cup of the flour with 1 cup of old-fashioned oats for a chewier bar. Love oatmeal and butterscotch? Try my Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookies.
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.
They’re very close! Blondies are a brown sugar bar cookie, and butterscotch bars are blondies loaded with butterscotch chips for extra caramel-like flavor.
Baking the bars for 5 minutes melts the chips just enough to swirl them through the batter, so you get ribbons of butterscotch in every bite instead of just chips on top.
The edges should be lightly golden and the center should look set but still soft. A toothpick in the center should come out with a few moist crumbs. They’ll keep firming up as they cool.
Let the bars cool completely before cutting. For extra-neat squares, chill the pan for 30 minutes and cut with a sharp knife, wiping it clean between cuts. Lining the pan with parchment makes it easy to lift the whole slab out first.
Yes, but cut the recipe in half, or the bars will be very thick and need much longer to bake. A half batch in a 9×9 pan bakes in about the same time.
Yes! Cut them into squares, layer them between sheets of parchment in an airtight container, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
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.
Chewy Butterscotch Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 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, salt, 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
Did you make this?
Don’t forget to leave a rating below and make sure to follow on Pinterest, Instagram and Tiktok for more!
More Easy Cookie Bar Recipes
- Scotcharoos
- Lemon Bars
- Chewy Fudge Brownies
- Blackberry Crumble Bars
- Pumpkin Crunch Bars
- S’Mores Cookie Bars
- Coconut Caramel Magic Bars
- Chocolate Swirl Cookie Bars
- More Cookie Recipes
- More Bar Cookie Recipes
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.
