Butterscotch Cookies

The softest and chewiest Butterscotch Cookies with a deep, rich caramel-toffee flavor. These cookies are loaded with butterscotch baking chips to further intensify their sweetness and flavor.

What exactly is the flavor of butterscotch?

Butterscotch flavor comes from brown sugar and butter. It’s not like caramel, which is just sugar without butter or molasses. To make butterscotch sauce, you mix brown sugar, butter, cream, and a bit of salt.

The easiest way to make butterscotch cookies is by using butterscotch chips. But I wanted a rich butterscotch taste. This required lots of testing, and the result is the best Butterscotch Cookies I’ve ever had! I started by adding the key ingredients of butterscotch – butter, dark brown sugar, and molasses – to the cookies. Then, I also added butterscotch chips to make the flavor even stronger.

What to expect from these Butterscotch Cookies

These cookies taste like molasses and sweet caramel-toffee. They are very soft and chewy, with edges that are just a bit crispy. They have lots of butterscotch chips in them, which makes the butterscotch flavor stronger and adds sweetness and a nice texture.

Let’s talk molasses

The molasses gives a soft caramel or toffee taste. It also helps make the cookies soft and chewy. Plus, molasses adds a little sweetness to the Butterscotch Cookies.

At the store, you’ll find many types of molasses, from light to very dark (blackstrap). Blackstrap molasses is strong and a bit bitter, not very sweet, and usually doesn’t taste good in baked stuff. Instead, use dark molasses, also called “robust” or “full-flavored.” It has a rich, sweet taste.

I have tested these cookies with Brer Rabbit® and Grandma’s® and would recommend both.

Dark Brown and Light Brown Sugar in these Butterscotch Cookies

Beyond the actual molasses in these cookies, we’ve also got dark and light brown sugar–and they also contain molasses. Dark brown sugar has more molasses, and because of the increased amount of molasses, it has a darker and deeper color with a stronger flavor.

I like using a combo of both in these Butterscotch Cookies, to ensure a well-balanced flavor as well as for texture reasons. (There is less overall moisture in light brown sugar.)

If you’d rather use just one type of sugar, you can use all light brown sugar.

Dark brown sugar is sold with the other sugars in the grocery store baking aisle. The two look similar, yet dark brown sugar is darker overall in color.

Butterscotch Cookie Tips

• Don’t use hot butter. Hot butter will melt the sugars and cause oily cookies. It’s melted for texture reasons but needs to slightly cool down before continuing with the cookie making.
• Measure the molasses carefully. If the measuring spoons are over-filled with molasses, the flavor can be overwhelming and cookie dough could end up too wet. Measure just to the top of the measuring spoon.
• Thoroughly mix the melted butter and brown sugar. While stirring, it may seem like the sugars and butter won’t ever incorporate, but keep mixing until they do. Take the time to do this; otherwise, the cookies will end up greasy. If butter and sugars are separating, the mixture hasn’t been stirred thoroughly enough.

More Cookie Recipes

• Funfetti Cookies soft sugar cookies with sprinkles
• Maple Cookies with a maple glaze
• Cookies and Cream Muddy Buddies with Oreo cookies
• Salted Caramel Cookies with cream cheese frosting and a caramel drizzle
• Magic Cookie Bars with a graham cracker crust

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5 from 12 votes

Butterscotch Cookies

By Chelsea Lords

These Butterscotch Cookies are irresistibly soft and chewy, featuring a deep, rich caramel-toffee flavor.

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 14 minutes minutes

Chilling Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 54 minutes minutes

Servings: 20 cookies

Equipment

• Large bowl microwave-safe
• Sheet pan lined

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ 1/2 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
• ▢ 1/4 cup dark brown sugar lightly packed
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 tablespoons molasses see note 1
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1-3/4 cups flour see note 2
• ▢ 3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Instructions 

• Melt the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Let butter stand at room temperature for 5 minutes to cool down. If the butter is hot, it will melt the sugars and cause greasy cookies. Once the butter has cooled, add in the brown sugars. Whisk or stir until butter and sugars are well incorporated, about 1–2 minutes. Take your time and keep whisking until butter and sugar are completely integrated. Add in the egg, vanilla, and molasses. Mix until combined.
• Add in the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine. Add the flour on top. Mix until just combined, taking care not to overmix the dough. Add in the butterscotch chips and mix to incorporate. Cover the dough tightly and chill for 1 hour.
• Divide your dough into 1-1/2 tablespoon balls. Make the balls tall, so the height of each is longer than the width. Cover and refrigerate the balls of dough for 5–10 more minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Place 6 dough balls on the pan, spread far apart, and bake for 9–14 minutes. Watch carefully, so that you don't overbake. I remove cookies after 10 minutes, slightly underbaked Butterscotch Cookies are the best! Let cookies stand on the cookie sheet for 4–5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Be sure to use dark molasses, it can also be called robust or full-flavored. I have tested these cookies with Brer Rabbit® and Grandma's® and would recommend both. 

Note 2: Pressing a measuring cup into a bag of flour can pack in too much, leading to cookies with the wrong texture. Instead, spoon the flour into the cup, then level it off with the back of a knife for accurate measurement.

Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3–4 days. For longer storage, freeze the dough instead of baked cookies: drop cookie dough balls on a sheet pan and freeze until solid, then transfer to an airtight container or bag for up to 3 months. You can bake them straight from the freezer—just add a few extra minutes to the baking time.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 129kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 167mg | Potassium: 42mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 169IU | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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