Old Fashioned Butterscotch Cookies
These butterscotch cookies start with my favorite drop cookie-based recipe (with the PERFECT blend of white and brown sugar). No chilling is required, and the dough is easy to work with.
It’s one of the best cookie recipes to make when you want something besides chocolate chip.
Old Fashioned Soft Butterscotch Cookies
Equipment
- Parchment paper or cooking spray (for lining the cookie sheets)
- Cookie Sheets
- Electric Mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer)
- Mixing Bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Spatula (for folding in the butterscotch chips)
- Wire racks (for cooling the cookies)
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter (1 stick, softened to room temperature)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large eggs
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 ounce package of butterscotch chips
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F and position the oven rack in the center. Then, line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or lightly coat them with cooking spray.
- Cream the butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together using an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. This should take about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the wet ingredients. Add the egg and vanilla extract to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Mix until fully combined, scraping down the bowl's sides as needed to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Then, slowly add the dry and wet ingredients, mixing at a low speed. Next, mix it in batches until it's combined after each addition. Be careful not to overmix.
- Fold in the butterscotch chips. Once the dough is well mixed, use a spatula to fold in the butterscotch chips, making sure they are evenly distributed.
- Scoop the dough. Scoop approximately 1 tablespoon of cookie dough for each cookie and place the scoops onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Each sheet should fit around 15 cookies.
- Bake. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. The centers should still be soft. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
This is the base cookies
I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.
Key Ingredients and Tools
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Butterscotch chips: Look for these in the baking section where you find chocolate chips. If you want, you can replace half of them with chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or even a combination of both to mix things up.
Parchment paper: Use it to line your baking trays to prevent sticking and make cleaning up easier. If you don’t have any, a quick cooking oil spray on the trays will also do the trick.
Salted butter: It brings the perfect mix of sweet and salty to your cookies. If all you have is unsalted butter, add a 1/4 teaspoon more salt to your dough.
Brown sugar: Its molasses content keeps your cookies moist and chewy. You can change out brown sugar with coconut sugar for a bit of a caramel taste or use white sugar if that’s what you have; but know your cookies might not be as chewy.
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All-purpose flour: This is just fine for these cookies.
Cookie scoop. This tool helps make all your cookies the same size for even baking. A tablespoon can work if you don’t have one, but a scoop is easier to use.
Troubleshooting and Help
Yes, softened butter mixes more evenly with the sugars and helps create that soft, chewy texture. If your butter is too cold, the cookies might not spread well and become dense.
Probably baked too long. Take them out when the edges are golden, but the centers are still soft.
If the dough feels too sticky to handle, it might need a quick chill in the fridge. But this should only happen if your kitchen is very warm.
Nope, they’ll naturally spread as they bake.
Chopped walnuts or pecans would be a great addition. Just fold them in with the butterscotch chips—about ½ cup should do the trick. If you want to add more texture, try my Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies for a heartier twist with chewy oats and the same great butterscotch flavor.
For smaller cookies, start checking them around 8-9 minutes. Larger cookies might take 12-14 minutes, but keep an eye on them to avoid overbaking.
Yes! You can make the dough two days before and store it in the fridge. Just cover it tightly with plastic wrap. When you’re ready to bake, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes if it’s too hard to scoop.
I hope you like making and eating these. They are soft and chewy and just the right amount of sweetness and butterscotch flavor. This one has earned its place in my recipe box, and I hope it finds a home in yours too.
By Katie Shaw
Katie lives in Virginia with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens. She loves creating simple tutorials for sourdough, bread, and soap. Her recipes, articles, and YouTube videos reach millions of people per year.