I made the perfect Butterscotch Chip Cookies, and today, I'm sharing the recipe for this pleasant gift. Baking these cookies will make your house smell heavenly. They are crispy at the edges and chewy in the center, loaded with flavor from the browned butter and butterscotch chips.
With just a few simple ingredients and not much mixing, these cookies will be ready in no time. Well, the only time you have to wait for is the chilling time. Besides that, even a kid can make them (with supervision, of course)!
These butterscotch cookies are my all-time favorite, and they make a great gift. Whenever my friends open the box and experience these cookies' awesome aroma, they give me a big smile.
I have made many amazing cookies before, like Chocolate crinkles, Chocolate chip cookies, and Snickerdoodles Cookies; still, I always return to these when I want to treat my family or guests.
❤️ WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
Simple and affordable ingredients - No special ingredients here. Everything you need is probably in your kitchen unless you don't have butterscotch chips.
Easy to prepare - No hand or stand mixer is needed. Even the mixing process takes a short time.
The smell is out of this world - All the ingredients come together and produce a great smell of caramel mixed with browned butter and vanilla.
It tastes great - I don't know a kid or an adult who can resist these cookies. The flavors come together very beautifully. One cookie can never be enough.
The dough freezes well - If you don't want to bake all the dough at once, you can freeze some to bake later. In this post and under Storing, I will teach you how to freeze the dough properly.
🍪 INGREDIENTS
All-purpose flour: You don't need cake flour to have chewy cookies; all-purpose is the best option here.
White and Brown sugar: I have used both because I didn't want the cookies to turn out cakey or too chewy, almost raw tasting.
Browned unsalted butter: Browning the butter brings out a nutty flavor that goes so well with butterscotch.
Butterscotch chips: I have used the chips because the size is perfect for these butterscotch cookies. However, you can go for buttons.
Eggs: One large egg to help bind the dough.
🔪INSTRUCTIONS
More details are in the recipe cards, but here are the main steps.
Step1
Brown the butter by letting it melt in a pan until it reaches a soft simmer and the milk solids sink at the bottom.
Step 2
In a bowl, add all the dry ingredients and whisk well.
Step 3
Add the wet ingredients and mix to combine, then add the butterscotch chips and mix gently.
Step 4
Cover the dough and chill for 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 5
Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 6
Create a ball from the cookie dough. Tear the dough into two halves with jagged edges. Smush both balls together, one jagged side up.
Step 7
Place the cookies on the parchment paper with the jagged side up. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes.
Step 8
Remove the cookies from the oven; do not move them from the baking sheet until after 5 minutes from taking them out, then place them on a cooling wire.
👩🏽🍳PRO TIPS
Measure the flour properly - Always measure the flour by spooning it in the measuring cup and then leveling it with a knife.
Do not overmix - Avoid overmixing the ingredients, or the cookies will come out tough.
Preheat the oven - Preheating the oven for 30 minutes before using it makes the cookies bake evenly.
Bake in batches - Keep a space between each cookie so it can spread beautifully when baking.
Do not skip chilling - We use melted browned butter; any fat in liquid form makes the cookies oily and crispy. Chilling the dough will prevent that.
Do not flatten the cookies - Flattening the cookies before baking won't let them spread evenly and will take away the chewy texture from the center.
📋VARIATIONS
Add toasted pecans: Toasted and chopped pecans add great flavor to these cookies.
Chocolate chips: You can go for half chocolate and half butterscotch chips.
Make a deep dish cookie: Instead of individual cookies, make one big cookie in an iron skillet and serve it with scoops of ice cream.
🌡️STORING
Storing the raw dough - You can form balls from the dough, place them on a baking sheet, and freeze them. When the balls are hard, place them in a freezer-friendly bag, which will keep for up to two months.
To bake the frozen cookies - Place them on the baking sheet and let them soften a little, then bake them.
Storing the baked cookies - Place them in a freezer-friendly bag or a plastic container and freeze them for up to three months.
Storing baked cookies at room temperature - Place the cooled cookies in an airtight container and keep them on the counter for four days, unless your kitchen is hot, then for two days.
📣MORE COOKIE RECIPES YOU'LL LIKE
⭐PLEASE RATE AND REVIEW
If you have tried this recipe and liked it, please give it a 5-star rating and leave a comment below with your experience!
📖 Recipe
Perfect Butterscotch Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter browned
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Brown the butter by placing it in a small pan. When the butter melts, start stirring. The butter will turn golden brown, and the foam will reduce. The milk solid will sink and will smell nutty. Remove from the heat and pour in a heat-proof bowl to cool.
- In a bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the cool brown butter, the egg, and vanilla. Whisk well. Gently mix the dry ingredients with the wet.
- Add the butterscotch chips and mix gently. Do not overmix.
- The chips may not stick to the dough but that’s fine. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Take ¼ cup from the dough and form a ball. Tear the ball from the middle creating two balls with jagged edges from one side. Gently smush both balls together, jagged side up.
- Repeat the previous step to form more cookies from the dough. Place the cookies on the baking sheet and bake for 10 to 11 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the oven, and keep the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the cookies from the pan and place on a cooling wire.
Notes
- Be careful not to burn the butter while browning it. Keep the heat low, and keep your eyes on it.
- Do not overmix the dough, or the cookies will come out rough.
- Chilling the dough will prevent the cookies from coming out grainy.
- Preheating the oven for 30 minutes before using it will prevent the cookies from spreading too much and becoming crispy.
- Using measuring cups and spoons.
- Spoon the flour in the measuring cup and then level it with a knife.
- How to store the cookie dough, the baked cookies, and more tips in the post.
Keith @ How's it Lookin?
They look great. I never had cookies like this before, thanks a lot
munatycooking
Thank you Keith 🙂
Courtney
Just made these but without the caramel chips and they were TO DIE FORRRR. Going to make them for my boyfriend for valentines day. Thanks! 🙂
munatycooking
Hey Courtney, thank you for sharing this with me, I'm glad you liked it 🙂
Alisa
I've made the batter twice now and both times it's turned out very sandy. The dough is so brittle that I cannot form round balls to place on the baking sheet without them falling apart. What am I doing wrong? ☹️How can I save this second batch of dough? Should I add more butter?
munatycooking
Hi Alisa, I'm sorry this is not working for you, but I can't see why the dough is falling apart! I make these cookies often and never had this situation. I can think of few possibilities, you are not using all-purpose flour, maybe you are using whole wheat flour for this, or you are using a small or medium size egg, or the butterscotch chips are large. Make sure that you are using measuring cups and spoons for this or any baking recipe. Hope this helped.
Jamie
I’m getting stuck on the last two steps. It reads like only two big balls of dough are being baked. Please clarify. Thanks kindly!
munatycooking
Hi Jamie, I've re-written the last two steps to avoid confusion 🙂