Double Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

What is butterscotch?

In my culinary education, I learned that butterscotch is what you get when you heat brown sugar until it melts and caramelizes. Just like caramel, which is made with white sugar, you can heat brown sugar to make a butterscotch sauce like the caramel in my caramel-topped brownies or cook it to a higher temperature for chewy or hard candies.

Of course, it seems like this distinction between using white and brown sugar isn’t that clear. Some say that butterscotch is what you get when you add cream and butter to any caramelized sugar. Do with this info what you will.

Ingredients

These chocolate chip butterscotch cookies are an adaptation of my favorite brown butter chocolate chip cookies just like these S’Mores Bars and Nutella blondies. Like my double peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, I’ve called these cookies “double butterscotch” because of the brown sugar butterscotch cookie base and butterscotch chips.

In recipe testing, I used both artificially-flavored Toll House butterscotch chips and the more expensive Guittard butterscotch baking chips. None of my recipe tasters could taste any difference in the cookies or tell which chip was which.

Variations and substitutions

• Omit the chocolate chips and use all butterscotch chips or chopped nuts.
• Sub bittersweet chocolate chips. Milk chocolate may make these butterscotch cookies a bit much as all the butterscotch chips I tested were quite sweet.
• Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for an extra few minutes for a flatter, crispier cookie.

Recipe tips and tricks

My first butterscotch chocolate chip cookie recipe tests started with a homemade butterscotch sauce. But the butterscotch sauce cookies never had enough flavor compared to this brown butter cookie.

To make brown butter, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Continue to cook, stirring or swirling the pan until the butter turns a golden brown color, it develops a nutty aroma, and it stops making a popping sound. Be careful not to burn the butter.

Pour the butter into a glass measuring cup to stop it from cooking. Let it cool slightly so the butter doesn’t cook the eggs when you mix!

While the butter is cooling, line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

Once the butter has cooled to touch, beat the browned butter with the brown sugar. Browning the butter makes making these butterscotch chocolate chip cookies easy to make whether you do it by hand, hand mixer, or stand mixer.

Add the eggs, one at a time, to the butter and sugar mixture, mixing well after each addition.

Stir the butterscotch chips and chocolate chips into your butterscotch cookie batter by hand.

At this point, the butterscotch cookie dough needs to be chilled to prevent excessive spreading. You can either chill the whole mixing bowl in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes, or scoop your cookies onto a prepared cookie sheet and freeze the sheet for 15 to 30 minutes.

Use a #40 cookie scoop or two spoons to scoop cookie balls that are about one and a half tablespoons. Place your butterscotch and chocolate chip cookies on the prepared baking sheets at least two inches apart, leaving space between each cookie for spreading. If you are planning to freeze the unbaked butterscotch cookie dough, you can place them right next to each other.

Bake for 11 to 14 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the centers are just set. The cookies may appear under-baked, but they will continue to firm up as they cool. Leave your butterscotch chocolate chip cookies on the baking sheets for five minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Recipe FAQs

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