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Stack of butterscotch cookies with the top cookie broken in half.
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5 from 3 votes

Butterscotch Cookies

These butterscotch cookies are soft and chewy with a delicious brown sugar flavor and tons of butterscotch chips. An easy cookie recipe that's a perfect twist on classic chocolate chip.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time9 minutes
Chilling2 hours
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Butterscotch Cookies
Servings: 28 cookies
Author: Fiona Dowling

Equipment

  • Cookie Sheets

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened but not melted
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
  • 1/2 cup white sugar*
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk discard the egg white
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt* to taste
  • 1 1/4 cups butterscotch chips divided
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • In a large bowl beat together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until fluffy.
  • Add in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract.
  • Turn the mixer down to low speed and mix in the flour, baking soda and salt.
  • Turn off the mixer and stir in 1 cup butterscotch chips. You'll use the remaining 1/4 cup later. **Don't mix all the butterscotch chips into the dough - otherwise the cookies can spread too thin.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cookies for 2 hours or overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  • Form the dough into balls with about 1-1.5 tablespoons of dough each. They'll be about the size of a golf ball or a little smaller. I like to use a cookie scoop for this. Place the balls 2 inches apart on the lined cookie sheets.
  • Bake 1 sheet at a time on the middle rack of the oven for 9-11 minutes, or until the tops look just set. Remove from the oven and place a few extra butterscotch chips on the top of each cookie (from the reserved 1/4 cup).
  • Cool cookies on the cookie sheet for at least 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Notes

  1. These cookies are quite sweet, if you prefer your cookies not quite as sweet, only use 1/4 cup white sugar in addition to the 3/4 cup brown sugar for 1 cup of sugar in total.
  2. Because these cookies are quite sweet, I like to use 1/2 teaspoon salt in this recipe. Feel free to use only 1/4 teaspoon salt if you prefer. 
  3. To freeze the cookie dough, follow the recipe up until the stage of forming the dough into balls. Place the dough balls in a freezer bag and remove any excess air. Freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Bake the cookies as directed from frozen. They'll need a few extra minutes to bake - about 10-12 minutes total.
  4. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Don't stack the cookies until they're fully cooled. Cooled cookies can be frozen for up to 2 months. Freeze cookies in a freezer container in single layers with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper in between each layer to avoid sticking together.
  5. Nutrition information is an estimate only and based on 1 cookie, assuming the recipe yields 28 equal-sized cookies. 

Nutrition

Calories: 147kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 127mg | Potassium: 21mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 178IU | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg