These thick, chewy, gooey butterscotch bars taste as if they came straight from a bakery! With a sweet & salty, rich buttery flavor they are the perfect, easy treat when you want to impress!
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Why I'm Obsessed With These Butterscotch Bars
- Buttery, Sweet & Salty Flavor: With the melted butter base & butterscotch chips mixed in, this dough is perfectly sweet, salty, and buttery (they taste like the have brown butter...without the work!). Serve with ice cream or a glass of milk for the perfect dessert.
- Chewy & Thick: We doubled the base dough from my sweet & salty butterscotch cookie cake so that you get a thick, bakery-style butterscotch bar when baked in a 9x13 pan. Gooey butterscotch bars are SO good homemade...move on over Betty Crocker premade mix!
- No mixer required: Since we're starting with a melted butter, you can mix this entirely by hand. No beating the sugar and butter required!
Ingredients for Toll House Butterscotch Bars
- Unsalted butter (you will be melting this)
- Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar
- Large Egg
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Cornstarch
- Butterscotch Chips (for best flavor, use a higher quality chip vs. generic; I used Nestle Toll House)
- 9x13 Metal Pan
How to Make Butterscotch Bars:
Step 1: Melt Butter & Mix Dough
Warm the butter in a microwave-safe bowl or saucepan until it’s just melted. Combine the butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar in a mixing bowl and use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir them together.
Next, stir in the egg, followed by the baking powder and salt. Mix in cornstarch and flour, followed by the butterscotch chips. Mix the dough until well-combined.
Tip: I recommend mixing this by hand (rather than with a mixer) to ensure a chewy texture. The gooey, thickness of these make are what I think make these the best butterscotch blondies recipe.
Step 2: Put Dough in Pan
Grease & line a 9x13 metal pan with parchment paper. Spread dough into an even layer in pan. For added presentation, press additional butterscotch chips into the top.
Step 3: Bake
Place the pan butterscotch bars in an oven preheated to 350ºF and bake it for 26 to 28 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden brown and the inside no longer looks super wet. It might look a little under-baked, but the residual heat from the pan will continue to bake the cookie even after you take it out of the oven. Slightly underbaking is the trick to a soft, gooey bar!
Tip: The bars will set up as they cool, so even if they seem too doughy after 26-28 minutes they should firm up after a few hours.
Step 4: Cut & Enjoy!
Use a sharp chef’s knife to slice it the butterscotch blondies into squares (I like to cut large bakery-style squares but you can also do them smaller!). Let cool (or don't!) and enjoy them with a glass of milk or ice cream.
Storing & Freezing
Storing: These butterscotch bars are best stored on the counter at room temperature and best eaten within 3 days for the best texture.
Freezing: If making ahead of time, wrap the baked bars in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight container. Freeze up to 1 month. When ready to serve, let thaw completely.
Frequently Asked Questions:
I used Nestle Toll House chips but you can use any brand. I just recommend avoiding the super cheap, generic brands as the chips are often waxy and don't taste as good.
You sure can! While these bars are rich & buttery on their own, you could also mix in pretzels, chocolate or white chocolate chips, marshmallows or turn them into butterscotch caramel bars by drizzling on caramel.
More Cookie Cake Recipes:
If you make these gooey butterscotch bars, be sure to leave a comment below and tag me on Instagram @designeatrepeat. I LOVE seeing what you made!
Bakery Style Butterscotch Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter you will be melting this
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt If using unsalted butter, don't skip the salt!
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup butterscotch baking chips I use Nestle Tollhouse
Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. While preheating, be sure to read tips & tricks in post above for recipe success.
- Warm the unsalted butter (1 cup, i.e. 2 sticks) in a microwave-safe bowl or saucepan until it’s just melted.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the unsalted butter with the light brown sugar (1 cup) and granulated sugar (1 cup). Stir until combined. (I recommend mixing this by hand rather than a mixer.)
- Stir in the eggs (2 large) and vanilla extract (1 tablespoon), followed by the baking powder (1 teaspoon) and salt (1 ½ teaspoons).
- Mix in cornstarch (1 tablespoon) and all-purpose flour (2 ½ cups), followed by the butterscotch chips (1 cup). Mix the dough until well-combined.
- Spread dough into an even layer in pan. Sprinkle on some extra butterscotch chips for added presentation. Bake for 26-28 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden brown and then center no longer looks wet (they will look a tad underbaked, as this is the key to a soft, gooey bar).
- Cut into 12-24 bars (I like to cut them big) and enjoy! Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Beth says
These are in the oven, and I am sure they will be fantastic. I just had to leave a comment and let you know that I appreciate how you write the measurement/amount of the ingredient IN the instructional part...so we don't have to keep scrolling up and down! That is amazing, and I can't believe it's not a more widely spread practice. You are the true MVP ;-)
terri b says
I made these with gluten free flour and they turned out great! I had the great value brand of gluten free flour, followed recipe exactly except cut out about 1/8 cup of flour. I've had many recipes get too dry and crumbly if use the total amount in recipe. These were good!
Melissa says
So glad to hear that, Terri! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Sheri says
I have made them twice already. The second time I reduced the sugar a little bit, and it was even better. Highly recommend.
Melissa says
So happy to hear you enjoy this recipe, Sheri! Thank you so much for leaving a review!