These Butterscotch Brownies are soft, chewy and incredibly easy! They only use one bowl to mix! Brown sugar and butter make these delightfully addicting as a snack, dessert or with an afternoon coffee.
My middle/high school in St. Louis served lunch "family-style," which basically meant you either ate what they were serving or you ate salad bar. Let me tell you – that salad bar got old fast. Before you start to feel too badly for me, I should tell you that dessert was usually damn good (and my Mom would pack me a healthy bag lunch to eat in my free period, but that’s another story for another time)!
My all-time favorite dessert that they served, the one dessert that still makes me giddier than chocolate flourless cake, was Butterscotch Brownies.
You heard me right: more than chocolate. I’ll give you a moment to process that.
I got so excited about these brownies, and thus endeared myself to the kitchen staff, that they would pack up a plate for me to bring home. No joke. I would stop by the kitchen on the way to swim practice, and they would hand me a foil-wrapped plate.
Maybe I would share, maybe I wouldn't. I loved those Butterscotch Brownies.
And then one tragic day my junior year, my school switched cooking companies, and not only was my favorite brownie smuggler gone but so were the butterscotch brownies! Tear.
Since then, I have searched every cookbook I owned and lots I didn't (shhh, don't tell Barnes & Noble!) for a butterscotch brownie recipe only to come up with nada. Rien. None. Until one day, my wonderful fiancé brought home two 1950's cookbooks that he bought at an estate sale for $1 each. I could barely contain my excitement when I saw that Betty Crocker's Cookbook (1984 Edition) included a recipe for my beloved butterscotch brownies!
These butterscotch brownies are dangerously delicious. And they are remarkably fast and easy to pull together. One bowl. One pan. One magical dessert. Chewy and sweet. Addicting. They would be an amazing base for some mix-ins, but today, I am a purist.
I know that everyone else in the Free World calls these Blondies. If I had figured that out 15 years earlier, my search for a recipe would have been a whole lot quicker. But I didn’t, okay? My Butterscotch Brownie clouded brain was a little slow on the uptake.
Butterscotch Brownies aka Blondies
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8x8 baking dish.
- Melt butter over stovetop or at 50% power in the microwave. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, egg and vanilla; mix until completely incorporated.
- Stir in remaining ingredients. The mixture will be thick. Spread in greased baking dish. Bake 20-25 minutes in preheated oven. The bake time will depend on the dish you choose!
- Betty Crocker suggests cutting these while still warm. I think they actually cut cleaner when completely cooled. Not that I waited until they were cooled to eat one. No patience! Makes 16 bars.
Notes
Thank you! I too looked for a butterscotch brownie recipe. I think this is the one that I lost many years ago.
Hi Donalda! So glad you found it here. Enjoy!
Love these - a childhood favorite (and it's been awhile - my youngest is 31 😉 Simply perfect recipe - thank you!
Awww! So glad you could get a chance to make them! 🧡
i am so relieved to find this recipe which is the recipe for my Aunt Eadie's Brown Sugar Squares. She died in 2005 and I just recently lost her recipe, my all time go to recipe,
Thank goodness. Thank goodness. All is not lost.
For sure all is not lost! So happy that this recipe could help. I'm so sorry for your loss, and Happy Baking! 🧡
This is the recipe I made growing up! So simple and so delish! This is a classic for a reason!
Awww! That's so sweet. Agreed, so classic! ????
The only difference in the Joy of Cooking is that their recipe uses just 1/2 cup of flour, making the brownies thinner and even gooier. I think next time I make them I'll split the difference and use 5/8 cup of flour.
These are almost the same recipe as my Joy of Cooking which I bought in 1967. Love them! I made them along with other bars for a get-together over the weekend, and the men really went for the butterscotch.
Oh I’ve been searching for these for years! I always thought they were called Butterscotch Brownies. So gooey and delicious! I used to make them all the time as a little girl from my moms Betty Crocker cookbook. We lost mom earlier this year, and I never found her cookbook. Thank you for sharing this beloved recipe. I can’t wait to make them for my family.
Hi Emily! I'm sorry to hear about your loss, but I am happy you found this recipe! They are super easy to pull together and, to me, they taste like childhood 🙂
I used to make these all the time. The recipe was in my first cookbook, 1978 Betty Crocker, kind of a spiral hardcover book. I still have that book, although it is much the worse for wear. These brownies were always wildly popular when I served them to friends, although I usually just made them for myself when I needed a treat. Back in the day, I used margarine and they usually were a little thicker. Now with butter they turn out really thin. Maybe I could swap in one tablespoon of shortening for butter, but thin or not they are always tasty.
Wow, I had no idea that butterscotch brownies and blondies were the same thing! We always called them butterscotch brownies when I was a kid and that is what I still call them. LOL, I had heard of blondies but didn't know what they were. However, I can't fathom making them without nuts. To me, they're just not butterscotch brownies without the walnuts (or pecans, hazelnuts, etc.). I've got to say though, when you said your husband brought home a "vintage" cookbook from 1984 it was a little depressing to read - I use a recipe from my 1974 edition of Joy of Cooking.
Hi! I love your story. You’re a very good storyteller. The details make your mission to find the long lost butterscotch brownies so interesting. Well, I just wanted you to know that there are people like myself who actually prefer blondies or butterscotch brownies over chocolate brownies. I am one of those people who is a big fan of blondies. The combination of brown sugar and butter with vanilla extract is delicious. I totally get your fascination with blondies. As a cookie dough fiend, I do prefer to make my blondies without any baking soda or baking powder. After they have cooled but are still slightly warm, I like to place them in air tight container, and save them for the next day. For some reason they are so much better the following day. The flavors get bolder overnight or something happens. I’ve tried them with ground walnuts, mini m&ms, and Hershey sea salted caramel morsels. I will definitely try your recipe soon. It’s interesting because some recipes don’t even call for brown sugar. To me, the chocolate replacement is the brown sugar, which is the recipe’s bold superstar ingredient.
Well, thank you for sharing your recipe for “butterscotch brownies.”
I couldn't agree more on two points: They aren't blondies with out brown sugar and they are much better the second day! I hope you do try this recipe!
I make these all the time now and they are very good and easy to make!
I, too, have long searched for my beloved BUTTERSCOTCH BROWNIES - read NOT BLONDIES! - from my childhood. I can't wait to make these and melt in their gooey, delicious glory! You. Are. A hero.
LOL. Me? A hero? {she blushes}
Enjoy! Happy baking
You must have gone to Burroughs! I did too and 25+ years later these are still one of my all time favorite desserts!
Haha! I did go to Burroughs, Kerrie! When did you graduate? Had to have been before 2009 because my brother graduated then and he never got to experience them 🙁
93, I’m so old!
Haha! Not that old! I only graduated 10 years after you 🙂
These are the same as from the 1996 edition. "Betty Crocker's New Cookbook." I looked up the recipe because I was too lazy to pull out my book, and then had to check my book after reading the comments! These are the best - chewy and gooey and oh so easy to throw together. I've mostly made them with butter, or non-dairy margarine nowadays (and egg substitutions and whole wheat flour), but I've been making them for decades now. The sugar content is !!! but when the craving hits, there's nothing else. And I didn't know blondies were the same thing - I picture a blondie as like a vanilla bar cookie rather than butterscotch, but I'm clueless apparently!
When I saw the pictures of your butterscotch brownies I had to check your recipe. I make this frequently and am getting ready to make them for a potluck tomorrow. Yes, butter only and no nuts. Yes, they cut better cold and Yes, I could eat a whole pan myself, which is why I make them when I am going some place to share.
Haha! They are addicting!
My mom made the butterscotch brownies from a Betty Crocker cookbook all the time. It was a much earlker edition, but same basic recipe. Her's had choices though, butter, shortning or oil. I totally agree with you though, butter all the way! Anyway, I related to your love of these so much! I loooove chocolate, but I would go right past it for these EVERY time. ☺ Such a strong childhood connection to them! But more than that... They are completely amazing. Thanks for sharing. I know what I'm doing this adternoon! Lol!
I hope you made them, Tamy! I can't believe her cookbook had three choices - I can't imagine a cookbook today having that!
My husband is dieting so I'm counting calories. How many are in one of these?
I find it best in my profession not to look at those things lol! There are plenty of websites where you can plug in the ingredients and find out!
I thought you forgot to include Butterscotch Morsels until I did more research. Crazy how they taste of Butterscotch but with no morsels. Awesome, thank you!
You can put butterscotch morsels in the batter too if you want! I don't like butterscotch morsels so I didn't include them!
Followed recipe exactly but in my 8x8 glass dish the edges were too dry and the middle was still mushy. Is there a different oven temp for glass?