These Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Brownies are ooey-gooey brownies brimming with butterscotch flavor. Made with brown sugar and plenty of butter, these butterscotch brownies are light in color and rich in taste!
Have you ever paired butterscotch with chocolate?
It’s a heavenly combination that’s perfect in brownies!
This Butterscotch Brownies recipe is a real throwback. I originally shared it on day three of my original 365 Days of Baking blog. It’s so good, I just had to share it again. I think once you it you’ll agree, these are the BEST brownies with chocolate chips and butterscotch.
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These dessert bars are somewhere between a chocolate brownie and a blondie. While most brownies are made with cocoa powder, the batter for these butterscotch brownies don’t have any cocoa in the batter. Instead, we use dark brown sugar and butter to give them a flavor reminiscent of butterscotch fudge.
I say they still count as brownies, though! Chocolate morsels are folded into the batter, melting just the right amount into the brownies as they bake. They have a light brown color with plenty of gooey semi-sweet chocolate at the center. That makes them brownies in my book!
What do I need?
This butterscotch brownie recipe comes together with just eight easy ingredients.
- melted butter
- dark brown sugar
- eggs
- salt
- flour
- chocolate chips
- baking powder
- vanilla
Along with excluding cocoa powder, you’ll notice this recipe is missing another element common in butterscotch brownie recipes: butterscotch chips. If you’re looking for a dessert with butterscotch chips, you’ll love this Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies recipe.
What is butterscotch?
Butterscotch is a confectionary made by cooking brown sugar with melted butter. The buttery sweet combination takes all kinds of forms: candy, sauce, glaze and baking chips. And I love them all.
You’re probably familiar with butterscotch sauce as an ice cream topping. But did you know it’s an amazing addition to cheese too? This Baked Brie with Dried Fruit, Nuts, and Butterscotch is one of my favorite appetizers to serve at a party. Everyone’s jaw drops when they taste the delicious salty-sweetness of brie and butterscotch!
Wondering where the name “butterscotch” comes from?
The butter part is obvious. One theory holds that the “scotch” part of the name evolved from the word “scorch” since making butterscotch requires heating the butter and brown sugar at a high temperature.
There’s nothing “scorched” about these brownies but the butterscotch taste in every bite is undeniable.
Combining dark brown sugar and butter in the batter essentially creates butterscotch baked into brownie form. The hint of molasses flavor and rich sweetness is the perfect contrast to the gooey dark chocolate.
It’s a heavenly flavor combination that stands out in a crowd of the usual brownie suspects. Not that I don’t love a classic chocolate brownie too, but sometimes it’s fun to mix things up!
Brownie Recipes
Looking for a more chocolate-y brownie? Try these Chocolate Overload Loaded Brownies. They’re the ultimate brownie for chocolate addicts!
These Hot Chocolate Brownies are like a mug of cocoa in brownie form. Complete with marshmallow creme for that authentic hot chocolate taste.
Our Mint Chocolate Brownies are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, but I’d be happy to see them (and eat them) any day of the year! Speaking of mint, these Easy Peppermint Brownie Bites are always a hit on our holiday cookie trays. They even have a surprise inside!
For fans of sweet and salty flavors, we have these Double Chocolate Toffee Caramel Brownies. Toffee, caramel and chocolate in one? Sign me up! I’ll take one of those and one of these Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies for the road.
Bar Dessert Recipes
Bar recipes make me extra happy because they’re so easy to serve and eat. No fork or plate required! Don’t miss out on these other delicious dessert bars:
- Toffee Coconut Oatmeal Bars
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars
- No Bake Raspberry Cream Dream Bars
- Chocolate Covered Strawberry Dream Bars
- Banana Pudding Dream Bars
- Irish Cream Dream Bars
- No Bake Pumpkin Dream Bars
- Easy Lemon Bars
- O’Henry Bars
- Magic Cookie Bars
They’re not bars but since we’re talking about butterscotch today I’ll do you a favor and remind you about these Harry Potter-inspired Butterbeer Cupcakes. You don’t have to be a Harry Potter fan to enjoy the magical taste of butterscotch, especially when cupcakes are involved!
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Butterscotch meets chocolate in this easy brownie recipe!
Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Brownies
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- 9 X 13-inch baking pan
- silicone spatula
Ingredients
- ½ cup melted unsalted butter
- 2 cups packed dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray with cooking spray or butter a 9 X 13-inch baking dish.
- Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl until completely combined.
- Spread evenly into prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until dry on top and nearly firm to touch.
- Cool for 10 – 15 minutes before cutting into squares.
Nutrition
I republished this post on 4/24/2017. It has been updated in format and with pictures on 3/15/22.
Comments & Reviews
Are there butterscotch in recipes?
Chau, there is no “butterscotch” so to speak, but butterscotch was origianlly made from melted butter and brown sugar, hence the name of the brownies.
On Monday, you really pushed this down into the pan but you don’t say that in your recipe. You say to pour it. Should I squish it down? Thanks. Love watching you.
Jeanne,
No dont really squish it. Just make it so that the batter fits to the edges of the pan and is smooth on the top. I probably pushed it down too much because I was preoccupied with doing the video.
Hi. These look absolutely yummy but I’m a vegetarian and do not eat eggs. Is there any vegetarian substitute for those?
Hi Dollie, I have not made these without eggs, so I don’t feel comfortable saying this substitute or that will work. I did find this article though: http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/955371/baking-without-eggs.
Also, I did make this Eggless Blueberry Coriander Bundt Cake a while ago and used coconut oil in place of the eggs. Here’s the link for that if you’d like to take a look: https://www.365daysofbakingandmore.com/eggless-blueberry-coriander-bundt-cake/.
When you don’t use eggs use banana
Awesome recipe. My 3rd time making. My family just can’t enough of them. I added sunflower seeds to them this time to give them a little crunch.. YUMMY!!
Ooh, Lynnette, I LOVE your addition. Thanks so much for the tip, and I’m so very glad your family loves them.
Can this be made with light brown sugar?
Susan, I have not made them with light brown sugar, but you can definitely do that. The flavor will probably not be as robust with the light brown sugar because dark brown contains more molasses, but I’m sure they’ll be just as delicious. I’d love to hear what you think, so please let me know!
Can this be done in an 8×8 glass pan do u think? How long would I bake….the same?
Jennifer, you can definitely use an 8×8 glass pan. The baking time should be about the same.
Hi Lynne,
How do you think subbing coconut extract for the vanilla would work?
Thanx!
Ooh, Steve, you could definitely do that. I think that would be tasty! Please let me know what you think.
Hi Lynne, I will let you know how coconut extract works after I’ve tried it.
If I make these brownies one day in advance (for Thanksgiving), is it better to refrigerate them overnight or leave them at room temperature? And for covering them, is one better than the other – plastic wrap or foil?
Thank you!
Thanks, Steve!
You can just leave them at room temperature if you make them in advance. Use whichever will cover them tightly, probably foil since plastic wrap sometimes doesn’t adhere to the sides of pans and becomes too loose.
Enjoy them!
These look delicious! I think I will try these and also add some butterscotch chips! Yum!