Butterscotch Blondies

5 from 4 votes

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My recipe for butterscotch blondies is going to knock your socks off. Get ready for soft, chewy butterscotch bliss topped with a velvety buttercream frosting. And, you’ll hardly believe how simple this buttery, caramel-like masterpiece is to make!

stack of Butterscotch Blondies


If you are a fan of dense, delicious brownies but want to change it up a bit, today’s recipe for butterscotch blondies is your ticket to success. Blondies have all the rich decadence of brownies, but instead of cocoa for flavoring, they feature luscious brown sugar and vanilla. 

They are dense and rich while still being airy, soft, and chewy. And don’t even get me started on the buttercream frosting. It is so scrumptious that you might just swoon! 

If you catch blondie fever after trying these butterscotch blondies, I got you covered. Try out my  Chocolate Chip Blondie Recipe or these  Blonde Brownies with Rocky Road Topping.

slicing Butterscotch Blondies

INGREDIENT NOTES AND SUBSTITUTIONS 

  • Butter – Adds richness and moisture to the batter and the frosting. 
  • Brown Sugar – Choose dark for a rich and sweet blondie with a moist texture. You can use light if you prefer, but the caramel flavor won’t be as strong.
  • Vanilla – Delicately enhances the natural sweetness of other ingredients. 
  • Eggs – Add moisture while binding the batter together. 
  • Flour – Regular, all-purpose flour provides structure and forms the base of the recipe. 
  • Baking Soda Promotes softer, airy baked goods.
  • Baking Powder – Responsible for lightening the texture and adding volume. 
  • Salt – Balances out the sweetness and enhances the flavor of other ingredients in the recipe. 
  • Heavy Cream – Adds a rich creaminess to the frosting. 
  • Powdered Sugar – Adds concentrated sweetness and a smooth consistency to the frosting. Do not substitute with another type of sugar.
pan with butterscotch blondies batter

HOW TO MAKE BUTTERSCOTCH BLONDIES

1. Prepare the Oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9×9 square baking pan with parchment paper. Be sure to leave a bit of overhang to remove the blondies once they are finished. 

2. Mix the Batter. Use a large mixing bowl to cream together the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Add in the egg and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Carefully add the dry mixture to the bowl with the wet mixture. Stir well until fully combined. 

3. Transfer to Pan. Transfer the batter to the baking pan and use a spatula to smooth it out to the corners. To prevent sticking, dip the spatula in cold water first.

4. Bake the Blondies. Bake for about 20 minutes. The blondies are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow at least 15 minutes of cooling before applying the frosting. 

5. Start the Frosting. Place a saucepan over medium heat and melt the butter until it begins to turn a light brown color. Butter should be cooked long enough for any water to evaporate and for the milk solids turn brown.

6. Add Other Frosting Ingredients. Once the butter is ready, stir in the brown sugar and continue cooking until it has dissolved and the mixture is bubbling. Next, remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Be prepared for this to steam and rise up in the pan. Stir in the vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar. Mix vigorously until thick and well blended. You can add more powdered sugar if you want your frosting to be thicker. 

7. Frost the Blondies. Spread the butterscotch frosting all the way to the edges of the pan. Allow the pan to cool, placing it in the refrigerator for an hour. After that, use the overhanging parchment paper to lift the blondies out of the pan. Cut into 16 bars, serve, and enjoy!

stack of Butterscotch Blondies

Why Won’t My Blondies Cook in the Middle?

The most likely culprit here is an oven that is too hot. This causes the outsides of the blondies to rapidly cook while leaving the inside undone. Be sure that your oven is properly calibrated, and be certain to preheat before placing the pan in the oven. 

If your toothpick is coming out just about clean, but the blondies are sinking in the middle, put them back in the oven for about another 4-5 minutes, keeping a super close eye on them. A few extra minutes can make all the difference in the world. 

Can I Cook Butterscotch Blondies in a Glass Pan?

You can cook these butterscotch blondies in either a metal or glass pan. It is important to remember, however, that this will affect bake times and results. If you choose to go with a glass pan, you will likely need to bake your blondies for longer. Adjust accordingly and keep a close eye on the oven. 

Do Blondies Have to Be Refrigerated?

If stored in an airtight container, your butterscotch blondies will stay fresh for 5 days at room temperature or up to a week in the refrigerator.

If you are baking in advance, you can also opt to freeze your goodies. Wrap the entire batch of uncut blondies in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil, and store it in the freezer for up to a month. 

ready to serve Butterscotch Blondies
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Butterscotch Blondies

5 from 4 votes
These decadent butterscotch blondies are an absolute dream, featuring dark brown sugar, vanilla, and a rich buttercream frosting.
Servings: 16
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients 

Blondies

Butterscotch Frosting

Instructions 

Blondies

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Line an 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished blondies out.
  • In a large mixing bowl, blend the melted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla together until combined. Add egg and mix well.
  • In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  • Slowly add the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and stir to combine.
  • Spread evenly into prepared baking pan using a rubber spatula (dip in water if needed).
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool 15 minutes before spreading frosting.

Frosting

  • In a saucepan over medium heat melt the butter until it starts getting brown (butter is cooked long enough to turn the milk solids brown while cooking out any water present in the butter).
  • Stir in the dark brown sugar and continue cooking until the sugar dissolves and is bubbling. Remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream. This will steam and rise up. Add the vanilla, salt and powdered sugar. Mix thoroughly until blended and thick. Add more powdered sugar is you want a thicker frosting.
  • Spread butterscotch frosting on cooled blondies, spreading to the edges. Let cool completely or refrigerate for an hour, then lift blondies from pan by edges of parchment over hang and cut into 16 bars.

Nutrition

Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 206mg | Potassium: 62mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 324IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American
Have You Made This Recipe? Let Me Know on InstagramTag @keviniscooking or tag me #keviniscooking!
slicing Butterscotch Blondies into squares

Kevin

Whether in the kitchen or on the grill, you’ll find me cooking American favorites with a love for BBQ, Mexican and Tex Mex. I’m passionate about making tasty food because life’s too short to be bland!

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10 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    After waiting for the blondies to cool I iced them and holy cow, amazing! What a killer recipe. I hope these last for the weekend, but I doubt it. Might need to make another batch Saturday. Thanks Kevin!

  2. 5 stars
    This looks great! I have recently discovered that I am allergic to baking powder. I have been using the old fashioned combination of vinegar and baking soda as a replacement. Learned this from making depression cake-and now I have a bunch of variations on both vanilla and chocolate ones that are great. Just completed and apple spice version that is a tremendous stand-in for coffee cake. I’m going to try my substitute on this recipe. I have been wanting to find a simple recipe using butter and eggs instead of oil to see if it works as well. And I love brown sugar as the sugar base. I’ll not make the frosting, as I am not a fan of any kind except whipping cream based frosting. But this recipe looks like it is a good one to try and adapt. Sometimes I make a simple glaze of sugar and water or juice instead of a full on frosting, if the cake is dry. I am sure you have figured out that I often modify your recipes. They are a great jumping of point for me, as I have a number of weird allergies, not the usual gluten or other more common ingredients like eggs, etc. The depression cake is a good one for this time because of the rise in cost of eggs and butter, and doesn’t require either. But what I am not good at is basic ratios of one ingredient to the next. Your recipes make it very easy to adapt. My favorite still remains your peach cheesecake, which brought me to your website in the first place. I often wished I had opportunities to make more of your wonderful Tex-Mex recipes. Thanks for another one…please don’t feel upset that I don’t make your recipes as written. For me, a great recipe is one that I can adapt to my dietary preferences/needs readily, as I have many non traditional allergies. And yours make that possible.

    1. So glad you’re able to adapt and make them your own Judy. Thanks so much for following along and letting me know!

  3. Your recipes are not printing for me. When I hit print, it jumps back to the top of the post. Has been doing this for a few days now. Hope you can fix this!

    1. Thanks Judy. I received 2 other inquiries regarding this print issue and found it prints for me, on 2 different computers and browsers. I also asked 2 other readers and it printed well for them. If you could let me know what browser you’re using and if desktop or mobile it would help my web developer look into this. Do you have an ad blocker plugin for your browser?

    1. Thanks Marian. I received 2 other inquiries regarding this print issue and found it prints for me, on 2 different computers and browsers. I also asked 2 other readers and it printed well for them. If you could let me know what browser you’re using and if desktop or mobile it would help my web developer look into this. Do you have an ad blocker plugin for your browser?