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Easy Butterscotch Sauce

    Homemade Butterscotch Sauce recipe makes a delicious topping for drizzling over desserts, as well as a yummy dip for fruit, candy, and sweets. It has a sweet, buttery, caramel flavor and a luxuriously smooth texture. It also keeps really well in the fridge.

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    Best Butterscotch Sauce Recipe

    You won’t believe how easy it is to make homemade butterscotch sauce using pantry staples. And it tastes like a professional’s confection every time! This recipe is similar to my Caramel Sauce recipe, but uses brown sugar instead of white sugar to create a rich, molasses-like flavor, and it’s easier since you add all the ingredients to the saucepan at once.

    We love to use this butterscotch sauce over cakes (hello Pumpkin Cheesecake!), cookies, and to dip apples from my parents’ garden, but my all-time favorite use is to drizzle it over my coffee while sitting near the fireplace. It’s cozy like a snowy postcard!

    Homemade butterscotch sauce is so much better than buying the store-bought version, because you use real ingredients without preservatives. That’s why homemade sauces like Chocolate Ganache, Strawberry Sauce, and Whipped cream, are always tastier made from scratch.

    Homemade butterscotch sauce served over pumpkin cheesecake

    Butterscotch Sauce Ingredients

    You only need these 5 simple ingredients to make a luxurious and tasty butterscotch sauce.

    • Brown sugar – The molasses in light brown sugar adds flavor and color. Make sure it’s tightly packed into the 1 cup measure to get the right amount. When you dump the sugar out, it should hold the shape of the measuring cup.
    • Butter – unsalted – to use salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe.
    • Sea salt – balances sweetness.
    • Half-and-half – this creates the butterscotch sauce instead of butterscotch candy. To substitute, you can use equal parts of heavy cream and milk.
    • Vanilla extract – Homemade Vanilla Extract or store-bought work fine
    ingredients for dessert topping including brown sugar, butter, salt, half and half, and vanilla extract

    Pro Tip:

    Butterscotch sauce is easy to make, but it can separate if the ingredients aren’t balanced. For these reasons, avoid substituting ingredients in this recipe.

    How to Make Butterscotch Sauce from Scratch

    It takes just 1 step and 10 minutes or less to make butterscotch syrup from scratch, so this recipe couldn’t be any easier!

    • Heat all the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat while whisking. Once it’s at a simmer, keep whisking over low heat for 6-9 minutes or until it’s thick and no longer watery. Remove from the heat and serve warm. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
    How to make butterscotch sauce in step by step photos

    How to Fix a Grainy Butterscotch Sauce

    A grainy butterscotch sauce usually means the sugar didn’t fully dissolve before boiling. Take it off the heat, stir in a tablespoon or two of warm water or warm half-and-half, then return it to the heat and bring it back up gently until the sugar melts in.

    How to Fix a Separated Butterscotch Sauce

    If your butterscotch starts to look separated or oily on top, take it off the heat right away. This can indicate it was cooked too hot or reduced too much. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of warm water or warm half-and-half, then return it to the heat and bring it back to a gentle boil. This helps the sugar dissolve and brings the sauce back to a silky texture.

    drizzling ice cream topping into a mason jar for storage

    What to Serve with Butterscotch Sauce

    Once you drizzle this topping on ice cream, you’ll start searching for more ways to enjoy it. These are some of my favorite recipes to dip in or drizzle the sauce.

    Thick and creamy butterscotch sauce on a spoon dripping into a mason jar

    Homemade Butterscotch Sauce adds a delicious sweet drizzle to so many of my favorite desserts! The recipe takes less than 10 minutes and requires just 5 pantry staple ingredients. Try this delicious butterscotch recipe to add a layer of YUM to any sweet treat.

    Easy Butterscotch Sauce

    Spoon drizzling homemade butterscotch sauce into a mason jar

    Homemade Butterscotch Sauce is thick and luxurious like caramel sauce, with a deeper molasses flavor. The recipe has 1 step and only requires 5 simple ingredients! This sauce tastes amazing drizzled over ice cream, cake, cookies–any dessert, and it’s one of my favorite dips for apple slices. See how many ways you can use this deliciously sweet sauce.Makes 1 cup, or 16 Tbsp.

    Prep Time: 8 minutes

    Total Time: 8 minutes

    • Heat – Combine all ingredients in a small/medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat while whisking contantly. Continue whisking until thickened and no longer watery (6-9 min)**. Keep in mind it thickens more as it cools. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

    *If using salted butter, reduce salt to 1/2 tsp or add it to taste.
    **If you notice sugar crystallization on the sides of the pan, use a pastry brush moistened with water to brush down the sides of your saucepan
    To Fix a Grainy or Separated Butterscotch Sauce: If the sauce looks grainy or starts to separate, take it off the heat and whisk in 1–2 tablespoons of warm water or warm half-and-half. Return it to the heat and keep whisking as it comes back to a gentle boil until it looks smooth again.
    Storage

    • Refrigerator – Cool the sauce to room temperature within 2 hours, and then pour it into an airtight container (I prefer a mason jar). Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
    • Freezer – Cool the sauce and then pour it into an airtight container, leaving at least 1 inch of headspace for expansion. Freeze for up to 3 months, and then thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat slowly to make it more drizzle-able, or if it separates in the freezer.

    90kcal Calories14g Carbs0.3g Protein4g Fat2g Saturated Fat0.1g Polyunsaturated Fat1g Monounsaturated Fat0.1g Trans Fat10mg Cholesterol154mg Sodium30mg Potassium14g Sugar114IU Vitamin A0.1mg Vitamin C21mg Calcium0.1mg Iron

    Nutrition Facts

    Easy Butterscotch Sauce

    Amount per Serving

    % Daily Value*

    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    More Cozy Fall Desserts

    If you are making your own butterscotch sauce, chances are you love home-baked fall treats as much as I do! Try these easy Fall desserts next:

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