Butterscotch Brownies are a decadent blonde brownie recipe topped with a thick layer of caramel icing.
This is one dessert I’m completely crazy about. Butterscotch and caramel are big-time favorites in my world. I love them more than chocolate. So to me, these butterscotch brownies are the ultimate dessert to bake and enjoy!
I first made them for a big family reunion several years ago. I cut them into small bites and included them on a large dessert platter with some other goodies. These were the first to go. The buttery blonde brownies are fantastic on their own, and the caramel icing really puts them over the top.
How to make Butterscotch Brownies:
The batter will be quite thick, but don’t worry because it’s supposed to be that way. There’s a lot of brown sugar in the brownie base, and it’s combined with one egg, a little bit of butter, flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract. The batter is spread into an 8×8-inch square pan.
And here is what your butterscotch brownies will look like when they come out of the oven. You may notice that the sides bake up a little higher than the middle. That’s fine. You’ll be pouring icing into the middle!
And this is the wonderful, glorious, totally amazing tasting caramel icing. It’s a mix of butter, brown sugar and cream (cooked on the stove), and then powdered sugar and vanilla are stirred in when you take it off the stove. The frosting is so good that I have a hard time not eating it by itself! Once you’ve spread the frosting to the edges of the pan, you can set it aside to cool completely. Place it in the refrigerator if you want to speed up the process.
These butterscotch brownies firm up pretty well. So if you want to take a knife and jiggle it down the sides of the pan to loosen the whole slab of brownies, you can certainly do so. Then just move the whole slab of brownies to a cutting board.
Then you can cut your blonde butterscotch brownies and serve. The icing firms up nicely too. It’s thick, and it’s rich. I recommend cutting these into smaller bites than a typical brownie because a little bite for dessert will be more than enough to satisfy your craving for sweets.
Let me know if you try them. I think they might become your new favorite sweet treat too!
Here are a few more blonde brownies you might like to try:
- Macadamia Chip Brownies
- Loaded Blondies
- Brown Butter Toffee Pecan Blondies
- Funfetti Frosted Blondies
- Chocolate Chip Blonde Brownies
- M&M Pretzel Blondies
- Pecan Praline Blondies
- Apple Harvest Blondies
Butterscotch Brownies
Ingredients
BROWNIES:
- 1/4 cup (½ stick) butter, melted
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
CARAMEL ICING:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup half and half cream
- 1¾ to 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8x8-inch pan with nonstick spray.
PREPARE THE BROWNIES:
- In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to mix the butter sugar, egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt, just until incorporated. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.
PREPARE THE ICING:
- When the brownies are just about finished baking, prepare the icing. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and cook until brown, stirring constantly. Add the brown sugar and continue cooking, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour in the half and half; stir. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- When cooled a bit, add the powdered sugar (use your judgment on how much- according to thickness), vanilla and salt. Beat until thick. Pour the icing over the brownies, and set them aside to let them cool completely. It's okay to refrigerate them to speed up the process.
- I find it easiest to remove the whole slab of frosted brownies to a cutting board. Just stick a knife on the side, and they should lift up pretty easily. Cut into squares. Keep leftovers in a covered container for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you substitute milk for the half and half? hate to buy it for 1/4 cup. It isn’t something that would get used in my house.
You can try! I have only used half and half.
These look absolutely delicious!
We love caramel so had to try this recipe. Glad I did it was sooo good and yes so heavy but worth it. Will definitely make again
I had a question, when you make the icing on the stove do you boil the butter and sugar medium?
Also do you measure the flour by filling the cup with a spoon or just filling straight in the cup?
Thank you
Simmer low until the sugar dissolves. I measure flour by spooning it into the cup and then leveling it off.
What is meant by 1/4 cup half & half cream.
You can use half and half (found in the US) or you can use regular cream.
I don’t typically have dairy around, can I substitute almond milk for the half and half in the frosting recipe? Also, I am gluten free – I’m goin to try using my GF flour blend and give this a go.
Possibly… but I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure.
Can we turn this into a recipe for a 13×9 pan? I would need to make a bigger batch of these for my family.
Well, you would think so… but you can cut them into much smaller pieces because they’re so rich. I don’t think doubling will work for a 13×9-inch pan. Maybe. The icing might be too much if you double, for sure.
Does it really matter to use dark brown sugar ?.
I’d even toss in 2 cups of butterscotch flavored chips into the mix.
Absolutely decadent and rich, I agree with cutting them small.
Making these tomorrow, will let you know how they were 🙂
These look so delicious!!