Real, authentic, simple to make butterscotch recipe that uses only five whole ingredients and whipped together quickly and easily on the stovetop just like Grandma!
Butterscotch is a delicious whole food confectionary that gained widespread popularity starting around the mid-1800s as a flavoring for puddings, cookies, and other desserts like ice cream.
Unfortunately, because one of the main ingredients of authentic butterscotch is, of course, butter, its popularity declined precipitously and in lockstep with other full fat foods as the hysterical and misguided fat phobia grabbed the Western world by the waistline throat around the time of Ancel Keys’ infamous debut on the January 13, 1961 cover of Time magazine.
This marked the beginning of the modern and very misguided war on cholesterol and saturated fat.
Real butterscotch was summarily replaced with synthetically flavored, nonfat, high sugar alternatives which persist to this day. While authentic butterscotch contains only a few ingredients, check out the ingredients list of Smucker’s butterscotch syrup, one of the most familiar brands on the market. With the exception of salt, every single ingredient is either genetically modified (GMO), a preservative, additive or some other type of chemical!
(GMO) Corn Syrup, (GMO) High Fructose Corn Syrup, (GMO) Nonfat Milk, (GMO) Fructose, (GMO) Corn Starch Modified, Contains 2% OR LESS OF: (GMO) Whey Protein Concentrate (from (GMO) Milk), Salt, Natural Flavor, Potassium Sorbate (PRESERVATIVE), Polysorbate 60, Sodium Citrate, Disodium Phosphate, Yellow 5, Yellow 6.
Even if you are lucky enough to find an organic butterscotch syrup, the ingredients still aren’t authentic. Take a look at the ingredient label of Newport Flavors Organic Butterscotch Syrup as an example:
Organic cane sugar, water, natural flavors, organic caramel & annatto (for color), and organic lemon juice concentrate.
Ahem, where is the butter? It is called butterscotch after all!
It seems that fat phobia still surrounds the idea of butterscotch (even though butter sales are making a strong comeback with consumers), so much so that if you want to enjoy butterscotch on a bowl of ice cream or make butterscotch pudding, an authentic and real version must be made in your own kitchen. Fortunately, such a task is a snap as you will see below!
I absolutely adore butterscotch. As a high school student, I would frequently stop on the way home at the Tastee Freez and pick up a large butterscotch shake. No doubt about it … the butterscotch in that shake was certainly not a good thing to be putting in my growing body at the time. It was certainly nothing but sugar, artificial flavors and preservatives with no butter to be found! At least there were no GMOs then!
These days, when I enjoy butterscotch and use it in recipes to serve my family, it is made the right way with a handful of real ingredients starting first and foremost with deep yellow, nutrient rich grassfed butter!
Homemade Butterscotch
If you love butterscotch as much as I do, you will be excited to learn just how easy it is to make a small jar to keep in the refrigerator for all your dessert and ice cream drizzling needs.
When you first look at the recipe, you might think, “Why this is nothing but cooked butter and brown sugar! How can this possibly taste like butterscotch?” The transformation from a relatively bland sugar/butter flavor into the amazing, complex flavor of butterscotch surprisingly comes from the salt and the vanilla! If this seems impossible, be sure to try the sauce before and after the salt and vanilla are added. You will be amazed!
Need sugar free butterscotch? Check out the linked recipe instead!
Caramel vs Butterscotch
Note that the butterscotch recipe below is not the same as salted caramel.
Caramel and butterscotch are similar and frequently confused. While butterscotch and caramel are both cooked sugars, caramel is made with white granulated sugar and butterscotch with brown cane sugar. This recipe uses sucanat which is brown sugar in completely unrefined form.
Whatever you do, don’t use honey in a butterscotch or caramel recipe. Cooking honey is very mucous forming, according to traditional Ayurvedic cooking and destroys its natural antibiotic properties and valuable enzymes. This article on the dangers of cooked honey has more details.
Suggestion: Make a pan of homemade butterscotch pudding once you’ve made the recipe below!
Homemade Butterscotch Recipe (5 ingredients!)
Real, authentic, simple to make butterscotch recipe that uses only a handful of whole ingredients and whipped together quickly and easily on the stovetop just like Grandma!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter unsalted, preferably grassfed
- 1/2 cup sucanat
- 1/2 cup cream heavy, preferably grassfed
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp sea salt finely ground
- 2-4 drops stevia extract optional
Instructions
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In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the butter. When butter is melted, stir in the sugar and whisk for a minute or so until well blended.
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Next, whisk in half of the cream (1/4 cup). Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat to medium-low and cook for 3-4 minutes. The mixture should be stirred frequently with a whisk, and you will probably notice that the texture will change slightly as the mixture cooks with the butterscotch starting to pull slightly away from the sides of the pan.
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Turn off heat and remove the pot from the stove. Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup heavy cream. Follow with the vanilla extract, sea salt, and optional stevia drops.
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Notice that the butterscotch color is a dark brown when made with whole, unrefined cane sugar.
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Immediately pour the butterscotch sauce into a small glass jar. It is best not to scrape the sides of the pan as there might be some overcooked mixture that would compromise the butterscotch taste.
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Butterscotch is amazing eaten hot! Try some right away off the spoon. Yum!
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Use it while still warm as a topping for your favorite dessert or ice cream sundae.
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When the butterscotch has thoroughly cooled, screw on the lid and refrigerate. Freeze what you will not use in two weeks.
Recipe Notes
Substitute coconut cream for dairy cream if desired.
Other Syrup Recipes You May Enjoy
Homemade Chocolate Syrup (sugar free)
Homemade Strawberry Syrup
Elderberry Syrup Recipe to Boost Immunity (or Drizzle on Pancakes!)
I have seen caramel recipes much like this. What’s the difference? Also, was there not scotch in the original butterscotch?
Caramel is made just like butterscotch except using white sugar. Butterscotch is made with brown sugar (sucanat is the unprocessed version with 100% of the molasses). No scotch in there 🙂 I think the use of “scotch” refers to the color of it when it’s made.
Any suggestions on how to use this to make butterscotch pudding? We made your chocolate pudding last week, but my daughter is asking for butterscotch (because she loves butter of course). I’m trying to figure out if there’s a way to combine the two recipes?
I’ve been meaning to try this! I don’t have a tested approach yet. If you try it and it works, let us know!
Can you use honey as a substitution? And if so, how much?
I don’t recommend this as cooking honey is not ideal. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/is-cooking-honey-unhealthy/
Can I bake with this? I’m looking for a healthier monkey bread topping. Can I bake this with the Monkey Bread on top, or will it burn? 350 for about 35 minutes. Thanks so much! This looks so yummy.
We recently found a farmer close by who sells butter from his grass fed cows. It’s wonderful!
I may just pour this over freshly baked monkey bread to avoid any possible burning.
I made this yesterday, and it is wonderful!! It is an easy recipe to make and very quick to make, too. I was really surprised how easy it is to make. No more commercial sauce for us!! We tried it drizzled over apples after it cooled a bit…it was difficult waiting as it smelled great! So yummy! The next morning, we tried it right out the fridge. The consistency changed; It is more like the consistency of a thick fudge sauce…smooth and silky. This seemed a bit too salty for us, so next recipe I’ll try it with less salt. We can’t wait to try it with ice cream. We love this so much, we are thinking of more ways to use it!! : ) Thank you for such a great recipe!
Hey, question. My husband has requested some chocolate scotcheroos for his birthday. There is nothing about them that I really want in my house, but it’s for his birthday, so I’ll capitulate. I am looking for something to replace the corn syrup, though. -.- What is the consistency of this butterscotch when it is cooled?
Thanks!!
Melissa,
you can use golden syrup. It’s made from sugar cane.
When I learned to make butterscotch pudding as a girl in the 1950s, the butter was not only melted, but browned! Then the sugar and other ingredients were added. My theory is that since butter is easily browned by melting just that little bit too long, there had to be a way to save and use it instead of throwing it out. As the use of the word “scotch” was used in my family to indicate being thrifty, it always made sense to me that “butterscotch” meant making a thrifty use of burned butter. And oh, how delicious it is. Nothing beats browned butter for flavor. I believe the browning of the butter is what makes the difference between caramel and butterscotch flavors.
Could you please make your recipes printer friendly. I wast a lot of time trying to figure out the printing. Thank you./ Love your recipes 🙂 Charlotte
But the email title said Healthy Caramel Apples. Could this be used to coat apples?
Yes indeed 🙂 That’s the idea!
What brand of stevia do you use? Do you use the liquid or the powder?
Thanks,
Kara