Dense and chewy butterscotch blondies are made with brown butter, sea salt, and butterscotch morsels. These sweet and salty bars hit the spot when you need a simple yet satisfying dessert. No mixer needed!
These innocent little squares boast huge flavor and texture. Super dense, chewy, filled with brown sugar, topped with sea salt, and the two words to end all other words: brown butter. Not to mention they’re loaded with butterscotch, the best and most underrated morsel in the baking aisle! There’s also no mixer or fancy kitchenware required, so not only do they taste unbelievable—they’re insanely easy to make. Win win win and… win.
If you gush over sweet & salty desserts, this one has your name written all over it.
These Butterscotch Blondies Are:
- Soft and chewy
- Dense and buttery
- Sweet and salty
- Made with brown butter
- Sprinkled with sea salt
- Simple to make—you don’t need a mixer
This Is My Base Blondie Recipe
This blondie recipe is my go-to blondie base. I shared the recipe a few years ago with my dark chocolate coconut blondies. In that recipe, I spread the blondies into a large 9×13 inch pan. For today’s butterscotch version, we’re squeezing them into a 9-inch square baking pan so they’re thicker and denser. We do this with mocha blondies, too.
The best blondies are buttery, soft, and chewy with tight dense crumbs. More like a brown sugar brownie and less like a thin piece of cake. To help us achieve this special blondie texture, we begin with melted butter. Though regular melted butter is fine, I highly recommend browning the butter. Brown butter, pictured below, adds a new layer of flavor.
We’ve discussed brown butter many times before and I have a complete how to brown butter tutorial as well. All you’re really doing is melting butter on the stovetop and gently cooking the butter until it develops a nutty flavor and aroma. It’s a basic technique that considerably changes the flavor of anything it touches, like brown butter chocolate chip cookies and brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies. As the butter browns, you’ll notice there are bits at the bottom of the pan. These are good! They are actually milk solids that have cooked faster and will give even more flavor to your recipe. Don’t leave the bits behind.
Ingredients in Butterscotch Blondies
Blondies are very low key—made with simple baking basics. They’re also unexpected and underrated, which is why I love making them. Everyone forgets how good they are!
- Flour: Sturdy all-purpose flour is the base of this blondie recipe.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder helps the blondies rise.
- Salt: Salt adds flavor.
- Butter: You can use either melted butter or browned butter, but I really love using browned butter because it adds another layer of flavor to these blondies. I share more about browned butter above.
- Sugar: We use all brown sugar for mega flavor and ultra moist blondies.
- Eggs: Use 1 egg and 1 egg yolk for ultra chewy blondies.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract adds flavor. Try using homemade vanilla extract.
- Butterscotch Morsels: Butterscotch morsels are essential for butterscotch blondies!
- Walnuts: While totally optional, chopped walnuts add a delicious texture.
- Sea Salt: Sprinkle the blondies with coarse sea salt before baking for an added crunch and burst of flavor.
No Mixer Required
Since we’re not creaming butter and sugar together (we use melted butter instead of softened butter), there’s no need to break out the mixer or any fancy kitchen equipment.
This is a quick and easy recipe. You only need 2 bowls—1 for dry ingredients and 1 for wet ingredients, a simple whisk, and rubber spatula.
Will you just look at this golden perfection? With brown butter, sea salt, butterscotch, and brown sugar, I can’t think of a more perfect square.
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Salted Butterscotch Blondies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 16 blondies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Dense and chewy, made with brown butter, sea salt, and butterscotch morsels, these sweet and salty bars hit the spot when you need a simple yet satisfying dessert!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter (browned or melted, see note)
- 1 and 3/4 cup (350g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (270g) butterscotch morsels
- optional: 3/4 cup (95g) chopped walnuts
- coarse/flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9-inch square pan or line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished blondies out (makes cutting easier). Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the browned or melted butter and brown sugar together. Once completely combined, whisk in the whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk or stir until combined. Batter is pretty heavy and thick, so I usually use a rubber spatula. Fold in the butterscotch morsels and nuts, if using.
- Evenly spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out *mostly* clean. A couple moist crumbs are ok, as long as it’s not wet. Remove from the oven and cool blondies completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
- Cover and store leftover blondies at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: To freeze, cool blondies completely. Cut into squares and layer between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Square Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Rubber Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Butter: Butter should either be melted or browned before using in this recipe. Melt on the stove or in the microwave. For enhanced butterscotch and nutty flavors, I prefer using browned butter in these blondies. To brown the butter: slice the butter into pieces and place in a light-colored skillet. (Light colored helps you determine when the butter begins browning.) Melt the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam. Keep stirring occasionally. After 5-8 minutes, the butter will begin browning– you’ll notice lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan and it will have a nutty aroma. Once browned, immediately remove from heat, and pour into a heat-proof bowl. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before using in step 3.
- What Pan to Use: A 9-inch square pan is best. An 8-inch square pan is a little too small. Blondies may not cook evenly. You can spread the batter into a 9×13 inch pan for thinner blondies. Do your best to spread the batter to each edge of the pan. Bake time will be around 30 minutes.
These were delicious. I browned the butter, and added hazelnuts instead of walnuts, due to allergies in our home. I was nervous from all the comments, but they turned out great. I baked for 35 min, and they appeared greasy/underdone when warm, but the next day they were JUST right, I wouldn’t have wanted them baked anymore. I will make them again, even though I forgot the sea salt on top! We ate them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Fabulous recipe. Can I use a 9” by 13” inch pan and up the ingredients 50% to make 1 and 1/2 batch of the blondies?
Hi Laura, You can spread the batter into a 9×13-inch pan for thinner blondies. Do your best to spread the batter to each edge of the pan. Bake time will be around 30 minutes. Or you can 1.5x the batter for thicker blondies, and the bake time will be a bit longer.
Way to greasy to eat! waste of ingredients.
Tasted great while still warm but were hard as a rock when they cooled. This is the first recipe from SBA that has not worked for me.
Used an 8×8 pan because that’s what I had, baked for an hour. Was still undercooked in the middle and burnt on the outside. Was far too much brown sugar, couldn’t even taste the butterscotch over the sugar flavor. It was extremely greasy, like others mentioned.
I love Sally’s recipes and often use them when I bake. I made these today, followed the recipe exactly but omited nuts. Cooked in a 9×13 for 30 minutes. Pulled the pan and checked, yes “mostly clean.” And let rest for a few hours. I cut into them and they are greasy and appear undercooked. I can’t believe how greasy they are. They smell wonderful and I really wanted to love them.
Hi Angela, I’m sorry to hear these blondies weren’t a success for you! If you’d like to try again, you can try reducing the butter a little. However, I suggest that you try removing the egg yolk first. The extra egg yolk guarantees the blondies are rich, moist, and chewy but you can skip it if you find they’re simply too greasy or wet.
mine turned out exactly the same! the “batter” was more like a thick cookie dough that i had to push into the pan instead of pour/spread, and the cake tester came out clean but they were so wet and dense on the inside, almost the same texture as the dough when it went in. and they were super greasy to the touch. i’m dissapointed 🙁
SO DELICIOUS! I was worried at first when the toothpick came out a little greasy but I took them out at 35 min and they are the best thing I have eaten in ages!
Question – I want to make some for work in a 9×13 pan just cut smaller. How long should I bake them for?
Hi Susie, for a 9×13 pan, bake time will be around 30 minutes. So glad they were a favorite for you!
Wish Me Luck! I doubled the recipe, slightly cut back the brown sugar, and slightly cut back the butter. I had to use my mixer because it was too thick to stir, even after adding two tablespoons of buttermilk. They’re in the oven now-anxiously awaiting the outcome!
For everyone out on the internet waiting with baited breath…the blondies came out fantastic! I didn’t have enough butterscotch chips, so also added Heath bar chips and toasted chopped pecans. I baked them in the 9×13 pan, and they took approx 50 minutes. DELICIOUS!
When do you add the sea salt flakes, before or after baking? Warm or cooled?
Hi Julie, we add the sprinkle of sea salt flakes before baking.
Can i omit the butterscotch morsels since its hard to find from where i am. I love your recipes! They are the best!
Hi Shara, absolutely, or feel free to swap with another favorite baking chip or add-in. Enjoy!
I made these amazing Blondies yesterday for the second time in a week and a half. (oink oink)
It’s just me and my husband of 46 years but we managed to polish them off in record time. I added a handful of chocolate chips just because. They’re amazingly yummy with morning coffee. This recipe is definitely taking the #1 spot at the front of my “Best online cookie Cookbook ” that I’ve compiled!!