Of all the blondies recipes out there, this is my favorite! Learn how to make blondies with this simple one-bowl method.
When I was a kid, my mom used to make these butterscotch blondies, which we always called “blonde brownies,” and which always disappeared really quickly.
Unfortunately, the recipe was lost, a fact which has not only caused me great angst, but also sent me on a blondie-recipe searching spree that lasted months.
Maybe years.
I was hoping I was close when I made these Nutella Swirled Peanut Butter Bars, and while they were delicious, it was not exactly the blondie I was looking for. This recipe does not have any leavening agent in it, which makes the bars dense and gooey.
I wanted something slightly more cakey.
My mom found a recipe that was very close recently. I made an adaptation or two, and voila! The blondie of my childhood appeared before my eyes!
Mom used to make these in a sheet pan and cut the crust off before serving them. Grandpa would always sneak into the kitchen and eat the crusts. He always said they were the best part!
I think he was also a little worried my mom would throw them away.
Since Grandpa recently passed away, this yummy butterscotch treat has been on my mind a lot. And, once I made them, naturally, the first thing I did was remove the crusts.
And eat them.
I like to think Grandpa would be proud!
Butterscotch Blondies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Combine butter with sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
- Add baking powder and flour and mix until combined. Fold in chips.
- Spread into a greased or lined 9x9 pan and bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes until brown. Let cool before cutting into 16 small or 9 large squares.
Ooh, these look divine! And what a neat memory of your grandpa…I like the way he operated 🙂
Hello from Australia. Can I ask what Butterscotch Chips are? I’ll have to come up with an alternative. Thank you
Butterscotch chips are like chocolate chips but are butterscotch flavor. Yum! You could probably do white chocolate chips as a substitute but you won’t get the butterscotch flavor. Have you tried looking on amazon for the butterscotch chips? You could probably find them there. I hope this helps 🙂
Re – a substitute for butterscotch chips. These weren’t around in the 50s or 60s when I learned this recipe. The flavor comes from the brown sugar and butter. The chips taste phony to me. I’ll use all bvrown sugar, a scant cup, and leave out the white sugar.. I always add walnuts for contrast to the “chew.” Good luck!
Hi Kate
I get my Butterscotch chips or Butterscotch Morsels from USA Foods. If you’re in Victoria they’re in Moorabbin or if not you can buy online as they deliver. Hope you have some luck and enjoy your baking.
Cheers Andre
I love that you cut the crusts off and ate them in tribute to your grandpa. He was a smart man (I love the crispy crust from brownies and blondies). These look amazing, Jen. I’m so glad that you were able to recreate this treat from your childhood!
I can’t even imagine why your mom cut the edges off unless she was hoarding them to eat later! Your grandpa was a smart man. The edges are the very best part! I am pinning this one on my Recipes to Try board, Jen!
Ok I want a BIG pan of these right now!
I’d be fighting your grandpa for those crust pieces!
they look yummy!
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Is it 3 times the recipe for sheet cake pan?
Karen, I’ve never made a batch that big, but that sounds about right. You’ll probably have to adjust the baking time. Let us know how it turns out!
What did I do? I made these tonight and they are as hard as a rock. I only baked them for 22 minutes! So disappointing.
Some recipes say ‘cannot be doubled’) tripled, I assume) because some ingredients’ amounts would have be adjusted, beyond just doubling or tripling. You may want to try it when you’re not in a hurry or need them for something specific. Then at least you’ll know right then if you can triple them and adjust the time. Otherwise, you’ll know to bake each batch separately.
Are these supposed to be a stiffer consistency than boxed brounie batter? They look delicious!
It’s almost like cookie dough.
Made these tonight. Delicious but the recipe does not call for greasing the pan, which is DEFINITELY necessary.
These are AMAZING !!!! I’ve made these a dozen times and my husband says they are the most delicious dessert I’ve ever made him in the 13 years we’ve been together !
can i use all purpose flour for this?
rean, that’s what I used! I use all-purpose flour for just about everything.
thanks for the reply!! ill make one soon.
Making these for the second time — doubled the recipe, since they’re such a hit! Thanks for this easy and delicious treat!
I followed the directions to a T, and the texture is outstanding. Perfectly chewy and moist and gorgeous. However, the taste is lacking one thing, and it took me a minute to figure out: salt! Maybe it’s just a subjective thing, but I feel it needs a bit of that savory contrast. I did a cursory search of blondies and every other recipe I see has salt. So, next time I make these–and I certainly will–I’ll add salt, maybe a 1/2 or 1 tsp. Hopefully that doesn’t screw up the perfect texture!
Patrick, thanks for pointing that out. I didn’t add salt because I was using salted butter, but I probably should have specified that. Salt is a great addition to almost any baked recipe! And yes, I think 1/2 teaspoon would be perfect.
I don’t want to use granulated sugar as I like the flavour to be purely brown sugary, so can I just omit it? Will it have any effect on the quantity of the other ingredients? Like, will I have to reduce/add butter or flour or anything else? Thanks!!!
Mindy, I wouldn’t just omit the white sugar. You can replace the white sugar with more brown sugar, if you want, though. Instead of 1/2 cup brown sugar, use 3/4 or 1 cup and leave the white sugar out. You shouldn’t need to make any other changes. Let me know how it turns out!
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Hmmm…I make these and realized that something about that tasted iffy. First thing was that there was too much butter and secondly it was lacking salt. But, otherwise they came out really moist and chewy.
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I made these last night for thanksgiving dinner and they were devoured!! My bed who isn’t even a sweets person was raving about them. Followed the recipe to a T but creamed my butter and sugars. There are addicting and delicious with ice cream! Will make again.
What would happen if I used melted butter? Would it still turn out?
We had a sweet tooth tonight and this recipe was perfection!! Thank you so much for sharing!!
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curious how you would adapt the recipe for either a 13 x 9 inch baking dish? or would a bigger, jelly roll pan be better? how much time should it bake for? thanks!
I would double this to fit in a 9×13, and the baking time will be about the same, maybe just a touch longer.
They didn’t work for me I even double recipe and put in a bigger pan,so Mabey I didn’t add flour when I doubled can remember but they looked like a brownie mix and did not turn our I’m disappointed tplus it was a small,recipe and made me made wasted butter and stuff
I don’t know what I did wrong but mine didn’t turn out right at all either. They were very gooy and had an undercooked texture on the inside but were almost burned on the top. I cooked them for 30 minutes at 350
Maybe you accidentally used baking soda instead of baking powder? I accidentally did this the first time and mine was gooey like it wasn’t cooked and the top was baked and the second time, I used baking powder as the recipe calls for and they are perfect!!!
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Made these for Christmas and the family loved them! The only thing I modified wasI added pecans in it! They came out great!
I would like to make these blondies in a 12 square muffin pan, How should I adjust the time for the muffin pan as compared to a 13X9 baking dish?
I followed the recipe exactly but they didn’t bake correctly. The top was brown and crispy, but the interior was just mushy batter. Anyone else experience this?
It sounds like it could be a problem with your oven. Is it possible it is baking at too high or too low a temperature?
Was it mushy when you plaved it in the pan? The batter was very thick in my case, struggled to spread it out i guess it should be like that. Actually reveiving the amount of flour in weight would help a lot because between brands 1 cup flour can be very different
What would the cooking time be in an 8×8 dish?
You’re most likely to young to remember these. My Mom used to buy Entemann’s Butterscotch brownies. There were a dozen laid out in the tin
package. This was a treat for us as kids.
I also got a gooey center to my blondies. I used unsalted butter and was disappointed to read the comments on the recipe after I put the pan in the oven. Unsalted butter is the standard for butter in recipes- if you use salted butter it should be noted in the recipe. The blondies are gooey because of the high amount of butter. I think the recipe would be improved with less butter. Overall, a disappointment.
I only have margarine. Would that still work? Or would the recipe be messed up?
This recipe gets most of its flavor from butter. Margerine might work okay, but it will not give the buttery flavor that makes this recipe so tasty. So while it’s not my first choice, I would say that margerine would do in a pinch.
can i omit the butterscotch chips or is there any substitute that i can make..
I just made these but I did my own added goodies, I crushed king size Heath bars and make sure they are big chunks the baking ones melt and you don’t taste them as much, and white and chocolate chips to the Mex instead of butterscotch I know it defeats “butterscotch” receipt but this receipt is the absolute best when making Blondie brownies and ps did the butterscotch to both are amazing but my family loved when I added the other ingredients as long as you have a solid delicious recipe for the base you can’t go wrong!!! Thanks is my new go to baked good for Christmas thanks for sharing
I made these and they came our rock hard. I followed the recipe but I could tell from the thick batter before I even cooked them that they probably weren’t going to turn out well.
Just tried them out they turned out perfect. I added half tsp of salt since I was using unsalted butter. Also added some chopped walnuts. I baked them for 30 mins at 350 in a 7×11 tray. Thank you for such a delicious recipe.
I have made your blond brownies several times.I have made them for home, bake sales, school events, and thank you presents.I have double and tripled the recipe and they turn out perfect every time. Thank you for posting it.
Thank you for this amazing recipe!! Its the best! I have made them over and over.