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Why You’ll Be Obsessed With These Chewy Butterscotch Bars

Once you try these homemade butterscotch bars, you’ll understand why they quickly become a household obsession. It’s not just their captivating aroma that draws you in, but a meticulous combination of exceptional flavor, delightful texture, and surprising simplicity in the baking process. Here’s a closer look at what makes this recipe truly stand out and why it will earn a permanent spot in your baking collection:

1. Unforgettable Buttery, Sweet & Salty Flavor Profile: The foundation of these incredible bars begins with a generous amount of melted butter. This simple technique not only simplifies mixing but also infuses the dough with an unparalleled richness. Paired with the deep, caramel-like, and wonderfully nostalgic notes of high-quality butterscotch chips, you achieve a flavor profile that’s both comforting and incredibly sophisticated. The careful addition of salt is crucial here, as it perfectly cuts through the sweetness, enhancing every single bite and providing that complex “brown butter” depth without the usual fuss of browning butter. Serve them warm alongside a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream, or simply with a tall, cold glass of milk for a truly perfect dessert experience.
2. Perfectly Chewy, Thick, and Gloriously Gooey Texture: If you’re tired of thin, cakey, or overly crumbly bars, then this recipe is for you! We’ve meticulously crafted these bars to be wonderfully substantial. By doubling the beloved base dough from our popular butterscotch cookie cake, we ensure that when baked in a standard 9×13 inch pan, you achieve gloriously thick, substantial, and wonderfully chewy bars that rival any professional bakery’s offerings. The center remains delightfully gooey, melting in your mouth with every bite and creating a textural masterpiece that simply cannot be replicated with a pre-made mix. Prepare to say goodbye to bland, box-mix desserts and hello to homemade perfection!
3. Effortless Baking: Absolutely No Mixer Required! One of the most appealing aspects of this recipe is its incredible simplicity and accessibility. Since we begin with melted butter, there’s absolutely no need to pull out your heavy stand mixer or even a hand mixer. All you require is a single mixing bowl and a sturdy wooden spoon or spatula. This not only makes the entire cleanup process a breeze but also opens up the wonderful world of baking to home cooks and beginners of all skill levels. You truly won’t miss the traditional creaming of butter and sugar once you experience the exceptional results this easy, hand-mixed method consistently yields!

Essential Ingredients for Your Bakery-Style Butterscotch Bars

Crafting these delectable butterscotch bars requires a handful of readily available pantry staples, each playing a crucial and distinct role in achieving that signature bakery-style taste and texture. Using high-quality ingredients, particularly your butterscotch chips and real butter, will significantly elevate the final product. Here’s a comprehensive list of what you’ll need, along with a brief explanation of each ingredient’s function:

• Unsalted Butter: This forms the cornerstone of our rich, deeply buttery flavor. Melting it not only streamlines the mixing process but also contributes significantly to the uniquely chewy and dense texture of the bars.
• Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: The strategic combination of these two types of sugar is absolutely key to the bars’ complex profile. Brown sugar, with its molasses content, adds essential moisture and contributes to that signature soft, chewy texture. Granulated sugar, on the other hand, contributes to the overall sweetness and helps create those slightly crisp, delightful edges.
• Large Egg: The egg acts as a vital binder in the dough, providing necessary structure and adding an additional layer of richness, ensuring the bars hold together beautifully.
• Vanilla Extract: A timeless flavor enhancer, vanilla extract beautifully complements and rounds out the sweet, caramel notes of the butterscotch. Always opt for good quality pure vanilla for the best aromatic results.
• Salt: This often-underestimated ingredient is absolutely essential for balancing the intense sweetness and bringing out the nuanced, complex flavors of both the butterscotch and the butter. If you’re using unsalted butter (which is recommended for better control), do not skip this ingredient!
• All-Purpose Flour: The primary structural component of the butterscotch bars. Accurate measurement of flour is critical for achieving the perfect texture; we recommend using the spoon and level method to avoid a dense or dry bar.
• Baking Powder: Provides a subtle, gentle lift to the dough, contributing to the bar’s desirable thick, yet tender crumb without making it overtly cakey.
• Cornstarch: This is a secret ingredient often employed in cookie and bar recipes to achieve a wonderfully soft, tender, and distinctly chewy interior. It prevents the bars from becoming tough or overly dense, ensuring a delicate bite.
• Butterscotch Chips: The undeniable star of this show! For the most authentic, rich, and delicious butterscotch flavor, we strongly recommend opting for a higher-quality brand. My personal go-to is Nestle Toll House chips due to their consistent quality and delicious taste. Avoid generic or overly cheap brands that can sometimes have a waxy texture and an unappealing artificial flavor.
• 9×13 Metal Pan: The ideal size for baking these generously thick, bakery-style bars. A metal baking pan is preferred over glass as it conducts heat more efficiently and evenly, ensuring a consistent bake and beautifully golden edges.

Step 3: Bake to Gooey Perfection

Carefully place the prepared pan of butterscotch bars into your preheated 350ºF (175ºC) oven. Bake for approximately 26 to 28 minutes. The crucial secret to achieving truly soft, incredibly chewy, and perfectly gooey bars is to actively avoid overbaking. You are looking for the edges of the bars to appear set and lightly golden brown, while the very center might still look a little soft, slightly shiny, or even appear to be slightly under-baked. Do not be alarmed if it seems a tad too gooey when you first pull it out of the oven!

This is where the magic of “carryover baking” comes into play. The residual heat retained within the hot metal pan will continue to cook the bars gently even after they have been removed from the oven. This natural process allows the center to firm up just enough as it cools, resulting in that dreamy, tender, and perfectly chewy interior we are striving for. Slightly underbaking is the ultimate, non-negotiable trick to achieving a soft, perfectly gooey bar every single time, ensuring a melt-in-your-mouth experience.

Step 4: Cool, Cut, and Savor Your Creation!

Once baked, it’s essential to allow the butterscotch bars to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack for at least 1-2 hours, or ideally, until they reach full room temperature. This cooling period is absolutely critical for the bars to fully set, making them easier to cut into clean, beautiful squares without crumbling. If you thoughtfully lined your pan with parchment paper, you can carefully lift the entire slab of cooled bars out of the pan and transfer it onto a cutting board for easier slicing.

Using a sharp chef’s knife, meticulously slice the butterscotch blondies into your desired square sizes. I personally adore cutting them into generous, substantial bakery-style squares for an impressive presentation and a truly satisfying bite, but feel free to cut smaller portions if you prefer. For the cleanest possible cuts, a professional trick is to wipe your knife blade with a warm, damp cloth between each slice.

Now, the moment you’ve been waiting for: enjoying your homemade masterpiece! These bars are delightful when served at room temperature, but they are absolutely divine when enjoyed slightly warm, especially when paired with a decadent scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream for a delightful warm-cold contrast, or simply with a frosty glass of cold milk. Share them generously with loved ones, or keep them all to yourself – your secret is safe with us!