Easy Butterscotch Sauce

Homemade Butterscotch Sauce recipe makes a delicious topping for drizzling over desserts, as well as a yummy dip for fruit, candy, and sweets. It has a sweet, buttery, caramel flavor and a luxuriously smooth texture. It also keeps really well in the fridge.

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Best Butterscotch Sauce Recipe

You won’t believe how easy it is to make homemade butterscotch sauce using pantry staples. And it tastes like a professional’s confection every time! This recipe is similar to my Caramel Sauce recipe, but uses brown sugar instead of white sugar to create a rich, molasses-like flavor, and it’s easier since you add all the ingredients to the saucepan at once.

We love to use this butterscotch sauce over cakes (hello Pumpkin Cheesecake!), cookies, and to dip apples from my parents’ garden, but my all-time favorite use is to drizzle it over my coffee while sitting near the fireplace. It’s cozy like a snowy postcard!

Homemade butterscotch sauce is so much better than buying the store-bought version, because you use real ingredients without preservatives. That’s why homemade sauces like Chocolate Ganache, Strawberry Sauce, and Whipped cream, are always tastier made from scratch.

Butterscotch Sauce Ingredients

You only need these 5 simple ingredients to make a luxurious and tasty butterscotch sauce.

• Brown sugar – The molasses in light brown sugar adds flavor and color. Make sure it’s tightly packed into the 1 cup measure to get the right amount. When you dump the sugar out, it should hold the shape of the measuring cup.
• Butter – unsalted – to use salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe.
• Sea salt – balances sweetness.
• Half-and-half – this creates the butterscotch sauce instead of butterscotch candy. To substitute, you can use equal parts of heavy cream and milk.
• Vanilla extract – Homemade Vanilla Extract or store-bought work fine

How to Make Butterscotch Sauce from Scratch

It takes just 1 step and 10 minutes or less to make butterscotch syrup from scratch, so this recipe couldn’t be any easier!

• Heat all the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat while whisking. Once it’s at a simmer, keep whisking over low heat for 6-9 minutes or until it’s thick and no longer watery. Remove from the heat and serve warm. It will continue to thicken as it cools.

How to Fix a Grainy Butterscotch Sauce

A grainy butterscotch sauce usually means the sugar didn’t fully dissolve before boiling. Take it off the heat, stir in a tablespoon or two of warm water or warm half-and-half, then return it to the heat and bring it back up gently until the sugar melts in.

How to Fix a Separated Butterscotch Sauce

If your butterscotch starts to look separated or oily on top, take it off the heat right away. This can indicate it was cooked too hot or reduced too much. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of warm water or warm half-and-half, then return it to the heat and bring it back to a gentle boil. This helps the sugar dissolve and brings the sauce back to a silky texture.

What to Serve with Butterscotch Sauce

Once you drizzle this topping on ice cream, you’ll start searching for more ways to enjoy it. These are some of my favorite recipes to dip in or drizzle the sauce.

• Baked Apples
• Pumpkin Pie
• Eclairs
• Apple Pie
• Banana Bundt Cake
• Churros
• Apple Crisp
• Scones
• Cinnamon Rolls

Homemade Butterscotch Sauce adds a delicious sweet drizzle to so many of my favorite desserts! The recipe takes less than 10 minutes and requires just 5 pantry staple ingredients. Try this delicious butterscotch recipe to add a layer of YUM to any sweet treat.

More Cozy Fall Desserts

If you are making your own butterscotch sauce, chances are you love home-baked fall treats as much as I do! Try these easy Fall desserts next:

• Pecan Pie Bars
• Toffee Recipe
• Cranberry Cookies
• Banana Bread
• Apple Muffins
• Cranberry Bread
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Candied Pecans
• Fudgy Brownies