Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies with brown butter and Heath bits are soft, chewy cookies filled with warm, rich flavor -- not to mention TONS of gooey chocolate and butterscotch! Easy one bowl cookie recipe with no chilling required.
For more yummy cookie recipes, try Chocolate Chipless Cookies and Browned Butter Peanut Butter Cookies.
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Yo, butterscotch lovers -- I developed this butterscotch chocolate chip cookie recipe JUST FOR YOU! Sure, I could’ve just tossed some butterscotch chips into classic chocolate chip cookies, but I wanted to enhance those rich butterscotch flavors.
So I browned the butter, went heavy on the dark brown sugar, glugged in a full tablespoon of vanilla, added Heath bits, and topped it all off with flaky sea salt.
And Oh. My. Gosh. These chocolate chip butterscotch cookies are soft with a chewy center, full of deep, rich, nutty flavor. If you're a fan of butterscotch -- or even if you're not -- this is sure to become your new favorite cookie recipe!
🍪Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.
- Browned butter. Making browned butter is an easy process that adds rich, nutty flavor to whatever you use it in. Just be sure to let the melted butter cool until it isn't hot to the touch or it will melt the chocolate chips.
- Dark brown sugar. I love the deep molasses flavor from dark brown sugar, but light brown sugar will definitely work.
- Vanilla extract. Because of the rich butterscotch flavors, these cookies can definitely handle a full tablespoon of pure vanilla extract. So you didn't read that wrong: it's a tablespoon, not a teaspoon.
- All-purpose flour. Remember when you measure flour to spoon it into the measuring cup and level off the top. Too much flour can make the cookies dry.
- Chocolate chips. I use dark chocolate chips to offset some of the sweetness of the butterscotch morsels, but you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, even white chocolate chips or peanut butter chips!
- Heath bits. Chopped Heath bars drive home the buttery toffee flavors. You can also use toffee bits or nuts if you prefer.
🥣How to Make Chocolate Butterscotch Chip Cookies
Step 1: Brown the butter. Melt and stir cubed butter in a saucepan over medium heat. It will bubble and foam and develop little brown flecks and a rich, nutty aroma, which takes 5-8 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour it into a heat-proof bowl to cool, 10-15 minutes.
Step 2: Mix the browned butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes. Mix in the eggs then the vanilla until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Step 3: Sift in the flour, salt, and baking soda (or whisk them in a separate bowl before adding) and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and Heath bits. Mix on low until distributed throughout the dough.
Step 4: Optional, chill the dough 30-60 minutes or overnight. Or bake right away. Scoop dough into 2-tablespoon portions and flatten into a 1" thick puck. Place the dough balls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Top with more chocolate and butterscotch chips and Heath bits, if desired.
Step 5: Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 7-9 minutes or until the tops are light golden brown and the centers still look a little underdone. Internal temperature should read 175-185. If desired, sprinkle a little flaky salt on top of each cookie.
Step 6: Cool on pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool -- at least slightly. Dig in while still warm or cool completely.
👉Helpful Hint: To speed up cooling the browned butter, pour it into a shallow dish, like a pie plate, and cool it in the refrigerator. It doesn't have to be cold, it just shouldn't be hot enough to melt the chocolate chips. Slightly warm is okay.
✅Top Tips
- Chilling isn't necessary to keep the cookies from spreading, but it does intensify the flavors.
- If the cookies spread too much, chill the dough. It also helps to shape the dough into tall balls.
🎁Storage
- Store butterscotch chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for about a week.
- Freeze baked cookies between layers of wax paper in ziptop freezer bags or airtight freezer-safe containers.
🗓️Make Ahead
- Make the cookie dough up to 3-5 days ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator covered in plastic wrap. Before baking, let it sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes or until it is soft enough to scoop.
- To freeze the dough, scoop it into portions and freeze them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Place the frozen cookie dough balls in a zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and bake as directed.
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📖 Recipe
Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies (with Browned Butter!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract not teaspoon
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips plus more for topping
- 1 cup butterscotch chips plus more for topping
- ½ cup Heath bits plus more for topping
Instructions
- If baking right away, preheat the oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Brown the butter: Cube the butter and melt it in a light-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, stirring as it bubbles and foams. After 5-8 minutes, it will toast and develop golden-brown flecks. Quickly transfer it to a heat-proof bowl to stop cooking. Let it cool 10-15 minutes -- or until it no longer feels hot (it can be a little warm, just not so warm that it would melt the chocolate). You can speed this up in a shallow dish in the fridge.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, until fully blended, then the vanilla.
- Sift in the flour, salt, and baking soda just until a thick dough forms, being careful not to overmix. Add the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and Heath bits. Mix on low until incorporated into the dough.
- Optional: chill dough for 30-60 minutes for the most intense flavor and thickest cookies.
- Portion dough into rounded 2 tablespoon balls and flatten them into 1" thick pucks. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. If desired, top with more Heath bits, butterscotch chips, and chocolate chips. (I press the top of the dough ball into a bowl of Heath bits, then add the chips by hand).
- Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. The internal temperature should be 175-185 for soft, gooey cookies. Sprinkle the tops with a little flaky sea salt, optional.
- Let the cookies rest on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Who am I kidding -- eat at least a few while they're warm and gooey!!
Notes
- If you don’t have a large strainer or sifter, whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl before adding them to the wet ingredients.
- Chilling the dough isn't necessary to keep the cookies from spreading. For thicker cookies with more intense flavor, chill the dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour, up to overnight.
- If the cookies spread, chill the dough. It also helps to shape the dough into tall balls.
- The ideal internal temperature of these cookies is 175 to 185.
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