What Is Butterscotch, and How Is It Different from Caramel and Toffee?

Now that we’re in full holiday baking mode, you may be looking for a delicious treat you can package up and give as a gift. While caramel and toffee are excellent choices, butterscotch, the third sibling in this sugary trio, is equally worthy of your attention. Warm, buttery butterscotch is sweet and mellow, with notes of vanilla and cooked sugar, and, thanks to the addition of butter and the molasses in brown sugar, it’s a little bit easier to make than caramel — what’s not to love about that?

The main difference between caramel and butterscotch is that caramel is made by heating white, granulated sugar to various stages, while butterscotch is made with brown sugar and butter, which gives it a deeper, more rounded flavor, thanks to the butter and molasses. Caramel sauce, in particular, is caramel that is combined with some form of cream.

Toffee and butterscotch are made from the same ingredients — brown sugar and butter — but butterscotch is cooked to the soft-crack stage (between 270°F and 290°F) and toffee is cooked longer to the hard-crack stage (between 295°F and 309°F), giving it a more brittle texture.

The exact etymology of the word butterscotch is unclear. It may refer to “scotching” or cutting of the candy into squares, or it may reference origins in Scotland. The name may also have been derived from the method of scorching or “scotching” butter.

Now that you know a little more about butterscotch, it’s time to get cooking. Whether you make a classic butterscotch pudding, whip up a butterscotch syrup to drizzle over vanilla ice cream, or use butterscotch chips to flavor a favorite cookie, these treats will be sure to win you over to Team Butterscotch.

• Butterscotch Pudding
• Browned Butter Butterscotch Pie
• Peanut Butter Scotcheroos
• Easy No-Bake Haystacks