These are the BEST butterscotch chocolate chip cookies! They’re crispy on the outside, gooey and chewy on the inside, and loaded with chocolate and butterscotch chips. I’ve also added chopped pecans and a bit of extra flaky sea salt salt to balance out the sweetness of the butterscotch…making these cookies absolute perfection.
What makes these cookies so good?
For starters, can we talk about how these cookies require ZERO time in the fridge? If you’ve baked one of my cookie recipes, then you know I’m a big fan of chilling cookie dough. But not this time! These cookies can be made in under an hour but taste like they’ve been chilling for days.
The flavors are super rich with the melted butter, cinnamon, extra salt, and pecans. It creates a savory element in an otherwise super sweet cookie. Butterscotch is very sweet, so using a few salty and warm ingredients really help to balance out the flavors.
Last but not least, the texture of these cookies is absolute perfection. The outside is nice and crispy while the inside and soft and gooey…everything a cookie should be! Top with a little extra flaky sea salt and you now have the BEST butterscotch chocolate chip cookies.
How to make the BEST butterscotch chocolate chip cookies
These cookies are made just like any other, by combining the wet ingredients and then mixing in all of the dry ingredients. But here are a few extra tips to ensure they turn out perfect:
- Measuring the flour – To make sure your cookies spread evenly when baked, you must use the correct amount of flour. When measuring, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a flat edge. Don’t shake it down into the cup or scoop directly into the bag, this will lead to way too much flour in the dough and your cookies will turn out pale and puffy rather than rich and chewy.
- Creaming the butter – When mixing the butter and sugar, you want to end up with a paste-like consistency (like the picture above). It will take a couple minutes of mixing on medium-high speed, but don’t cut this step too short. Otherwise your cookies will turn out too tough and grainy.
- Sugar – You can either use light or dark brown sugar in this recipe. I used light brown sugar here, but dark brown sugar will give you a bit more chew and richness.
- Size – These best size for these cookies is 2 tablespoons worth. Most standard cookie scoops are this exact size. To test, pour two tablespoons of water into your cookie scoop to see if it’s the right size. If not, you can scoop by hand using a tablespoon.
- Baking – These cookies only bake for 10-12 minutes. Pull them out of the oven when the edges are golden brown and the center still looks a bit pale and underdone. They will continue to bake outside of the oven, giving you a gooey center and chewy outside.
Mix-in options
A classic butterscotch chocolate chip cookie consists of just chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. But for my recipe, I opted to include chopped pecans as well. They help balance out the sweetness of the butterscotch and add a bit more body to these cookies. You can’t even taste them, but you can tell a difference when they’re not there.
If you LOVE the bold flavor of butterscotch, you can leave the pecans out. Otherwise, they work perfectly in these cookies.
Other options include dark chocolate chips, chopped toffee, macadamia nuts, or pressing pretzels into the tops after they’re baked.
Don’t forget the salt!
What sets these cookies over the edge is the bit of sea salt on top. It adds a savory element to these cookies and helps enhance all of the flavors.
Can I make these without the butterscotch chips?
Yes! This recipe would be absolutely delicious as just plain old chocolate chip cookies. Swap the butterscotch chips for more semisweet chips or dark chocolate chips and the pecans with chopped walnuts (or omit completely).
How to store leftover cookies
These cookies are best served warm (just like most cookies) but remain delicious at room temperature. Store any leftovers in an air tight container at room temp and they’ll keep for up to 4-5 days before going stale.
Can I freeze the dough?
Yes you can. Scoop the dough into individual balls and place onto a small tray or plate. Chill uncovered for about an hour, then toss the cookie dough balls into a freezer safe bag.
Store in the freezer for up to 1 month. When you’re ready to bake, remove as many cookie dough balls as you need and let them come up to room temperature (about 30-45 minutes). Then bake as instructed.
For more of the best cookie recipes, check out my:
- Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Ultimate Monster Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Maple Snickerdoodles
Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram and leave a review below if you make these Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies. To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, the buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!
Watch how to make these cookies:
PrintButterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 15 cookies
Description
These cookies are crispy on the outside, gooey and chewy on the inside, and loaded with butterscotch and chocolate chips. Pecans and flaky sea salt are added to balance out the sweetness, making them SO GOOD!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup (165g) all purpose flour *see notes
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (110g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (100g) light or dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup (75g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup (120g) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (90g) butterscotch chips
- 1/4 cup (25g) chopped pecans*
- Flaky sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the melted butter and sugars either by hand or using an electric mixer. Keep mixing on medium high speed until the mixture lightens and thickens (about 3 minutes, see picture in post for reference).
- Mix in the vanilla and egg until smooth.
- Dump in the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
- Fold in the chips and nuts using a rubber spatula.
- Scoop the cookies out on to the baking sheet, spacing them a few inches apart as they spread quite a bit. Use a regular cookie scoop (2 tablespoons) for the best results.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are a light golden brown and the center is pale and puffed. The cookies will continue to bake and settle once they’re out of the oven so it’s ok if they look a little underdone.
- Sprinkle with a little sea salt and transfer to a cooling rack. Let them cool for about 10 minutes then dig in!
Notes
FLOUR – To measure the flour, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with a flat edge. Don’t shake or press it down into the cup and don’t scoop directly from the flour bag. This will lead to too much flour in your cookies and they won’t spread nice and even.Â
NUTS – If you don’t like nuts, you can leave these out.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
Keywords: butterscotch chocolate chip cookies, butterscotch cookies, cookie recipes
Susannah says
these are possibly the best cookies i’ve ever made! thank you for this incredible, simple, and delicious recipe 🙂
★★★★★
Natasha says
How can I make this eggless?
Jenna says
Unfortunately I haven’t tested these without eggs, so I can’t suggest a good swap and guarantee they’ll still turn out.
Sonya says
Top fave 3 cookie recipes!!
★★★★★
Kristie Sanders says
Hi, I love this recipe but I am finding that my cookies are puffy, almost cake like and I’ve follow the receipe exactly- They taste finde, just wish they were thinner, crispier.
Jenna says
So sorry this happened! It could be that you added too much flour (always spoon the flour into your measuring cup, never scoop into the flour), or your leveners have expired.
Kristie Sanders says
Thank you- I was wondering if that might be the case. Appreciate your responding.
Danie says
I use powdered egg replacement. They turn out great!
Teil Fuller says
hi! I am vegan and still want to try out this recipe. I plan on using an egg alternative. Did you ever end up trying the recipe without egg or with an egg substitute? I would love to hear how it turned out, thanks !
Shelby says
I did one batch substituting the egg with unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup
★★★★★
Kim says
Hi,
Have you tried these cookies using
gluten free flour?
Jenna says
I haven’t but they should be ok!
Michelle says
Kim did you ever try this with GF flour? Would love to hear your results!!
Rebecca says
I did and they are so good. I use King Arthur’s
Barbara says
These are delicious! I was hesitant to put the flaked seasalt on, but I’m so glad I did. It elevates the cookie to another level!
★★★★★
Jenna says
Yesss flaky sea salt makes any cookie taste so much better!
AJ says
These cookies are so yummy!! Turned out perfectly. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Sam says
Can I add chopped walnuts instead of the pecans?
Jenna says
Sure!
Jessica says
My son and I made these and they were delicious. I love nuts but he hates them however we could not taste them at all. Mine did spread a lot and melt together but that’s because I made them too big. Somehow soft and crispy, a delightful texture.
★★★★★
Beth Riddle says
Fantastic! Taste was on point with the sweet with a tad of salt. I also like it because it makes a smaller batch than other cookie recipes. There are only 3 of us so it limits our overindulging. Thanks for the recipe!!
Jenna says
Yay! Thanks for sharing!
Nichole says
This is the best cookie recipe ever, in the history of eva’
I have been working on my cookie recipe for years, and then you came along……magical……thank you!! No matter what morsels you put in this recipe, it will be spectacular because the dough is exceptional!!
Thank you for sharing!!! xoxo
Kristi says
Very crispy and yummy, thanks for sharing! The only change I made was to use dry roasted peanuts, because I just made the butter pecan chocolate chip cookies. The chocolate and butterscotch chips with peanuts makes me think Dairy Queen sundae turned cookie. Fantastic flavors! Thank you again,
★★★★★
Brenda says
My niece drives an hour from Brunswick Georgia to Florida to get these copkies. She calls them crack cookies because they are addictive.
Jenna says
Haha love that! Now they’re roadtrip cookies.
Krystina says
Hands down, the BEST cookies I have EVER made! And trust me, I have made A LOT of cookies in my 30 years of life! My little helpers and I whipped up a batch of these this morning and we all love them. My husband was quite happy to have a couple of these on his lunch break before he headed back to work.
They are very rich, unlike my infamous Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that I usually make and are gone in an instant. I can’t pop these in my mouth one after another without a glass of water in between 😂
Great recipe! I’m looking forward to browsing your site and finding more delicious recipes.
★★★★★
Jenna says
Ah this makes me so happy to hear!
Marcy says
This recipe looks fantastic! I was wondering—do I need to chill the cookie dough before baking? Is it okay to chill in the refrigerator before baking, or do they need to be baked right away?
Jenna says
For the best results, bake right away
Marcy says
Also, how long should I leave the cookies on the cookie sheets before transferring to the cooling rack?
Jenna says
Just about a minute or two!
Jon Blackman says
OMG this is the best recipe I have ever tried for choc chip cookies.
★★★★★
Jenna says
Yay!!
Marcy says
These cookies were PHENOMENAL!!!! I was nervous at first since I’m a first-time baker and had been told that as a general rule cookie dough MUST be refrigerated; however, when it comes to these cookies–rules are meant to be broken! They were soooo addicting!!! While they spread, I made sure there was enough room and it was not an issue.
The dough was incredible, and the blend of chocolate, butterscotch, and sea salt was out of this world. This recipe is genius–will DEFINITELY MAKE AGAIN!!!
★★★★★
Heather Scott says
Hi,
Question- do you brown the butter? Or just simply melt it??
Jenna says
Just melt it 🙂
Christine says
Great recipe – the cookies came out perfectly!! Just used a little less sugar than it called for but it was just right for my palate. Will definitely be making more of these goodies in the future 🙂
★★★★★
Jen says
I was skeptical at first as the formula is different than I’m used to, but after reading the reviews I decided to try these out. THEY ARE INCREDIBLE! PLEASE MAKE THEM IMMEDIATELY!! I’ll be browsing this site for more recipes. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Jenna says
Ah yay! Thank you!
Kayla Nguyen says
I’m looking forward to making this recipe but I have just a quick question! I’m not the biggest fan of flaky salt on top of cookies so to get that flavor balance should I just add a little more salt into the dough mixture? If so how much? Thanks!
Kayla Nguyen says
I went ahead and made the recipe with 1/4 teaspoon more salt instead of the flaky salt on top and they came out perfect, great cookies Jenna!
★★★★★
Jenna says
Oh! Haha sorry for the delayed response then! Glad it worked out 🙂
Jenna says
No worries! You can try using salted butter instead to see if that helps. Or use extra dark 90% cacao chocolate to help balance out the sweet butterscotch.
Chand Gidwani says
Can I use oil instead of butter
Jenna says
No, as oil will cause the cookies to spread too much.