I love love love making this Easy Caramel Butterscotch Sauce, and I think you will, too! It’s minutes to make, and it’s so no stress or effort!
Easy Caramel Butterscotch Sauce
Now I am not sure if it’s a normal thing to be watching a movie, but obsessively thinking about caramel sauce all the while, just because you know there’s vanilla ice cream in the fridge and you know how easy this is to make. If that’s you, too, this is your recipe!
About Easy Caramel Butterscotch Sauce:
Some call this Caramel Sauce, others Butterscotch, and I’ve called it Caramel Butterscotch Sauce. Whatever you call this, it’s a rich, delicious, luscious sauce. There are so many ways to use it. I’ve just scratched the surface, below:
- It’s the perfect thing over plain old vanilla ice cream, but there’s no reason to stop there. Add apples, pears, or peaches, and top it with this deliciousness. Maybe crumble some cookies and mix them all up, then drizzle with the sauce.
- It’s a fabulous way to dress up cake, homemade or store-bought, whether it’s a plain old sheet cake or maybe a bundt. Or maybe you’d like to drizzle some on bars.
- Mix a little with a whipped cream/cream cheese mixture or whipped cream topping for a fruit dip. Or maybe you just want to dip fruit into the caramel.
- Why not serve at breakfast? Try a teaspoon in your coffee, drizzle over pancakes, or top your oatmeal. It’s especially good in or on baked oatmeal.
Just make it, use it, and you can thank me later!
Easy Caramel or Butterscotch Sauce
Making the Caramel Butterscotch Sauce:
All kinds of caramel are easy, but this Caramel Butterscotch is one of the easiest.
Just take a saucepan, add butter, brown sugar, and cream, bring to a boil for about five minutes, and that’s pretty much it. When finished, add a little extract and a pinch (or more) of salt.
I had an aha moment when I realized I’ve made variations of Caramel Butterscotch Sauce for over 50 years (Hello Grandma’s Apple Cake with Caramel Rum Sauce), but never recognized the basic ratio until today.
It’s equal parts butter and cream with double the sugar. Make a little or a lot, it’s always the same ratio. This recipe uses 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup cream, and 1 cup sugar. For the butter: 1/2 cup butter = a stick = 8 tablespoons = 1/4 pound.
Grandma’s Apple Cake with Caramel Rum Sauce
Varying the Recipe:
Caramel is caramel, but there are a few ways to tweak:
- Use light brown or dark sugar for lighter or darker caramel. (My Grandma’s cake uses half brown and half white.)
- The standard extract is Vanilla. Vary the flavor by subbing in another type of extract. Rum extract or maybe Bourbon are classic.
- Consider adding a teaspoon to a tablespoon of your favorite hooch, instead. Most extracts are made with alcohol.
- Add salt, just a pinch to bring out the flavors, or a little more if you wish to mimic salted caramel.
Storing:
It’s best to pour this into a heatproof container, like a canning jar. It will keep for weeks in the fridge. To heat, microwave for seconds at a time, stirring often.
If it becomes crystallized or too thick upon refrigeration, reheat to a simmer; add a little liquid if needed.
The Difference between Butterscotch & Caramel:
When I first posted in 2016, I called this sauce Caramel Butterscotch; both terms were widely in use. Some called this Caramel Sauce, others Butterscotch. Since the internet became a thing, it’s now said, although this wasn’t always the case:
- Butterscotch is made with brown sugar, like this recipe, where the ingredients are mixed and heated. There IS butter in the recipe, but not always brown sugar.
- Caramel Sauce is made with white sugar heated until melted and darkened, basically “scorched,” before cream is added.
Another thing: some say the “scotch” in butterscotch is an adaptation of the word scorched. Others say it’s a Scottish recipe, hence the “scotch.”
Someone comes up with an idea or definition that sounds reasonable, someone else repeats it, and new definitions happen. (A benign version of the oft-repeated lie.) Don’t get me started on Shepherd’s Pie vs. Cottage Pie and Dressing vs. Stuffing, or “Flash Freezing.” Or the difference between Au Gratin and Scalloped Potatoes.
Toffee Caramel Cheesecake, garnished with home-made Salted Caramel Sauce and Milky Way Bars
Saving Money on Groceries:
There are few ingredients, but several ways to save. Check out Win at the Grocer for links to what to expect during Holiday sales. Here are links for Aldi or Lidl.
Butter:
If you have a freezer, there’s no reason to ever buy butter at full price. It goes on sale often enough and freezes well. (If you are interested in saving money, you should have a deep freeze.)
- Butter is usually on sale before any holiday, but reaches a rock bottom low before Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Stock up at a low, and buy enough to last until the next great sale. Count out the weeks between holidays and buy appropriately.
- Both Aldi & Lidl have great pricing on butter (and sale prices before holidays) and so does your buyers club; quantities might be larger at your buyer’s club than at your grocery or discount store.
Cream:
- Cream is always cheaper at discount groceries. Their everyday price beats out the buyer’s club and the best grocery store holiday sales price.
- Cream keeps for weeks, so if the standard grocery is the only option, get in the habit of picking up at a low before holidays.
Sugar:
- If a grocery store is your only option, take advantage of holiday sales to stock up. The best time for baked goods is the Winter Holidays from before Thanksgiving up to New Year’s or before Easter.
- Buyer’s clubs and discount groceries like Aldi or Lidl both have marvelous pricing all year round.
- Brown Sugar is pricey. I make my own Homemade Brown Sugar for most recipes. In this case, there’s no need to go through that process. Just add 1 cup of white sugar and a tablespoon of molasses to mimic light brown sugar, or two tablespoons for dark, to the pan instead of brown sugar.
easy caramel butterscotch sauce
Easy Caramel Butterscotch Sauce
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: about 1 1/2 ccups 1x
- Category: Dessert Sauces
- Cuisine: Scottish
Ingredients
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 1 stick of butter
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (1/2 & 1/2 will work)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla or other extract, or a tablespoon of appropriate alcohol
- pinch or more of salt
Instructions
In a small, heavy saucepan, combine all the ingredients except for the extract and salt, if using.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the brown sugar dissolves and comes to a boil. Boil about three to five minutes, depending on how thick you want the sauce. (That’s a judgment call; it will be thicker once cooled to room temperature and thicker with refrigeration.) Be careful that the sauce does not burn. If necessary, reduce heat to avoid burning.
Remove pan from heat, add the flavoring of choice, and salt if using, and whisk well. Add in a pinch of salt or up to a 1/4 teaspoon for more of a salted caramel taste.
Serve warm or cold.
Stores several weeks in the fridge. If you have any crystallization, just reheat. If sauce is too thick, reheat slowly. Whisk in additional water if needed.
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I’m sharing Easy Caramel Butterscotch Sauce at Throwback Thursday and Fiesta Friday. Fiesta Friday co-hosts are Antonia @ Zoale and Petra @ Food Eat Love.
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