To give you a “taste” to go with this visual, it’s melted Werther’s Original hard candies. Almost exactly.

I made this once for I don’t remember what reason, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used it since. It makes about two cups, and when drizzling, a little goes a long way. I now keep it as a staple in my fridge. I drizzle it over ice cream, pies, pound cake, cakes, even sliced bananas. It keeps for almost ever, and you can use it to jazz up something otherwise boring. Case and point:

Take that pound cake. So you have some of this made in your fridge; go buy a pound cake. Slice it thin, spread both sides with butter, and toast on grill, grill pan or skillet. Place the cake slices in bowls, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and drizzle the homemade butterscotch over the top. It’s so obviously homemade (because it’s so obviously better than jarred butterscotch sauce) that it makes your dessert seem really special and time consuming, when it’s actually pretty easy.

This sauce is a basic caramel sauce, but cooked in a slightly different way. It’s smoother and tastes better for whatever reason. Caramel is burnt sugar. You will see this very clearly in the photos… it’s very cool, very science-y.

Homemade Butterscotch Sauce

From Joy of Cooking

1/2 c. salted butter (1 stick)

1/4 c. water

2 tbsp. light corn syrup

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1. Combine butter, water, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and the mixture is combined.

2. Add sugar, stir until dissolved.

3. Increase the heat to medium-high and let the mixture boil (without disturbing) until the mixture begins to turn light brown. This will take somewhere between 4-8 minutes. This is the burning sugar part. The color that develops signifies the chemical change that has occurred. The sugar is actually BURNT. See? Cooking IS science.

4. When you see the color begin, you can start stirring. Keep stirring until the entire mixture turns light brown (should be just another minute).

5. Remove from heat. Carefully and slowly (stand back a bit) pour in the heavy cream and stir until smooth. If the mixture seems lumpy, just return to low heat while stirring. This might be a good time to switch to a whisk.

6. Add vanilla, and whisk again. If serving hot, serve. If not, let cool till warm and pour into a well sealed container. Refrigerate until ready to use! To reheat, scoop out some butterscotch into a glass or porcelain bowl and microwave in 15 minutes increments until hot and pourable.

This afternoon I made a chocolate cream pie. It’s to be finished with whipped cream on top. I always think that looks a little boring, so I like to do a drizzle of some sort. REALLY glad I have some butterscotch on hand! Stay tuned for the pie, I’ll post it on Monday.  

Homemade Butterscotch Sauce

From Joy of Cooking

1/2 c. salted butter (1 stick)

1/4 c. water

2 tbsp. light corn syrup

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1. Combine butter, water, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and the mixture is combined.

2. Add sugar, stir until dissolved.

3. Increase the heat to medium-high and let the mixture boil (without stirring) until the mixture begins to turn light brown. This will take somewhere between 4-8 minutes. This is the burning sugar part. The color that develops signifies the chemical change that has occurred. The sugar is actually BURNT. See? Cooking IS science.

4. When you see the color begin, you can start whisking. Keep whisking until the entire mixture turns light brown (should be just another minute).

5. Remove from heat. Carefully and slowly (stand back a bit) pour in the heavy cream and stir until smooth. If the mixture seems lumpy, just return to low heat while stirring. Might be a good time to switch to a whisk.

6. Add vanilla, and whisk again. If serving hot, serve. If not, let cool till warm and pour into a well sealed container. Refrigerate until ready to use! To reheat, scoop out some butterscotch into a glass or porcelain bowl and microwave in 15 minutes increments until hot and pourable.