Homemade butterscotch candy is so much more delicious than the store-bought kind. The recipe is easy too. In fact, the hardest thing is waiting patiently for this mouthwatering candy to cool so you can eat it! It’s rich, creamy, and buttery - so good!
Jump to:
With just 7 ingredients, these hard candy discs are just like the old-fashioned kind we all know and love from childhood. A lot of store-bought candy tastes synthetic. This recipe ensures it will taste like browned butter and molasses.
The honey, corn syrup, and sugar make them perfectly sweet, while the butter makes them rich and indulgent. A little rum or vanilla extract finishes off the butterscotch candy and makes it extra irresistible.
Try this recipe and you won’t be disappointed. I recommend doubling up because however long you think this is going to last, it always disappears fast.
Not many treats beat this wonderful homemade candy, but my old fashioned peanut butter fudge and this delicious tanghulu are right up there with it!
Main Ingredients
Don’t be nervous about making your own, there is nothing difficult about this recipe at all. You only need a few ingredients. These are the key ingredients in butterscotch candy:
- Butter: For a rich, creamy taste. Don’t use margarine or another butter substitute. You need real butter to make the most authentic, old-fashioned candy! If you’re using salted butter, halve the amount of salt you add in.
- Light corn syrup: To prevent it from crystallizing. If you really don’t want to use this ingredient, you can sub extra honey instead.
- Sugar: For more sweetness. I usually use white sugar, but if you want more of a molasses flavor you can substitute brown sugar for some of the white.
- Rum extract: To add more flavor. You can use rum extract or straight dark rum, as you prefer. Not that keen on rum? Vanilla extract would also work in this recipe.
- Honey: Another kind of sweetness. The warm flavor of honey complements the other ingredients in this butterscotch candy. You can use whatever kind of honey you have in the pantry.
Instructions Overview
So how do you make old-fashioned butterscotch candy like a pro? The recipe is easier than you might expect. In addition to the ingredients, you’ll need a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, a pan, and a candy thermometer.
Bring the water, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil in a pan and let it cook until a candy thermometer gets to 270°F. Stir in the honey, butter, salt, and rum or vanilla.
Keep cooking and stirring until the thermometer reaches 300°F. Take the mixture off the heat and pour it into the baking pan. Let it cool for 5 minutes then use a pizza wheel to score it. When it’s cool you can break it into squares.
Common Questions
Everyone knows the word, but not everyone knows the definition. Basically, the definition of true butterscotch is a soft-crack candy made by gently heating brown sugar with butter. The molecules in the brown sugar break down and caramelize into a deep, rich flavor.
The two are very similar, but there is no butterscotch flavor in a pack of Life Savers! Butter rum is like butterscotch candy but with a slightly different "rum" accent in the flavor.
This is a popular question! After all, it’s part of the name. The truth however is butterscotch has never contained scotch whiskey. The reason behind the name isn’t clear. It might be because it originated in Scotland or it could be a corruption of "scorch" which would maybe make more sense.
Nobody wants grainy butterscotch, but this can happen if the sugar isn’t allowed to dissolve completely. Make sure you keep the heat down and cook the butterscotch until the sugar has completely dissolved. Another cause of grainy butterscotch candy is sugar grains falling back into the boiling syrup mixture.
It is seriously good, even just by itself. You can also use it to decorate a cake or cheesecake or break it into little pieces and sprinkle it over a whipped cream-topped latte.
Butterscotch candies will keep for weeks, so make it as far ahead as you like. I guarantee it will all be eaten long before then!
Keep it in an airtight container at room temperature. It doesn’t need to be refrigerated.
You probably don’t need to, since butterscotch candy keeps for so long at room temperature, but if you want to freeze this you can.
If you like, you can use silicone molds instead of scoring and then breaking them into pieces. Grease the molds lightly before pouring in the mixture.
Chopnotch Tips
- Test your candy thermometer for accuracy before using it. Make sure it reads 212°F when you put it in boiling water.
- If it’s especially rainy and humid, your candy might get grainy crystals in it. Make it on a dry day instead!
- Oil the pizza wheel before scoring the candy. Don’t cut all the way through with the pizza wheel. When it’s set then it should break into pieces easily.
- If the candy is too hard to cut through, pop it into the oven for 5 minutes until it’s a bit softer and try again.
- Be careful not to splash yourself with the boiling hot mixture when pouring it into the baking pan.
Homemade butterscotch candy is an amazing treat! Try this simple recipe, adding in your choice of rum or vanilla flavoring and you will be bowled over by the delicious taste.
Related Recipes
Let us know what you think! Give this recipe a rating in the comments section below.
Recipe
How to Make
Butterscotch Candy
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened
- ¼ cup honey
- ⅓ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon rum extract, or straight rum or vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Add the sugar, water, and corn syrup to a pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Then remove the lid and cook uncovered until a candy thermometer reaches 270°F.
- Now add the butter, honey, salt, and rum (or vanilla) and stir the mixture constantly until the candy thermometer reaches 300°F.
- Immediately remove from the heat and pour the mixture onto the center of the prepared baking sheet. Do not scrape the pan or spread the mixture.
- Let it cool until the candy is almost set, for about 5 minutes, and then score into 1-inch square pieces using a pizza wheel. Let it cool completely, and then break it into squares and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Test your candy thermometer for accuracy before using it. Make sure it reads 212°F when you put it in boiling water.
- If it’s especially rainy and humid, your candy might get grainy crystals in it. Make it on a dry day instead!
- Oil the pizza wheel before scoring the candy. Don’t cut all the way through with the pizza wheel. When it’s set then it should break into pieces easily.
- If the candy is too hard to cut through, pop it into the oven for 5 minutes until it’s a bit softer and try again.
- Be careful not to splash yourself with the boiling hot mixture when pouring it into the baking pan.
Would you use same measurements using straight rum as you would an extract? Thanks
Hi Kelly, yes. You can use the same measurement if using straight rum instead of an extract. Let me know how it turns out!
Great recipe and very close to Worthers. On my second try however, the fat separated some. Will be making them again.
Thanks for the feedback, Kb!