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If you love those Butterscotch Squares from your favorite candy shop…this recipe is for you! It’s a copycat recipe – a soft brown sugar candy covered in chocolate. The perfect candy recipe!
Table of Contents
I’ve mentioned before about my See’s Candy addiction. Growing up, a pound lasted less than a day. The chocolate factory is in my hometown, so that whenever I smell the inside of See’s store, I think I’m home.
If I had to pick one kind of See’s Candy to eat for the rest of my life it would be the Butterscotch Square (or the maple truffles). There would be no deliberation, hesitation, or hemming and hawing. Butterscotch Squares: they’re my favorite!
The boxes of See’s we’d get when I was a kid came with one butterscotch square. And it was mine – always. Everyone knew to back away from the square. My mom got the divinity, my dad the bordeaux. Me? I got the butterscotch square.
Of course, in true Dorothy fashion (and since I didn’t know the name for the longest time), called them brown sugar squares. I’d polish it off and then tell everyone I knew how much I hated butterscotch. Yes, I’ve learned the error of my ways. Butterscotch and me, we’re BFFs. And now I’ve made a copy cat of my favorite candy. So you can make it at home.
Ingredients Needed
The base of the recipe is a cooked mixture of unsalted butter, brown sugar and heavy whipping cream. When that trifecta boils together, you get a rich butterscotch candy.
Have you ever heard of penuche? This recipe is very similar to penuche candy/fudge. The difference is the amount of powdered sugar used at the end.
How to make Butterscotch Squares
I did a lot of searching online for a copycat recipe and kept coming up with the same base recipe (some with just a few changes or additions) over and over. I finally traced it back to the oldest one I could find, but I’m not sure where that one came from.
I do recommend using a candy thermometer for this recipe. The recipe I used as a guideline just gave times, and the first time I made this it really did not turn out. The candy has to cook to 236°F for it to set up properly and it’s too hard to gauge that without a thermometer.
Once the candy is cooked you let it set in a 9-inch square pan lined with foil or parchment paper. Once it’s set you cut it into 64 squares and coat them with chocolate.
Tip From Dorothy
Expert Tips
- Use a large kitchen knife to cut the candy.
- Remove the candy from the pan using the foil. Cut it in quarters.
- Cut each quarter into slices, then cut each slice into squares. Make small cuts to avoid breaking the candy.
- I prefer using Ghiradelli candy melts – they taste the best. If you can’t find them, use Candiquik.
- Store these in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator or freeze for up to a month.
Butterscotch Squares Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (400g) packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup (177ml) heavy whipping cream
- 6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (113g) powdered sugar
- 16 ounces chocolate melts
Instructions
- Line a 9×9” pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place brown sugar, cream, and butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until melted. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to low and place a candy thermometer in the pot.
- Stir occasionally and simmer until the mixture reaches 236º, about 7-8 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Whisk in powdered sugar. Pour into prepared pan and allow to set at room temperature (a few hours, but this can be done the day ahead).
- When ready to cut, remove from pan. Use a large kitchen knife and cut the square into quarters. From here, use small cuts to cut them into small squares (about 16 squares per quarter).
- Melt chocolate according to package directions and dip each square, tapping off excess. Place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and chill to set.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Be sure to use small but swift cuts. The candy can be fragile and is prone to flaking and breaking, so a quick cut will make the candy stay together.
- Read my post about dipping chocolate easily for tips.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
- You can freeze the candy, but know the chocolate might dull when defrosted.
Recipe Nutrition
Favorite Candy Recipes
Last Updated on December 5, 2023
Victoria – It’s like biting into a lump of brown sugar. It disintegrates, embraces your taste buds and starts a party in your mouth. I used to call them brown sugar lumps until
Dorothy educated me about the actual name.
Hi dorothy! Could u pleaseee tell me if these are hard to the bite? I know you mentioned they were brittle when cutting them, I have very troublesome teeth and I desperately want to make your recipe but I wanted to ask first.. Is it like biting into a hard candy?
No, it’s soft but not caramel like. It’s hard to describe; they’re not hard like a lifesaver, they’re not chewy like taffy and they’re not soft like a brownie or chewy like a Rolo. They’re somewhat soft when you bite into them and then they kind of dissolve on your tongue.
Oh and is it 236 degrees fahrenheit or celsius?
Hi! Could I use dark brown sugar instead of light brown because I don’t think I can find it?
Hi, I just did the first part of this recipe and left it overnight. I don’t have a candy thermometer, so maybe that is the problem, but my finished filling in the pan is soft and not brittle at all. I’m not sure how I would cut this. Maybe I didn’t cook it long enough? Like I said, I didn’t have a thermometer.
If I did screw it up, can I still do something with this? I hate to waste it, but I’m not sure I can cut it up. Would chilling it help?
It definitely could be because it didn’t cook long enough. When cooking sugar for these sorts of candies the perfect temperature needs to be reached so that it hardens properly. Is it liquidy? Maybe you could add some more powdered sugar. Chilling it might help as well, to try and save it. Depending on how soft/runny it is, you could also turn the recipe into a “cup” instead of a dipped candy. Line mini cupcake pans with liners and pour some melted chocolate (the kind made for candy is best; like Candiquik) and use a spoon to spread it up the liner a little, let it harden slightly, then add some of the butterscotch square mixture, then top with more chocolate, like a peanut butter cup. For a visual, see these: https://www.crazyforcrust.com/2014/10/caramel-peanut-butter-cups/. And put a candy thermometer on your list for Santa. 🙂 I got mine at Kohls for under $25 (it’s the Food Network brand). It’s what I use, nothing super expensive needed!
Thank you! Thank you!! I also used to call them Brown Sugar Squares, and it took me looking up recipes to realize I’d been wrong for so many years. I love these little bites of brown sugar. My piece of candy in the box of See’s was always the Rum Nougat. I LOVE those. But these are my second. And then Butterscotch Kisses, and then Milk Bordeaux, and then…Oh. Sorry. I was having a Sees-zure 🙂
LOL Melanie! I know, once I get started I can’t stop. I really want See’s now!
I WAS BORN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND SEE’S WAS ALWAY’S MY FAVORITE. WE ALWAYS HAD A COUPLE OF TWO POUND BOXES AT FAMILY GATHERINGS DURING THANKSGIVING, CHRISTMAS, AND
NEW YEARS. AT EASTER MY MOM BOUGHT US ALL OUR OWN EASTER EGG OF CHOICE. I ALWAYS WANTED CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM
WITH WALNUT OR PECANS. MY FAVORITES NOW ARE CHELSEA , CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM, VANILLA BUTTERCREAM, BOURDOUX, MAYFAIR, COCONUT. THEIR CANS OF MIXED NUTS ARE ALSO VERY GOOD. A BIT EXPENSIVE BUT VERY HIGH QUALITY AND FRESH. I ALSO LOVE THE CHOCOLATE SUCKERS. IF YOU ARE NEW TO SEES HERE IS A TIP THE DESIGN ON THE CANDY TELLS YOU WHAT THE FILLING IS NO NEED TO CUT OPEN OR BITE INTO TO TELL. IF ANYONE IS THINKING ON GETTING A JOB AT SEE’S THEY ALLOW EMPLOYEE’S TO PURCHASE THE SECOND’S FOR A REALLY DISCOUNTED PRICE. IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN TO SEES’S FIND OUT THE NEAREST STATE THAT HAS A REGULAR RETAIL STORE AND MAKE THAT YOUR VACATION DESTINATION. NEXT BEST THING MAIL ORDER FROM THE WEBSITE. LAST YEAR THEY HAD A CONTEST TO WIN THEIR PRODUCTS DURING THE HOLIDAY’S.
Those Sees chocolates are my favorites too. A few years ago I tried making 3 of those recipes I found trying to get the right one as well. I liked them all pretty good. I added some melted white chocolate to one too that turned out pretty good. I’m totally gonna try your recipe, can’t wait. Thanks
Enjoy!! Thank you!
I seriously LOVE butterscotch squares, but am not the biggest fan of chocolate so I usually just cope with it being there (and by cope, I mean I eat the chocolate off of the square and then enjoy the center sans coating). I am totally making these and leaving the chocolate off, so I can save myself some time. =P
Totally! If I were you, I’d just gnaw on the 8×8 square. 🙂
Oh dear, these look quite dangerous. I love this particular See’s candy too. My son always takes the rum nougat and my husband the coconut cream. See’s uses guittard chocolate so I might have to try your filling with that and see how close I can get to the original. Thanks for sharing!
I love guittard melts but I can never find them anywhere! 🙂
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