Easy Butterscotch Cookies: The Ultimate 5-Ingredient Recipe with Sugar Cookie Mix & Pudding
There’s something truly magical about a cookie that’s both incredibly easy to make and bursting with flavor. These Easy Butterscotch Cookies are exactly that – a dream come true for busy bakers and butterscotch lovers alike. Crafted with a clever combination of a sugar cookie mix and instant butterscotch pudding mix, this recipe simplifies baking without compromising on taste or texture. You’ll only need a handful of staple pantry items – precisely 5 ingredients – to whip up these delectable treats. The result? Cookies that are wonderfully soft, delightfully chewy, and infused with an irresistible, deep butterscotch flavor that will have everyone asking for more.
Forget complicated recipes with endless steps and obscure ingredients. This recipe is designed for maximum flavor with minimal effort, making it perfect for last-minute dessert cravings, potlucks, or just a sweet treat to enjoy with your family. The secret lies in the humble sugar cookie mix, which provides a reliable base, and the instant butterscotch pudding, which elevates the cookies to an entirely new level of moistness and rich flavor. Get ready to discover your new favorite quick and easy butterscotch cookie recipe!
I’ve always been fascinated by how simple additions can completely transform a basic mix. While I’ve explored many recipes starting with cake mixes for cookies, my recent experiments with cookie mixes have been incredibly rewarding. This particular butterscotch cookie recipe is a shining example. By adding just a single box of instant butterscotch pudding mix, the humble sugar cookie mix is utterly transformed. It’s not just about adding flavor; the pudding mix also imparts an incredible tenderness and chewiness to the cookies, making them truly stand out. With only an egg and some softened butter, you’ve got the core ingredients. Of course, to intensify that wonderful butterscotch flavor even further, I highly recommend folding in some extra butterscotch chips. However, feel free to get creative – leave them out if you prefer a simpler cookie, or swap them for chocolate chips or white chocolate chips if you’re in the mood for a different twist. This recipe is wonderfully versatile!
Key Ingredients for Your Delicious Butterscotch Cookies
One of the best aspects of this recipe is its simplicity, requiring only five core ingredients that you likely already have or can easily find at any grocery store. Let’s take a closer look at what makes these cookies so special:
- 1 (17 oz) Sugar Cookie Mix: This is our convenient foundation. Using a pre-made mix saves time and ensures a consistent base for your cookies. It’s the perfect starting point for quick and delicious treats.
- 1 (3.4 oz) Box Instant Butterscotch Pudding Mix: This is the secret ingredient! Instant pudding mix not only infuses a rich butterscotch flavor throughout the dough but also adds an incredible amount of moisture, resulting in cookies that are remarkably soft and chewy. Do not use the cook-and-serve type; instant is key here.
- 1/2 cup Butter, Softened to Room Temperature: Butter is essential for flavor and texture. Softened butter creams beautifully with the other ingredients, creating a tender crumb. Ensure it’s truly softened, not melted, for the best results.
- 1 Egg: The egg acts as a binder, helping to hold the cookies together and adding to their rich texture. It also contributes moisture and helps with the overall structure.
- 1 cup Butterscotch Chips: For an extra burst of butterscotch flavor and delightful texture, these chips are a must! They melt slightly during baking, creating pockets of gooey goodness. You can adjust the amount or even swap them for other mix-ins like chocolate chips or chopped nuts if you prefer.
How to make Easy Butterscotch Cookies
Step-by-Step Guide to Baking Perfect Butterscotch Cookies
Baking these delightful butterscotch cookies is incredibly straightforward. Follow these simple steps for a batch of soft, chewy, and flavorful treats:
- Prepare Your Oven and Baking Sheets: Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). While the oven heats up, line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. This step is crucial for preventing sticking and ensuring easy removal of your cookies.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar cookie mix and the instant butterscotch pudding mix. Add the softened butter and the egg. I highly recommend using an electric mixer for this step, as the dough will be quite thick and dense. An electric mixer ensures all ingredients are thoroughly combined and the dough achieves a smooth, uniform consistency. If you don’t have an electric mixer, a sturdy wooden spoon and some elbow grease will also work! Mix until a cohesive dough forms.
- Fold in the Butterscotch Chips: Once your dough is well-mixed, gently fold in the butterscotch chips. Distribute them evenly throughout the dough. Remember, this is where you can customize! If you prefer a different flavor profile, feel free to leave the chips out for a purer butterscotch cookie, or swap them for semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or even chopped pecans or walnuts for an added crunch.
- Scoop and Place on Baking Sheets: Use a cookie scoop (approximately 1.5 to 2 tablespoons) to portion out uniform balls of dough. This ensures all your cookies bake evenly and have a consistent size and shape. Place the scooped dough balls onto your prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie to allow for spreading during baking.
- Bake to Perfection: Transfer the baking sheets to your preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them; the key is to bake them just until the edges barely begin to turn a light golden brown. The centers might still look slightly soft or “underbaked” – this is perfectly normal and desired! The cookies will continue to cook and set on the hot baking sheet even after they are removed from the oven, resulting in that wonderfully soft and chewy texture.
- Cool and Enjoy: Once out of the oven, let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This cooling period on the hot sheet helps them firm up without becoming brittle. Serve warm or at room temperature, and savor the delightful butterscotch flavor!
Easy Butterscotch Cookies
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Ingredients
- 1 17 oz sugar cookie mix
- 1 3.4 oz box instant butterscotch pudding mix
- 1/2 cup butter softened to room temperature
- 1 egg
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
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In a large bowl, combine the sugar cookie mix, instant butterscotch pudding mix, softened butter, and egg. Mix with an electric mixer until a thick, cohesive dough forms.
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Gently fold in the butterscotch chips (or preferred mix-ins). Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers still look slightly soft.
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Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Achieving Perfection: Tips for Making the Best Butterscotch Cookies Every Time
While these 5-ingredient butterscotch cookies are incredibly easy, a few expert tips can elevate your baking game and ensure consistently perfect results. Here’s how to make your easy butterscotch cookies truly shine:
- The Golden Rule of Butter: Softened, Not Melted! One of the most common pitfalls in cookie baking is improper butter temperature. Butter that is too cold and hard won’t cream properly, leading to a dense dough. Butter that is too warm or melted will cause your cookies to spread excessively and become greasy. For optimal results, your butter should be truly softened to room temperature – it should be pliable enough to leave an indentation when gently pressed, but not shiny or oily. If you have the luxury of planning, simply leave your butter on the counter for 1-2 hours. For those spontaneous cookie cravings (we all have them!), carefully soften the butter in your microwave using 5-second intervals on a low power or defrost setting. This method softens the butter more evenly, reducing the risk of accidental melting.
- Preheat Your Oven Thoroughly: Patience is a virtue in baking! Always preheat your oven completely to the specified temperature before placing your cookie sheets inside. A properly preheated oven ensures that your cookies begin to bake immediately and evenly, preventing them from spreading too much before they set. This consistent heat is key to achieving that perfect texture and golden-brown finish.
- Embrace the Cookie Scoop for Uniformity: If you desire perfectly shaped cookies that are all the same size (which also aids in even baking), a cookie scoop is your best friend. Scoops come in various sizes; a medium-sized scoop (1.5 to 2 tablespoons) is ideal for these butterscotch cookies. Not only does it create beautiful, consistent shapes, but it also speeds up the portioning process and keeps your hands cleaner.
- Non-Stick Surfaces are a Game Changer: Say goodbye to scraping cookies off the pan! Using parchment paper or a silicone baking mat is a simple yet effective way to ensure your cookies slide right off the baking sheet effortlessly. These non-stick surfaces also contribute to more even baking and make cleanup a breeze. Plus, you can reuse silicone mats, making them an eco-friendly option.
- The Art of “Underbaking” for Chewiness: This is perhaps the most crucial tip for achieving soft and chewy cookies. Do NOT overbake them! When you remove your butterscotch cookies from the oven, they should still look slightly underbaked in the center and just barely have light golden-brown edges. They will continue to bake and set on the hot cookie sheet for a few extra minutes, thanks to residual heat. Overbaking will result in dry, crumbly cookies. Trust your timing and visual cues!
- Proper Storage for Lasting Freshness: Once your butterscotch cookies have cooled completely, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. This will help maintain their wonderful soft and chewy texture for up to 3-5 days. For longer storage, you can freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months.
- Don’t Skimp on Quality Ingredients: While this recipe uses a cookie mix for convenience, the quality of your butter and pudding mix still makes a difference. Opt for a reputable brand for your sugar cookie mix, and a good quality instant butterscotch pudding mix will ensure the best flavor. If using salted butter, you might want to slightly reduce any added salt, but this recipe typically balances well with either.
Beyond Butterscotch: Explore the World of Pudding Cookies!
If you’ve fallen in love with the incredible texture and boosted flavor that instant pudding mix brings to these butterscotch cookies, then you’re in for a treat! Pudding cookies are a revelation – they consistently yield an irresistibly soft, moist, and chewy crumb that’s hard to achieve with traditional cookie recipes. The pudding mix acts as a tenderizer and flavor enhancer, locking in moisture and creating a uniquely delightful cookie experience. This technique opens up a world of possibilities for customizing your cookie creations with various pudding flavors. We absolutely adore pudding cookies here, and if you do too, you’ll love exploring our other favorite pudding-infused cookie recipes:
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies
- Banana Oatmeal Cookies
- Birthday Cake Cookies
- Orange Creamsicle Cookies
- Double Lemon Cookies
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vanilla Cream Cookies
- Double Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
- Cherry Chocolate Cookies
- Cookies & Cream Cookies
- Blueberry Cream Cookies
- Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Banana Pudding Cookies
- Cherry Cheesecake Cookies
- Pumpkin Pudding Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies
- Pistachio Pudding Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Each of these recipes leverages the magic of pudding mix to create cookies with fantastic flavor and an unparalleled soft, chewy texture. They are perfect for expanding your baking repertoire and delighting friends and family with a variety of delicious treats!
In conclusion, these Easy Butterscotch Cookies truly live up to their name. Made effortlessly with a sugar cookie mix and the secret ingredient of instant butterscotch pudding, they require only 5 ingredients for a batch of incredibly soft, delightfully chewy, and intensely flavored cookies. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting out, this recipe promises delicious results with minimal fuss. They’re a fantastic way to bring a little extra sweetness and comfort into your day, perfect for sharing with loved ones or enjoying all to yourself!
Just like baking, some of life’s most cherished memories are made during simple family activities. This picture, taken five years ago, captures the very first time we took our kids skiing. It was quite an adventure with four children ranging from 4 to 10 years old hitting the slopes for the first time simultaneously! Looking back, it seems a bit crazy to have thought it was a good idea, as it was indeed a lot of work, but the joy and excitement on their faces were absolutely priceless. Despite the challenges, the kids loved it, and we not only survived but have returned to the mountains several times since, creating more wonderful memories. These experiences, whether on a snowy mountain or in a warm kitchen baking cookies, are what truly connect us as a family. So gather your loved ones, whip up a batch of these easy butterscotch cookies, and make some delicious memories of your own!
