Butterscotch Crackle Cookies

An easy to make chewy and butter treat!

1 hour

Serves: 30 Cookies

Easy

The cookies come together quickly and easily and really make a uniquely textured cookie that is sweet and chewy in the best way!

The Butterscotch Crackle Cookies were some of my favorite growing up! I was so excited to find this cookie recipe in Grandma’s recipe box as it was a great excuse to make them again. They have a great butterscotch flavor with the brown sugar and butter. Even better though, the texture of these cookies is quite unique. They’re a little crunchy on the outside and then soft and chewy on the inside. They look deceptively boring but they are anything but!

Making these cookies is really quite simple. Make sure your butter and eggs are both at room temperature and don’t over mix the flour and you’re all set. This is a great recipe to make with kids as the instructions are pretty easy to follow and then you get to roll the dough into balls AND roll the balls of dough in sugar. There’s also some great science involved here because the ingredients cause the cookies to first “melt” and flatten in the oven, then they start to rise and get puffy. When you take them out of the over to cool, they then start to sink and crackle. It’d be a fun process to watch for kids and a great recipe to make with them.

I wouldn’t alter this Butterscotch Crackle Cookie recipe at all because it’s perfect as-is and as with most baked goods – the ingredients and their amounts are pretty critical. However, I think you could easily double the amount to make a bigger batch. Also important to note that these cookies freeze very well so if you make a big batch – you can easily save some for later!

I hope you try making these – they are so good and will immediately become a favorite in your house. I want to hear what you think in the comments or share a picture with me on Instagram (@bdhbakes).

Steps:

Soften Butter
30 minutes or more before you're ready to get started, set your butter out at room temperature in a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer and allow it to soften completely. It's also a good idea to set your egg out at this point, too, so that it comes to room temperature as well.
Preheat Oven to 325º
Mix Dry Ingredients
Whisk together your flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Cream Butter and Sugars
Add the brown and white sugars to the bowl with the butter and cream them together. In a stand mixer, mix with the paddle attachment on medium for about 5 minutes.
Add Egg and Vanilla
Add the room temperature egg and the vanilla extract to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Mix for about 30 seconds or until just incorporated.
Add Dry Ingredients
Now, add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture, 1/2 Cup at a time, mixing between each addition. When you mix, you want to mix just until the dry ingredients are no longer dry and just barely incorporated. Mix on low speed.
Scoop and Roll Cookies
Scoop out a large tablespoon or so of cookie dough. A cookie scoop works great! Roll the dough in the palm of your hands and create a ball. Place on a cookie tray. I was able to fit a dozen cookies on a large tray. They really spread so be sure to give them plenty of room. After you have the balls of dough laid out, roll each one in sugar and return to the tray.
Bake for 12-15 Minutes
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 12 to 15 minutes. They're ready when you just start to see browning around the edges. In the oven, they will look very puffy and then as they cool they will sink and crackle. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the tray and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.