Long before we fell in love with salted caramel, butterscotch reigned. Sure, the hard candies in clear, lidded jars on Auntie’s counter tempt. But it’s the sleek, shiny warm butterscotch sauce swirled into vanilla ice cream that we adore. Ditto for luscious whipped butterscotch pudding and nut-studded butterscotch fudge.
Butterscotch typically is made by cooking brown sugar, which contains dark, slightly bitter molasses, with butter. Caramel, on the other hand, starts with white granulated sugar that is melted until golden. Both can contain cream, vanilla and salt.
Butterscotch does not always contain scotch, but the bitter complexity of whiskey complements the cooked sugar and butter flavors beautifully. We always add a splash!…