Salted Butterbeer Cookies with Butterscotch Frosting

A close-up on a cookie broken in half, showing the chewy insides, nestled among the other butterbeer cookies.

5 from 15 votes

Salted Butterbeer Cookies with Butterscotch Frosting

Butterbeer Cookies are thick & chewy brown butter butterscotch cookies topped with ultra creamy butterbeer frosting and a luscious salted butterscotch sauce. These are truly the most unique & delicious cookies you'll ever taste! If you grew up reading the Harry Potter books and always wanted to stop into the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer, now you can have it in cookie form!

Prep Time45

Cook Time10

Total Time55

Course: Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Butterscotch Cookies, Butterbeer Recipes

Servings: cookies

Author: Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

For the Butterscotch Sauce:

1/2 cup heavy cream 120 grams
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed 110 grams
1/2 cup salted butter 113 grams or 8 tbsp
pinch of flaky sea salt

For the Cookies:

1 cup + 2 tbsp salted butter See note below if you want to skip the brown butter. You'll start with 254 grams and want 206 grams left after browning.
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp butterscotch chips, melted
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed 163 grams
3/4 cup granulated sugar 156 grams
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled 390 grams
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

For the Butterbeer Frosting

6 tbsp salted butter Brown it if desired, or not if you want one fewer step - 85 grams
4 and 1/2 ounces cream cheese This only needs 5 mins or so at room temp - 127 grams
2 and 1/4 cups powdered sugar 258 grams
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup butterscotch sauce
pinch of salt to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Butterscotch Sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and heavy cream. Then, let the mixture come to a boil and let it boil for 5 minutes. Do not stir it at all during this time. When the time is up, remove from the heat and stir in a generous pinch of flaky sea salt (to taste). Transfer to a jar or bowl to cool completely before using.
Make-Ahead Tip: This can be made up to 24 hours ahead. Store in a jar in the fridge.
1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed, 1/2 cup salted butter, pinch of flaky sea salt
Brown the Butter: (Optional step, see note below.) In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Turn the heat to medium-low and continue cooking the butter – stirring lazily. The butter will get foamy, then turn golden, then start to turn brown and develop a nutty/caramely sort of aroma. Once it reaches a deep golden color, pour into a heat safe container and pop into the freezer for 10-20 minutes, to cool down to room temperature.
1 cup + 2 tbsp salted butter
Make the Cookie Dough: Add the room temperature melted brown butter to a mixing bowl and whisk in the melted butterscotch chips. Whisk in the sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and combined, about 30-45 seconds. Stir in the dry ingredients, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to get any straggler bits of flour.
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp butterscotch chips, melted, 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed, 3/4 cup granulated sugar , 2 large eggs, at room temperature, 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
Rest Dough & Ball Cookies: Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest in the fridge for 10 minutes. Preheat your oven to 365℉. Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper. Once dough is rested, scoop into balls 60 grams in size. Roll the dough balls in granulated sugar. (Keep extra dough in the fridge while other pans are baking.)
Bake Cookies: Bake 5-6 cookies per cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies will be slightly puffy and the edges will appear set. Gently press down on the cookies with the back of a measuring cup to make them a tad flatter, for frosting. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Make the Frosting: In a medium bowl, beat together softened butter and cream cheese well with an electric mixer on high speed. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, then add the butterscotch sauce, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Mix until smooth. If your frosting becomes weepy, pop it in the fridge or freezer for 10-30 minutes to stiffen up a bit.
Make-Ahead Tip: This can be made up to 24 hours ahead. Cover tightly and store in the fridge. Let come back to room temp for 10 minutes or so and beat with your mixer to get it back to spreadable consistency before using.
6 tbsp salted butter, 4 and 1/2 ounces cream cheese , 2 and 1/4 cups powdered sugar , 3/4 tsp vanilla extract , 1/3 cup butterscotch sauce, pinch of salt
Assemble Cookies: Use a small cookie scoop to drop a dollop of frosting onto each cookie, then use a small offset spatula to spread it and make a swirl. Drizzle butterscotch sauce onto each cookie and add some sprinkles if desired.
Serve & Store: Enjoy once decorated! They can also be refrigerated for a day before serving once decorated if making ahead. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. They need to be refrigerated because of the frosting and sauce.

Notes

Brown Butter: When you brown butter, you will lose some of the volume, as some of the water content in the butter will evaporate. In theory, browning 1 extra tbsp of butter per stick (or 1/2 cup) will ensure you end up with the correct amount. However, I’ve noticed that when I brown 1 cup of butter + 2 tbsp, I often end up with slightly under 1 cup in the end. Keeping the butter at that amount slightly under 1 cup turned out to be the perfect amount for this recipe. So, after your butter is browned, if you care to measure it you should have 206 grams, not 226 (which would be 1 cup). If you do have less than 206, let the butter cool to room temperature, then add a bit of water to make up the difference (I usually need just 1 tbsp) If you have more, your cookies will spread a bit more, or you can remove some butter to get to 206 grams. 206 grams is equal to 14 and 1/2 tablespoons of butter.

Nutrition