Author Notes

Butterscotch is similar to caramel sauce except that butter is cooked along with the  sugar, so that the milk solids caramelize and impart the characteristic flavor of noisette butter to the sauce.  Some recipes use brown sugar to give the sauce a deeper color and flavor, but brown sugar also tends to obscure the flavor of the butter, which is what makes butterscotch sauce so delicious.

This recipe uses a caramel base that is cooked a second time with butter.  Cream is added near the end to emulsify the butter.

Ingredients

1 pound granulated sugar
2 cups water
4 ounces butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

Makes 1 Quart

1. Prepare a caramel by melting the granulated sugar in a 4-quart heavy bottomed saucepan (large enough to prevent boiling over).  When it is a deep reddish-brown, stand back and pour in half the water

2. When the water has stopped boiling, add the rest of the water and the butter.  Cook the mixture to the soft ball stage (see note below).

3. Add the cream and the vanilla extract.  Continue to simmer the sauce until it attains the desired thickness.

Note:
To judge when the sugar syrup has reached the soft ball stage (234 - 240°F or 112 - 116°C), dip the back of a spoon into the syrup and then quickly into a glass of cold (but not iced) water.  Pinch the end of the spoon two fingers.  The syrup should form a gum-like mass on the end of the spoon.