A friend of mine recently whipped up some delicious butterscotch-chip cookies, and I started thinking about all the ways to enjoy this oft-forgotten flavor, from butterscotch pudding and schnapps to ice-cream sundae toppings and other desserts.

Most of us have tasted it, but what exactly is butterscotch? In the same sweet family as caramel or toffee, butterscotch is a confectionery produced by the heating and cooking of sugar. To make it [1], you heat brown sugar and butter until it bubbles, then you add heavy cream and vanilla extract. The process is similar to making toffee [2], but butterscotch is cooked to a lower temperature [3].

The origin of the word butterscotch is uncertain. According to Wikipedia [4], "scotch" may indicate that the ingredient comes from Scotland, or it could merely be a nod to the scorching process used to make it.

Source [5]