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    Home » Recipes » Cookies and Bars

    Butterscotch Dark Chocolate Bars

    By Kathleen Culver: Apr 23, 2018 · Updated: Nov 13, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links. · 4 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    butterscotch dark chocolate bars on a cooling rack on a marble countertop

    Caramelized edges, molten, gooey middle. Crispy, crinkly top. Oozy, soft dark chocolate. Sugary golden brown butter poured and molded into bar form. That's what I first wrote when I tried these butterscotch dark chocolate bars.

    butterscotch dark chocolate bars cooling on a rack

    We'll get to them in a moment - and if  you're in a rush to read the recipe, by all means, scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you'll find it waiting for you. But do come back - I thought I'd dust off my hands and share a few things about me. After all, here you are standing in my kitchen, and I haven't even introduced myself properly.

    hands holding a spoon and stirring a bowl of butterscotch dark chocolate blondie bar cookie batter; kitchen process

    You can always visit my ABOUT page - but that's sort of like handing you a formal printed bio of me while I'm standing right there next to you. Toss that aside and let me share a few things you wouldn't necessarily know instead.

    butterscotch dark chocolate bars on a marble surface

    I've always loved books. When my first grade teacher Mrs. Fleetwood cried while reading a particularly emotional section of Charlotte's Web out loud to the class, I stood up and told her I'd be happy to finish it for her (she politely declined). Most afternoons growing up, I'd come home after school, pour myself a bowl of Kix or Rice Chex cereal, pull up a chair at our kitchen table and disappear into the pages for hours. As a recent college graduate, when a nannying job left me isolated for days on end, the family's expansive bookshelf became my lifeline and escape. And recently, when the due date for my younger daughter came and went, books helped ease the wait. I read nine in the eleven days before she was born. When I'm reading, I'm all consumed by the words on the page. You could dance a jig in front of me and I probably wouldn't notice. My current favorite genre is historical fiction, and I still love a good fantasy story, just like when I was little. And there are always cookbooks...

    kitchen scene of butterscotch dark chocolate bars cooling on a marble counter with a knife and mug of coffee nearby

    My paternal grandparents ran a fishing resort in the 1930s and 40s. The property, located in a magical archipelago of islands off the northwest coast of Washington State, is still in our family today. The resort closed down in the 50s, but the vestiges of its prior identity remain. The bottom floor of the resort  was converted into a boathouse - but now the (rather dirty) guests are barn swallows and otters. If you walk a few hundred yards back from the water's edge into the woods, you'll discover a dilapidated outhouse, complete with crescent moon cutout.

    I spent all of my childhood summers with my brother and mom at the island. My dad would work in town during the week and drive the hour by boat to spend the weekends with us. On Friday evenings, my brother and I would take turns peering through the binoculars to see who would catch the first glimpse of the boat. Then we'd race to hang big primary colored bath towels on the porch railing as signal flags to let him know we'd seen him.

    process shot of hands pouring dark chocolate chunks into a bowl of butterscotch bar cookie batter

    We have an 80 pound black lab mix named Enzo. My husband and I adopted him after we bought our house. He was 15 months old, still puppyish in demeanor, yet fully grown. He's got a heart of gold, but barks like a maniac at the mailman and any other animals in sight. He's a massive shedder; clumps sail around the house like desert tumbleweeds. When Enzo was first settling in, he did a lot of stress chewing. One week he ripped to shreds several coffee table books, a full bag of tomatoes, and the box of colored pencils that left him with a guilty rainbow grin.

    butterscotch dark chocolate bars cooling on a marble countertop and backlit with natural light

    This baking, writing and photographing isn't my full time job. I work as an assistant and project manager at the state university in my town. The campus is gorgeous - we have a highly acclaimed outdoor sculpture collection, a view of the water, and grounds that are green and vibrant. This blog is a balance to the more rigid work structure and a welcome outlet for my creativity, which was feeling neglected until recently.

    children's hands reaching for butterscotch dark chocolate bar cookies on a rack and plate

    I could go on, since there's probably so much about me you don't know. Let's consider it a start, and we'll go from there.

    Feel free to ask me a question in the comments. But now - the butterscotch dark chocolate bars.

    butterscotch dark chocolate bars on parchment paper cooling on a marble countertop

    Butterscotch Dark Chocolate Bars

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Caramelized edges, molten, gooey middle. Crispy, crinkly top. Oozy, soft dark chocolate. Sugary golden brown butter poured and molded into bar form. Slightly adapted from Marcel Desaulniers' Double Chunk Butterscotch Bars in his book Death by Chocolate Cookies - I decreased the sugar somewhat, and swapped in dark chocolate for his suggested white and semisweet.
    Cook time25 minutes
    Servings24 bars
    Author: Kathleen Culver

    INGREDIENTS

    • 1 cup flour
    • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ½ pound unsalted butter melted
    • 1 ¼ cups brown sugar
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 8 oz dark chocolate chunks

    INSTRUCTIONS

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    • Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper to cover the base, including enough extra to overlap two opposing sides and form handles with which you can lift the cooled bars out.
    • In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
    • In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together until blended.
    • Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions. Add the vanilla and stir to blend.
    • Add the flour mixture and stir with a spoon or spatula until just blended. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
    • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25 minutes, or until set in the middle. My preference leans towards under-baked, so I tend to start checking on these 5 minutes early.
    • Let the bars cool in the pan (if you have the will) and then transfer to a cutting board to cut into squares. If you want them neat and tidy, wipe the knife clean between slices.
    Marzipan Cake with Dark Chocolate Buttercream »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tracey Mardon

      June 27, 2020 at 6:02 pm

      Just had another thought, this would work well with rhubarb! We've just finished rhubarb season here in the Okanagan but raspberries are great this year.

      Reply
    2. Tracey Mardon

      June 27, 2020 at 5:16 pm

      I had some Meyer Lemons to use this aft and thought it might be nice to do a lemon version of Persian cake. I loved the srtaightforward no nonsense approach you took. % ingredients, I love it. Very yummy! I had time to pick the raspberries just before a thunderstorm let loose so I put some of those on top.
      A girl after my own heart, I loved coming home from school and disappear into whatever book I had on the go.
      Good to meet you:)

      Reply
    3. Scott

      April 26, 2018 at 7:06 am

      Total FOMO because I'm not in the kitchen right now...these are a dream!
      Thank you for the great recipe and beautiful pictures : )

      Reply
      • The Floured Table

        April 26, 2018 at 9:46 am

        Ha! The kitchen will be there waiting for you - and so will these. They're worth it, especially if you eat them warm.

        Reply

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    Hi! I'm Kathleen. I'm the baker, food photographer and chief mess maker behind The Floured Table. I love to share my passion for beautiful, delicious tasting desserts by creating recipes you can confidently recreate at home.

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