Properly melting butter and sugar together for butterscotch bar recipe

Question

I've been trying to make butterscotch bars. I'm not a new baker, but I don't have much experience in melting brown sugar and butter together.

The recipe (included at bottom of post) I'm using says that I need to melt butter and add brown sugar, and stir until sugar is melted.

When I first tried it, everything went well. Butter and brown sugar were mixed as one and it kinda looked like toffee. On my next attempts, I couldn't get the same result anymore. When the brown sugar melts, it doesn't incorporate with the butter anymore and it turns really hard like candy. So, what I get is hardened (but still grainy) brown sugar in a pool of melted butter.

Please give me some tips and techniques to properly melt butter and brown sugar together so that the result is like gooey toffee. I hope it can be done without candy thermometer. The author of the recipe didn't use one, and I think the quantity of the sugar-butter mixture is too little for me to dip a thermometer in it.

Thank you!

The recipe:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, 1/4 cup butter compound (I think it's half butter half margarine), 1 cups dark brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp baking powder , 1 cup flour, 1/8 tsp salt

1. In a small pot, melt the butter and butter compound over low heat. Add the sugar and stir until melted. Turn off the heat. Preheat the oven to 325°F and grease an 8" baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, sift the flour with the baking powder. Add the salt.

3. When the sugar mixture has cooled, add the egg. Mix well after addition.

4. Add the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix one last time.

5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cake is set.

P.S.: I haven't tried to actually let the mixture come to a boil because, as I said, the brown sugar becomes so hard and candy-like when it melts, and I'm afraid it gets even harder if I let the mixture boil. Please give me tips regarding boiling it. Thanks a lot for helping this newbie out. :)

Answer 1

In the past I have had a similar issue with making a butterscotch drink recipe. What I have found is that adding a bit of water to the melted butter (1-2 tsp/1/2 c, 5-10mL/120mL) helps dissolve the brown sugar and prevents graininess and seizing. Sugar is not readily soluble in fat, so it needs water in order to dissolve.

I suspect one of three things happened:

1. Different batches of butter may have different water contents.
2. The brown sugar may have lost some of its moisture as it sat around in the pantry.
3. Some of the water may have evaporated off while melting the butter.

If you heat brown sugar in butter without enough water some will dissolve in the water present from the butter and the brown sugar, but it will become grainy and seize as the water is evaporated and the undissolved sugar granules act as nucleation sites. Meanwhile the undissolved sugars are being lightly fried in the fat from the butter.

Answer 2

I recently had a similar problem, and I would guess that your solution will be similar as well. As in my case your recipe fails to be specific regarding too what temperature to elevate your mixture. To solve this you will need a candy thermometer. (In the US these are available at most stores that carry kitchen implements (Wal-xxx, Tarxx, etc.)

The peek temperature to which the sugar is heated determines what form that sugar based emulsion will take once cooled. If for instance, you used a different size of pan or higher heat (for approx. the same time) after your 'first attempt' you could easily achieve the effect you describe.

Source: http://candy.about.com/od/candybasics/a/candytemp.htm

For your Butterscotch Bars I'm guessing you want to reach, but not exceed, thread stage, as you are asked to mix an egg into the mixture and then add the remaining dry ingredients. This will become difficult after the thread stage.

Whatever your desired outcome, if you are getting "toffee" like results you are probably reaching either the soft-crack or hard-crack stage. (overheating).

Answer 3

I have had similar issue with a brown sugar / butter candy that I've been making since I was a kid. I'm coming to the conclusion that there is a difference in brands of brown sugar and the one I've used for years works and the one that is most commonly available where I now live makes up grainy. Maybe I'll try adding some water to see if that eliminates the problem. I really, really prefer the brand of sugar I've used for years. Is it possible that you've not used the same brand of sugar both times?

Answer 4

My go-to brownie recipe is very similar to your butterscotch bars, just melt butter + sugar in the microwave until just melted. The texture will be a little grainy (or if you want to use the stovetop, use a double boiler or baine Marie). Wait till warm and when you add the egg, the mixture will become smooth. By the time when the flour is added everything will be alright!

Answer 5

Is it possible that after a successful first attempt your confidence may have resulted in less stirring and a slightly higher temperature? Combining brown sugar and butter seems like the easiest thing in the world but unless they melt at the same pace you end up with hot sugar in a pool of greasy, melted butter. It happens to me all the time. The internet tells me to melt at a low heat, and stir constantly. Sometimes I fluke it, sometimes it goes in the bin. It’s such a crapshoot that I usually don’t make recipes that call for it, and I’m not buying a candy thermometer

Answer 6

So I just came across this as I googled the same question. Because at the moment I'm cooking brown sugar and butter together to make Christmas crack. I was wondering why my butter and brown sugar weren't mixing together after melting. As I read this I had turned down the temperature to a low medium, when I had it higher in the beginning,kept stirring and it eventually did end up mixing together. So maybe it's the temperature? Maybe you're cooking it too high? And not enough stirring? I constantly stir it too...