Butterscotch Cookies

This is my great Aunt Sarah's coveted butterscotch cookie recipe.  I always remember her making two kinds of cookies growing up - butterscotch and molasses - but the butterscotch were definitely my favorite. Whenever you visited her, she always seemed to have some on hand.  Now I realize why it was so easy for her to make these cookies magically appear.  She made what she referred to as icebox cookies or what we would refer to as refrigerated cookie dough.  She would pre-make the cookie dough, wrap it in plastic and let it chill.  After the dough was chilled and when she had a hankering for cookies (or company that would), she would take it out of the frig, slice and bake. 

I had some company visiting and did just that.  In fact, the recipe makes quite a bit of cookie dough, so I made two logs of cookie dough to keep in the refrigerator and bake later.  One for my company this past weekend and one that I'm freezing for when my dad visits me next so he can enjoy some of Aunt Sarah's cookies. I took the dough out of the frig and sliced it while the kids watched in amazement as they were trying to figure out what it was - potato slices one of them asked?

I suppose I could have rolled the log of cookie dough even better so it didn't end up with a flat bottom, but they baked pretty nicely.  The thicker you cut the slices, the chewier the cookie.

The thicker you cut the slices, the bigger the cookie too!  That's one thing I remember about these cookies that Aunt Sarah would make - they were huge!

Here they are...just as I remember - simple, uncomplicated butterscotch cookies, crispy yet chewy with a nice brown sugary, light butterscotch flavor that look perfectly homemade.

Recipe for Aunt Sarah's Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients:

4 C. flour

1 t. cream of tartar

1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

4 C. packed brown sugar
1 C. unsalted butter

4 eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients (flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt) and mix well with a whisk. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and blend with a pastry cutter or use an electric mixer. Divide dough into two rolls and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate, slice and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, turning part way through, until golden brown at the edges.