I made these cookies for one of my very best friends. She lives in Omaha and has been a smoker for a very long time. She decided it was time to quit and for several months she has been smoke free. I’m extremely proud of Kiki and asked her what kind of cookies she is craving. She gave me a list of cookies but the one that topped her list was Butterscotch Chip.

So, I began my search for the best recipe I could find. I’ve never made them before so it was kinda new territory for me. But I figured it wouldn’t be much different than chocolate chips cookies. I didn’t want to substitute butterscotch chips in a regular chocolate chip cookie, I wanted the butterscotch flavor to come through. One of the other things Kiki mentioned was a cookie from an old family recipe, she remembered it had rice cereal, coconut and whole bunch of other things. As I was searching I found a recipe that included butterscotch instant pudding and rice cereal, score! It did call for chocolate chips, but this time substituting them for butterscotch would work since there is butterscotch pudding to help enhance that flavor. As I was making the cookies, I realized that the brown sugar I had was as hard as a brick, but I did have Splenda brown sugar. Thankfully that worked out really nice and I ended up with a low sugar cookie that tastes amazing!

Kiki says the cookies tasted great and that they shipped well.

Butterscotch Chip Cookies:

• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1 c whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 c  sugar
• 1 1/4 c brown sugar or 1/2 cup plus 2 tbs Splenda brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temp
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 c butter flavored shortening
• 1 pkg butterscotch-flavored sugar free instant pudding mix
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 1/2 c rice cereal
• 1 1/2 – 2 c butterscotch chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine the sugars using a fork to break up any lumps in the brown sugar. Set aside.
4. In yet another small bowl, beat the eggs, vanilla, milk and nutmeg, on high until light and fluffy.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the shortening until it’s fluffy. Add half of the sugar and beat until incorporated, then add the second half. Beat on high until grainy, about 3 minutes. Add in the pudding mix and beat until combined.
6. Pour in half of the egg mixture and beat until incorporated. Repeat with the second half, being sure to scrape the bowl. Drizzle in the honey and beat until fluffy.
7. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and repeat, adding the rest of the dry ingredients in two portions. Gently fold in the oats and chocolate chips.
8. Portion dough into approximately 1/4 c balls (or use a 1 3/4 oz disher) and place on baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until the edges just begin to brown. Transfer sheets to cooling racks and allow cookies to cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks.

Source: Slightly adapted from Whisk-Kid