Butterscotch is a flavor similar to caramel, and true butterscotch candies are made with large amounts of sugar, butter and corn syrup cooked together until the mixture reaches the soft-crack stage at 270 to 290 degrees. The nutritional components of butterscotch vary, based on the type of butterscotch used and whether it is made at home with real butter, sold in packages or contains a sugar substitute instead of sugar.
Butterscotch With Real Butter
A butterscotch hard candy recipe in the December/January 2005 issue of “Taste of Home” magazine is made with more than a cup of butter, 2½ cups of sugar, ½ cup of light corn syrup, ¼ cup of honey, water, salt and rum extract. This butterscotch recipe makes 30 pieces of candy. Each piece has 144 calories, 6 g of fat, 17 mg of cholesterol, 109 mg of sodium, 23 g of carbohydrates and trace amounts of fiber and protein.
Prepackaged Butterscotch Hard Candy
When most people think of butterscotch hard candies, the image of individually wrapped golden yellow candies comes to mind. These candies are usually not made with real butter and are much lower in calories than the homemade variety. Based on a serving size of three pieces, these butterscotch candies have 63 calories, 0.53 g of fat, 1 mg of cholesterol, 63 mg of sodium and 14.46 g of carbohydrates. These candies provide 1 mg of calcium, trace amounts of thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, choline and vitamin E and 16 IU of vitamin A, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Nutrient Database.
Sugar-Free Butterscotch Candies
Brach’s Confections of Dallas makes a line of candies, including sugar-free buttherscotch. Based on a serving size of three candies, these sugar-free Brach's candies have 35 calories, no fat, 80 mg of sodium and 17 g of carbohydrates that come from sugar alcohol. These candies have no measurable amounts of fat, cholesterol, fiber or vitamins.
Considerations
While the calorie counts in these candies are not exceptionally high, they offer, for the most part, empty calories and should be eaten in moderation. They also provide a relatively high amount of sodium. If you are watching your sodium, these candies can contribute to your daily amount quite quickly. If you are choosing the sugar-free variety, moderation should also be followed. Sugar alcohols can have a laxative effect and cause stomach discomfort.
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