If your idea of butterscotch involves any type of bright yellow candy that is wrapped in cellophane, you are in for shock….REAL butterscotch tastes good!  Amazingly good!  This butterscotch pie is so good that we refuse to make it for group parties and potlucks.  Why? Because we want as much of it for ourselves as possible.  Not good for the waistline, but so good for the soul.

Occasionally as kids, we girls could sweet talk Mom into making a double batch of the pudding so we could have some to eat and still have plenty for the pie. In retrospect, she probably didn’t like to wait for the pie either – but she had us convinced that she was “giving in” and making extra pudding.  We can imagine her trying hard to keep a straight face as she’d say, “Well [sigh], I guess I could…”  Well played, Mom. Well played.  ~Robin and  Tracy

Ingredients for pie filling: 

• 4 T. butter
• 1 c. brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 c. flour
• 2 c. whole milk
• 3 egg yolks (slightly beaten) – save whites for meringue
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Ingredients for meringue:

• 4 egg whites (worth it to use one more egg so you don’t risk being short on meringue)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ tsp. cream of tartar
• ½ c. sugar

Other ingredients:

The usual baking supplies for your favorite pie crust (or just follow package directions if using store-bought crust; be sure to set it out to thaw, if frozen)

Instructions:

Bake your pie shell; set aside to cool.  If it was on a different temp, change oven to 350 degrees and leave on.

For pie filling, begin by melting, then browning butter in a large sauce pan on medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Do not leave on too low a temp or it will take for-e-ver.  You don’t have time to wait that long for this pie.  As butter gets ready to brown, it will begin to froth quite a bit (see photos below).  Trust the process and keep stirring constantly.  It will turn a nice deep brown before your eyes almost instantly.  Immediately when it turns brown, remove it from the heat.

Whisk in flour and brown sugar; blend in well.  Return to medium heat and then add milk and lightly beaten egg yolks and continue to stir constantly to keep from sticking.  Cook over direct heat until mixture thickens to pudding consistency.  Remove from heat; then add vanilla and stir it in.  Pour into baked pie crust.  Don’t overfill, as you will need to have exposed crust to seal the meringue.

For meringue, beat egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar for about one minute on medium speed – until soft peaks form.  Increase mixer to high speed, gradually adding sugar now (about 1 T. at a time). Beat on high about 4 or 5 minutes — until forms stiff, glossy peaks and sugar is dissolved. Immediately spread over pie, carefully sealing to the edge of pie crust to prevent shrinking.

Cook 12-15 min. at 350 degrees, or until meringue is golden brown. If edges of crust or top of meringue begin to brown too much, you may need to move pie to a lower oven rack.

Cool completely to room temperature before slicing.