Butterscotch Pie

I had a request from Kim to share one of my butterscotch pie recipes. I referred to butterscotch pie in a prior post about the Goody-Goody restaurant that featured that pie on its dessert menu.

Here it is; I think it is from an old Betty Crocker or Better Homes and Gardens Dessert Cookbook.

Butterscotch Pie

9″ baked pie shell

1 c. brown sugar (either light or dark or a mixture)
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/2 t. salt
1 c. water
1 2/3 c. milk (2% is fine)
5 1/3 T. butter
3 beaten egg yolks (save the whites for meringue if you want)
1 1/2 t. vanilla

1. Mix the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium large saucepan with a heavy bottom. Gradually stir in water and milk, stirring to mix well. Add the butter.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly till thick and boiling. Boil for one minute.

3. Remove from heat. Gradually stir at least half of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks. (Doing this slowly prevents the eggs from scrambling.) Return this egg mixture back into the cooking pan with the rest of the sugar mixture. Boil one minute more, stirring constantly to prevent the custard from burning. Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla.

4. Immediately pour into the cooked and cooled pie shell. Finish with meringue if desired (we never do) and let sit until the custard filling cools a bit before storing in the refrigerator with a circle of waxed paper directly on top of the custard. This prevents an unattractive skin from forming on the custard.

Some notes:
1. I use a 4 qt. pan and a long-handled wooden spoon to make the custard. A 3 qt. pan is fine, but I use a larger one to prevent splashes of the hot custard from burning my hand. That happened once and I had a nickel-sized burn that hurt for a while. I still have the scar.
2. I prefer the dark brown sugar, but either works well.
3. I save the egg whites for poaching rather than meringue which I don’t like. (One of my favorite breakfasts is poached egg whites on toast with hot milk and butter poured over. Great comfort food.)