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Butterscotch Meringue Pie
Butterscotch Pie topped with a fluffy, baked meringue topping. Tastes just like old-fashioned pies grandma and diners used to make.
Butterscotch Pie perfection has been an elusive mystery to me. My grandmother could make them.
Any time I have tried to make one, it has either been runny or grainy and sometimes both.
I think the problem has something to do with the way I was mixing ingredients.
Generally, it looks curdled to me before I even add eggs.
Almost like the brown sugar curdles the milk, turning it into what looks like tiny pieces of cottage cheese floating in the pan.
The flavor has never been an issue, just the finished texture.
During a recent trip to visit family, my husband returned with an entire folder of recipes from Uncle Bill.
They were not the recipes that he was looking for, but in this folder are some amazing recipes that will be shared as time allows.
The first find that needed to be cooked and adjusted was Butterscotch Pie.
The reason for adjustments is that these recipes are designed for 50 and 100 people.
There are only 2 of us in this household, and unless you are feeding ranch hands or cooking for a family reunion, chances are you also need a smaller serving size to make in your kitchen.
I tested this recipe with my modifications using flour and using cornstarch.
We prefer the texture of the flour version, but the cornstarch version seemed to set up better.
Andy wanted a piece of pie before it was fully cooled, I would have preferred to wait a day, but he smelled it as soon as he opened the refrigerator.
After waiting a day, it had set up a bit better, but not as well as the cornstarch version.
I know from experience that both ways work, so if you have a preference of one over the other, it will be fine.
Meringue
I have been looking for a decent meringue for many years.
I have tried all the tricks from every corner of the internet. I have never had great luck without making one that doesn’t weep.
My friend Brian sometimes has great advice on cooking techniques I cannot seem to wrap my head around.
He recommended I try making a meringue that had a cooked component.
I had nothing to lose, it couldn’t make any more of a mess on the top of a pie than the thousand other ways I have tried.
There were more recipes for this type of meringue than I thought there would be.
Nearly all of them call for cooking cornstarch in water, some with sugar, some without.
I wish I could tell you which recipe was the first one I laid eyes on to give credit, but I bet I looked at over 50 of them.
The one on our recipe card works well. It held up for several days without going flat or gummy.
This pie, and all cream pies actually, need at least 4 to 6 hours in the refrigerator to cool and set up.
Please plan accordingly. This is not a recipe you can make and eat as soon as it comes out of the oven.
I mean you could, but it will be warm and runny like hot pudding.
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Butterscotch Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 cups brown sugar firmly packed
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 egg yolks
- 3 cups milk
- 6 tablespoons flour or cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 deep dish pie crust blind baked
Meringue
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch heaping
- 9 tablespoons white granulated sugar divided
- 4 egg whites at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Instructions
- Filling
- Place brown sugar and butter in a large, heavy bottom saucepan and set heat to medium low.
- In a small bowl, mix eggs and milk together.
- Add egg mixture and flour to sauce pan with sugar and butter and whisk until no lumps pf flour or sugar remain.
- Turn heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently until mixture is thick, like pudding.
- Remove from heat, and add vanilla.
- Pour filling into blind baked deep dish pie shell. There will be extra filling, place it in a bowl and refrigerate for an afternoon snack or for those who do not like pie crust or meringue.
- Meringue
- Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy.
- Gradually add 6 tablespoons of white sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.
- Turn of mixer.
- Heat water, cornstarch, and 3 tablespoons granulated sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Remove from heat.
- Add hot mixture to soft peak egg whites in the mixing bowl.
- Turn mixer to high and beat until meringue forms stiff peaks.
- Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.
- Finish Pie
- Place meringue on top of the pie and spread out to the edges of the pie crust, this will help prevent shrinkage.
- Place pie on a cookie sheet and place into preheated 350 Degree F oven. Cook for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the meringue is the color you want. I prefer light brown.
- When pie is done, remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes or so.
- Place in refrigerator and allow to cool at least 8 hours, overnight would be better.
- Cut and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and may vary based on exact ingredients used. For accuracy, consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
if you take your meringue to edge and seal it won’t weep you won,t need cornstarch
Hello!
Thanks for your leaving you thoughts! While it is true about sealing to the edge of the pie, and it is part of the recipe instructions, that is more to prevent your meringue from shrinking. When I say weep, I mean weeping through the top, the little brown moisture beads that form the next day and the moisture that forms between the meringue and the filling. I have used both regular meringue and this one, this one holds up better if you don’t plan on serving the entire pie the day it is made.
Cheers!
Great recipe! Made it for my dad’s 90th birthday. It’s what his mother made him for his birthday when he was little.
Hi Diane!
Thanks for sharing and coming back by to leave a review! We’re so happy you liked it! We hope your dad had an awesome 90th birthday, and we bet he loved his birthday dessert too!
I just made this pie yesterday and I think an important step may have been forgotten. Do you need to bake the pie filling before adding the meringue? Cuz my crust was absolute mush and my pie filling was soup. I hope to hear from the author of this recipe. Thank you for taking the time to do such detailed instructions. I’ve never made a meringue pie before and I was grateful for the details except if the filling was supposed to bake while making the meringue.
Hi Sherri!
The filling is only baked when the meringue is being baked. The filling should be cooked on the stove until it is thickened already, like pudding. The pie filling is not added to the pie crust until it has been cooked completely, which includes tempering eggs that should also help thicken it. It is then poured into the blind-baked pie crust (Pre-baked), meringue added to the hot filling, then baked. It will still need at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.
Hope this helps!
It sounds like she didn’t pre-bake the crust. That would definitely be a problem.
Hi Judi!
It’s possible, I remember one year at Christmas, my grandma forgot to bake all the crusts! But even then her filling was edible. I suspect there were many things going on. Thanks for hep with troubleshooting!
I have just made this and it turned out really well. I followed the recipe to the letter except I added just a bit of salt to the filling. It just brought out the flavour. I live in England and it’s great to have a taste from home. Thank you.
Hi Angela!
I’m glad this pie recipe was able to bring you a taste of home!
I made your Butterscotch Pie last night for my 84 yo dad….. it’s amazing .. set up perfectly and sliced beautifully and tastes incredible. I did use a simpler recipe for the meringue.. this one is pretty heavy in steps.. thank you for making our day brighter.
Hi Traceye!
I’m glad your pie set up! Also glad you have a meringue recipe that worked!
Cheers!
My crust recipe makes two pies.. so I’m looking for a yummy chocolate pie recipe.. something dark, silky smooth and rich that will set up as beautifully as your butterscotch.. do you have a recommendation ?
Hi Traceye!
I don’t have one posted yet. Sorry about that.
6 plus 3 is9 where are the other 3 T. of sugar used?
Hi Jennifer!
The meringue topping gets sugar with the egg whites and then again when the cornstarch mix is cooked on the stovetop.
Hope this helps!
This pie is awesome! I’ve made it twice now. The second time i struggled with the meringue but finally got it to go! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Erika!
Thanks for dropping by again and letting me know you like this pie. It’s one of our favorites.
Cheers!
Hi! Getting ready to make this tomorrow! Can’t wait to try it. I have a question about the corn starch/flour debate….. since you prefer the taste of the flour better, but the cornstarch set better…. have you tried doing half and half? Thanks for any input and thank you for sharing your recipe. This pie brings many memories of my mom and her dad who are both passed. . She always made it for him on his birthday. I can’t seem to find her recipe. Thank you again.
Krista
Hi Krista!
I have never tried a combination of the two. The pie in the photos was made with flour, it sets up exactly as I remember my grandma’s, so not runny, just not as set up as my sugar cream pie. I’d be curious to hear how it turns out if you decide to try a combination.
Be safe and well!
Baked this butterscotch pie today and used butter pecan extract instead of vanilla, since I was completely out of vanilla but had butter pecan and almond extract.
It turned out awesome! Now the meringue was a task. I had to start over because it wasn’t forming peaks. It was because of a small amount of egg yolk. Second time it turned out perfect! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Hi Cherie!
Butter pecan extract sounds like a great alternative to vanilla!
Glad you had success even if you had to deal with those pesky egg yolks.
Cheers!
Hi. If you didn’t want to top with meringue would you have to bake the pie at all? I am trying to find a recipe that is close to my mother in laws. My husband likes the pie better with no topping
Thanks!
Hi Heather!
Thanks for stopping by!
You would not need to bake the pie after filling without a meringue. I would probably cover the pie filling with plastic wrap until it was set just to avoid a skin from forming on the top as it sets though.
Let me know how it turns out.
Hi thanks for this recipe I would love to try it, at what temperature must this pie bake?
Thanks for visiting us!
Sorry for the omission and thank you for pointing out the error of my ways!!
The temperature for baking the meringue is 350 Degrees F. The recipe has been updated.
Enjoy!
Beth