Butterscotch Meringue Pie
Why I Love This Recipe
The meringue gives a nice balance to the filling of this pie.
Ingredients You'll Need
CRUST:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut up
2-3 tbsp ice water
FILLING:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut up
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 ¼ cups whole milk, divided
½ cup heavy whipping cream
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3 tbsp coprnstarch
Dash salt
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
MERINGUE:
1/3 cup water
1 tsbp corn starch
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ tsp cream of tartar
Directions
CRUST:
In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Add 2 tbsp water; stir until dough starts to form, adding additional water 1 tsp at a time if needed. Shape into flat round; cover. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes
On lightly floured surface, roll dough into 1/8 inch thick round, 12-13 inches across. Fold dough in half; transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Gently ease dough into plate, without stretching. Trim to ½ inch beyond edge of plate. Turn crust under itself, even with edge of pan. Flute edges. Freeze 20-30 minutes or until firm.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cover pie crust with foil. Fill with pie weights, beans or rice. Bake 25 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 cup brown sugar; cook and stir 3 minutes or until sugar is melted and mixture is smooth. Whisk in ¾ cup of the milk and cream. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat.
FILLING:
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolk, and remaining ½ cup milk. Whisk in 3 tbsp cornstarch and dash salt. Slowly whisk in hot sugar mixture. Pour into same saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Turn off heat; cover to keep warm.
MERINGUE:
In a small saucepan, combine water and cornstarch; mix well. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Turn off heat; cover to keep warm.
In large heatproof bowl, whisk together egg whites and brown sugar. Place over pan of simmering water (bowl should not touch water); whisk constantly 1-2 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. (To test, remove bowl from heat and rub small amount of mixture between your fingers. It should feel smooth and silky without graininess.) Remove from heat. Add cream of tartar; with electric mixer, beat at medium speed until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add warm cornstarch mixture. Increase speed to medium-high; beat 2-3 minutes or until meringue is shiny and stiff peaks form.
FINISHING:
Heat filling until hot; pour into crust. Working quickly, spread meringue evenly over hot filling, making sure meringue completely covers filling and touches crust on all edges. Use spoon to make decorative finish. Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Cool on wire rack 2 hours. Refrigerate.