Are you ready to bake a true taste of nostalgia? A dessert so comforting, so classic, and so deeply delicious that it will transport you right back to your grandmother’s kitchen? This incredible, completely from-scratch Old-Fashioned Butterscotch Pie, with its silky, rich custard filling, a flaky all-butter crust, and a cloud-like, toasted meringue topping, is that legendary dessert.
This isn’t just a recipe; it’s a guide to mastering a true American classic. Forget the artificial flavor of store-bought puddings. We’ll show you how to create a deep, authentic butterscotch flavor by caramelizing butter and brown sugar. We’ll guide you through making a perfect, flaky pastry and a light, airy meringue. This is a rewarding baking project that results in a truly unforgettable, show-stopping pie.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: The Ultimate Nostalgic Dessert
What makes this Butterscotch Pie so spectacular is its incredible harmony of three distinct, from-scratch components that create an unforgettable flavor experience. The foundation is a crisp, all-butter pastry crust. The star is the filling—a luxurious, stovetop-cooked custard with a deep, nutty, and authentic butterscotch flavor. The grand finale is a beautiful, sky-high, and perfectly toasted meringue topping. It’s the ultimate special-occasion pie, perfect for holidays and family gatherings.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 4 hours (includes chilling) |
| Active Prep Time | 1 hour |
| Difficulty Level | Advanced |
| Servings | 8-10 slices |
Your Holiday Baking Game Plan (Make-Ahead Schedule)
The secret to this seemingly complex dessert is to make it in easy, manageable stages.
- Up to 3 Days Ahead: Make the pie crust, bake it, and let it cool completely. Store the empty, baked pie shell in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Up to 1 Day Ahead: Prepare the butterscotch custard filling. Let it cool slightly, then pour it into your pre-baked pie shell. Cover the pie with plastic wrap (making sure it doesn’t touch the surface of the filling) and chill it in the refrigerator overnight to set completely.
- On Serving Day: Just before you plan to serve, whip up the fresh meringue, top the chilled pie, and give it a final 5-minute bake to toast the top.
The Essential Ingredients for This Classic Pie
This recipe is built from three perfect, from-scratch components.
- The All-Butter Pie Crust (Pâte Brisée): A rich, flaky, and incredibly flavorful foundation.
- Cold Unsalted Butter: The absolute key to a flaky crust. It is crucial that your butter is very cold. The small, flour-coated pieces of cold butter create steam as the pie boves, which is what creates all those beautiful, flaky layers.
- Red Wine Vinegar & Ice Water: A touch of vinegar is a classic old-fashioned trick that helps to tenderize the gluten, making the crust even more flaky, while the ice water keeps the butter perfectly cold.
- The Rich Butterscotch Custard Filling:
- The “Butterscotch” Base: The secret to a true, deep butterscotch flavor is the first step: slowly cooking unsalted butter with packed light brown sugar until the butter browns and the sugar caramelizes, creating a wonderful, nutty aroma.
- The Custard: A classic, rich custard made with milk, heavy cream, and egg yolks. A splash of Scotch whisky adds a wonderful, warm, and sophisticated smoky note that is a classic pairing with butterscotch.
- The Fluffy Meringue Topping: A simple, classic, and beautiful topping made from egg whites, a pinch of salt, and a little bit of sugar, whipped into a light, glossy, and cloud-like topping.
Step-by-Step to a Show-Stopping Butterscotch Pie
Let’s break this incredible project down into simple, manageable parts.
Part 1: The Perfect All-Butter Pie Crust (and Blind-Baking)
Step 1: In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the 4 1/2 cups of sifted all-purpose flour, the 2 teaspoons of salt, and the 2 teaspoons of sugar for 1 minute. Add the 12 ounces of cold, cubed butter and mix just until you have a crumbly, sandy mixture with some small, pea-sized pieces of butter still visible.
Step 2: In a small bowl, stir the 1/2 cup of ice water and the 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar together. With the mixer running at medium speed, drizzle in the water-vinegar mixture and mix just until a dough forms.
Step 3: Turn the dough out, divide it in half, and shape each half into a round, flat disc. Wrap each disc separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. (You will only need one disc for this pie; the other can be frozen for up to 1 month!)
Step 4 (Blind Bake the Crust): Preheat your oven to 375°F. Roll out one disc of the chilled dough to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Crimp the edges decoratively. Line the inside of the chilled crust with aluminum foil and fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is dry and beginning to turn “blond.” Carefully lift the foil and weights out of the shell and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust is a beautiful, deep golden brown. Let the crust cool completely on a wire rack.
Part 2: The Rich & Silky Butterscotch Custard Filling
Step 1: In a large saucepan, combine the 2 1/4 cups of milk and the 1 cup of heavy cream, and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set it aside.
Step 2: In a separate, large, heavy skillet, melt the 6 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Stir in the 1 1/4 cups of light brown sugar. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture has caramelized and you can smell a wonderful, nutty-caramel aroma.
Step 3: While whisking the hot milk constantly, very gradually and carefully pour the hot butter and brown sugar mixture into the hot milk. If the mixture is not perfectly smooth, you can use an immersion blender for 20 seconds to smooth it out.
Step 4: In a medium bowl, whisk the 3 egg yolks. Now, you must temper the yolks. While whisking the yolks constantly, slowly drizzle about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into them. Whisk the cornstarch and salt into this egg yolk mixture until dissolved.
Step 5: Whisk the tempered egg yolk mixture back into the hot milk in the saucepan. Add the 2 tablespoons of Scotch and whisk it in.
Step 6: Place the saucepan back over medium-high heat. Whisking constantly, cook until the custard is very thick and has just come to a boil.
Step 7: Turn off the heat and whisk in the 1 1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract. Pour the hot custard into your pre-baked and completely cooled pie shell.
Step 8: Chill the pie, uncovered, in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight, until the filling is completely cold and firm.
Part 3: The Fluffy Meringue Topping & Final Assembly
Step 1: Just before you are ready to serve, preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
Step 2: In the clean bowl of an electric mixer, whip the 2 egg whites with the pinch of salt until they form soft peaks. With the mixer still running, gradually add the 2 tablespoons of sugar and continue to whip until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are thick and glossy.
Step 3: Spread the meringue beautifully over the top of your chilled, set pie.
Step 4: Bake for just 5 minutes, until the meringue is lightly browned and has a beautiful “cappuccino” color.
Chill the finished pie until you are ready to serve it.
The Best Old-Fashioned Butterscotch Pie (with Meringue!)
A from-scratch recipe for a classic Butterscotch Pie with a fluffy meringue topping. The dessert features a homemade all-butter pie crust that is fully blind-baked. The rich, cooked custard filling is made by creating a brown sugar and butter caramel, which is then whisked into a hot milk and cream mixture, enriched with egg yolks, and thickened with cornstarch. A splash of Scotch whisky adds depth. After chilling to set, the pie is topped with a sweet, glossy meringue that is baked until lightly browned.
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes (includes chilling times)
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- For the Piecrust:
- 4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 12 ounces (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup ice water
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- For the Filling:
- 2 1/4 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons Scotch whisky
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- For the Meringue Top:
- 2 egg whites
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
- Make the Piecrust: In a mixer, combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the cold butter and mix until crumbly. Drizzle in a mixture of the ice water and vinegar and mix just until a dough forms. Divide the dough in half, shape into disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (This recipe only uses one disk).
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll one disk of dough out to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Line the chilled crust with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until dry and light ‘blond’ in color. Remove the weights and foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes until medium brown. Let the crust cool.
- Make the Filling: In a saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a simmer. In a separate large skillet, melt the butter, stir in the brown sugar, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly for 5-7 minutes, until the mixture caramelizes.
- Whisking constantly, gradually add the hot milk/cream mixture to the caramel.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture to temper them. Whisk in the cornstarch and salt until smooth.
- Whisk the tempered egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan. Add the scotch and cook, whisking constantly, over medium-high heat until the mixture thickens and boils. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla.
- Pour the filling into the pre-baked pie shell. Chill, uncovered, for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Make the Meringue and Finish: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the whites are glossy.
- Spread the meringue over the top of the chilled pie. Bake for 5 minutes until the meringue is lightly browned. Chill the finished pie until ready to serve.
Notes
- The recipe for the pie crust makes enough for two crusts; one can be frozen for later use.
- It is crucial to fully blind-bake the pie crust before adding the filling to prevent a soggy bottom.
- Tempering the egg yolks by slowly adding a bit of the hot liquid is an important step to prevent them from scrambling.
- The pie must be thoroughly chilled for at least 2 hours for the custard filling to set properly before adding the meringue.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/8 of pie)
- Calories: 800-950
- Sugar: 80-100 g
- Sodium: 500-650 mg
- Fat: 45-55 g
- Saturated Fat: 28-35 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 90-110 g
- Fiber: 2-3 g
- Protein: 8-11 g
- Cholesterol: 200-250 mg
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- Make-Ahead: As outlined in our “Game Plan” above, this is the perfect dessert to make in stages over a few days to make your holiday baking completely stress-free.
- Storage: The finished, meringue-topped pie must be stored in the refrigerator. It is at its absolute best on the day it is made, as the meringue can sometimes “weep” over time. It will keep, loosely covered, for up to 2 days.
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Enjoy a True Taste of Nostalgia!
You’ve just created a truly special, show-stopping dessert that is the very definition of old-fashioned comfort. This classic Butterscotch Pie, with its silky custard, its flaky crust, and its cloud of toasted meringue, is a rewarding baking project that is guaranteed to impress. It’s a timeless treat that makes any occasion feel special.
We hope you and your loved ones enjoy every last, perfect, and delicious bite!
If you enjoyed making this recipe, please leave a comment below or share it with a friend who loves to bake classic desserts!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What is the difference between caramel and a true butterscotch?
While they are very similar, the main difference is the sugar and the fat. A classic caramel is traditionally made with white granulated sugar. A classic butterscotch, like in this recipe, is always made with brown sugar and butter. The molasses in the brown sugar and the browning of the butter are what give butterscotch its signature, deep, nutty, and slightly richer flavor.
Q2: How do I keep my meringue from “weeping” or getting watery?
“Weeping” meringue is a common problem, and it’s usually caused by undissolved sugar. The key is to add your sugar to the egg whites slowly and gradually while the mixer is running. This gives the sugar plenty of time to dissolve completely. A pinch of salt also helps to create a more stable meringue.
Q3: Can I make this pie a day or two before a party?
Yes! The best make-ahead method for this pie is to prepare the blind-baked crust and the butterscotch filling completely a day or two in advance. Keep the filled pie, covered, in the refrigerator. Then, on the day of your party, you can whip up the fresh meringue, top the pie, and give it its final 5-minute bake right before you plan to serve it for the best and freshest result.
Q4: My custard filling didn’t set up properly. What did I do wrong?
A custard that doesn’t set is usually the result of it not being cooked for long enough on the stovetop. It is very important to continue to cook the custard, while whisking constantly, until it is very thick and has just come to a boil. As the recipe notes, a great visual cue is when your whisk begins to leave “trail marks” on the bottom of the pot.
Q5: Can I make this pie with a store-bought crust?
Yes, for a convenient shortcut, you can absolutely use a high-quality, store-bought refrigerated pie crust. Simply unroll it, fit it into your pie pan, and be sure to follow the full blind-baking steps as directed in the recipe for the best, non-soggy result.