Jolean's Butterscotch Pie, Pennsylvania Dutch Style

"This is a personal, absolute favorite of mine!!! Mom never would tell us where she got this recipe (which always made Dad raise one eyebrow...LOL!) And she never gave us girls the recipe while she was here --- it was something truly special to her as well, although I don't know exactly why. I found the old, yellowed, hand-written recipe hidden deep in her personal recipe box after she passed away... The taste and the texture of this pie is incredible, and I've never been able to match it -- I've tried for 6 or 7 years to find a "quick" fix for this. But nope...Nothing doing. Gotta have this exact recipe!!! Once you have this, you'll never fully enjoy any other butterscotch pie!!! (I sound pretty serious, don't I?) LOL! No, seriously, the recipe looks a whole lot more complicated than it really is -- super simple, just home-made! YUM!"
 
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photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by audreysoccer photo by audreysoccer
photo by Cassie S. photo by Cassie S.
photo by Kimberly W. photo by Kimberly W.
photo by NoraMarie photo by NoraMarie
Ready In:
1hr
Ingredients:
12
Serves:
6
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ingredients

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directions

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Stir brown sugar and butter in a saucepan until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cook 2-3 minutes longer on low-medium heat, and then remove from fire.
  • Beat egg yolks.
  • In separate large bowl, mix flour with 1/2 of milk, until smooth. Then add beaten egg yolks and salt and mix well. Blend remaining milk with this mixture.
  • Add flour mixture to saucepan with sugar/butter mixture and cook on low/medium heat until thickened (anywhere from 30-45 minutes), stirring CONSTANTLY.
  • Remove from heat and blend in vanilla extract. Stir CONSTANTLY until well blended and slightly warm and then pour into a prepared (baked) 9" pie crust.
  • Top pie with meringue (recipe to follow).
  • After meringue is spread on top, Bake at 350° for 12 to 15 minutes, or until meringue is golden. Cool for 10-15 minutes.
  • MERINGUE: 3 egg whites (reserved from pie filling recipe), 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar, 6 tablespoons granulated sugar.
  • With a mixer, beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff and glossy peaks form and all sugar is dissolved.
  • Spread meringue over slightly warm filling, sealing to edge of crust. (Then bake and cool as directed above.).

Questions & Replies

  1. Does the pie crust get baked first? I would assume it does but I want to be sure. Thank You.
     
  2. Can you double the recipe?
     
  3. Can you use 2%milk
     
  4. i know the recipe definitely does not call for but must ask - no tempering of the eggs? Simply since I am so used to having to do that but for this recipe it looks like this really is not necessary?
     
  5. If I use 4 TBSP. cornstarch instead of flour would stirring time be reduced and thicken quicker.
     
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Reviews

  1. This is a great recipe! I did have to sub dark brown sugar (out of light) and used canned evaporated milk (had no whole milk) and the texture of this filling was superb. You really do have to be patient with the thickening because I think I stirred constantly for about 20-30 minutes before I thought it was really thick enough for pie filing. I then took it off the heat and while still warm whisked out any lumps that may have formed. But I did cook it on low on a gas stove too. My patience was rewarded with a silky textured pie and fabulous flavor. Very well worth the effort!!!
     
  2. I'm a butterscotch pie enthusiast and I made two separate versions of this pie. The first pie, I followed the recipe to a T and the second pie, I added my alterations. For the second pie, I substituted light brown sugar with dark brown sugar and I substituted 2 cups of whole milk with 1 and a half cups of evaporated milk and half a cup of sweetened condensed milk. I didn't want to be bias so I had a few of my family and friends try a slice of both pies. They enjoyed both pies, but every single person thought that the pie that I altered was much better. Try my alterations for yourself and you be the judge!
     
  3. I cook the butterscotch in a double boiler to avoid constant stirring
     
  4. Good pie. Here's a hint to speed up the process considerably. I had my milk at room temperature (to mix with the flour and yolks) and then heated up the remaining cup in the microwave until quite hot (not boiling but close). Then added it to the sugar/milk mixture and in less than 10 minutes it was nice and thick and bubbling up. I poured it in the shell and once it was cool, it cut like a dream.
     
  5. Double (or triple) the butterscotch!! The recipe only makes an inch or two- not the four to five you need. I always top mine with whip cream, much better than mirange. It takes 30-45 min for the butterscotch the thicken. don't give up! A sweet vapor will start to rise continuously, and eventually the scotch will coat a spoon, and set a few min after going in the pie shell... so lovely!!
     
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Tweaks

  1. If you want your pie to thicken a LOT FASTER and taste sweeter and creamier, use half and half instead of whole. Sets in under 5 minutes and tastes great!
     
  2. I'm a butterscotch pie enthusiast and I made two separate versions of this pie. The first pie, I followed the recipe to a T and the second pie, I added my alterations. For the second pie, I substituted light brown sugar with dark brown sugar and I substituted 2 cups of whole milk with 1 and a half cups of evaporated milk and half a cup of sweetened condensed milk. I didn't want to be bias so I had a few of my family and friends try a slice of both pies. They enjoyed both pies, but every single person thought that the pie that I altered was much better. Try my alterations for yourself and you be the judge!
     
  3. I used this recipe to make my first Butterscotch Pie. My Granny (81 years old) who has been making these pies for over 60 year tasted it and gave me an A! This is also my husbands favorite pie and when he finally got a taste he was thrilled. The texture is divine and I really packed the brown sugar so the taste is a sugary delight. I used cool whip instead of the meringue. I also drizzled caramel on the cool whip and sprinkled butterscotch chip on it as well. It made for a beautiful presentation and added to the flavor. You can not go wrng with this pie!
     
  4. This was amazing! I made it at the hunting cabin and even with a few substitutions it turned out great. My mother inlaw used lemon juice instead of cream of tarter in the meringue as we didn't have it at the cabin. It does take a long time stirring to thicken but any home made pudding does if you want to prevent scorching. My Husband and inlaws loved it. I will definitely make it again!!!
     
  5. Oh this was soooo good!!! Yummy yummy yummy! The best and most delicious butterscotch pie I have tasted! So much better from scratch than from pudding! My 9 year old daughter and I made it together, and after a first mistake we got it down. Second time around went really smooth. We used whipped cream instead of meringue and it was very tasty! Looking forward to making it again and especially to EATING it again!!! Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Editor's Note: Sadly Stacky5 passed away on Monday, October 20, 2008. Hi! My name is Stacy, and I'm a single Mom who works full-time with 4 kids ranging from ages 9 to 21, a brand new granddaughter named Faith, and a cat named Pubert (we call him Pube) who is also my kid... That's his photo as my icon. Oh, and a new kitten that the kids named "KeeKee" but who I call Little Kitteh. I love them with all my heart! Even though I don't have my parents anymore, their presence is always felt and their love has resonated in my life, even after all this time. You'll find a lot of my posted recipes that refer to "Jolean" --- and that's my Mom. :) I sure do miss her... I love music, especially 70's music, cats, incense & lavalights, candles, and I love to play guitar. I've been called an old "hippie chick," and I don't mind that label in the least. I also love to try other people's recipes and find ones that remind me of my Mother, and those precious memories that I had growing up in a household with such a wonderfully comforting cook...I work full-time in a real estate office as an office administrator. I came to this site looking for recipes that were tried and true. I stayed at this site because I found people who were kind, loving, caring and shared the same interest that I do --- food and cooking. I've saved a lifetime of recipes and learned so much about cooking and ingredients that I actually feel proud of my cooking. I bet my Mom looks down on me with pride every time I cook a new recipe from RecipeZaar, and I bet my Dad cracks up every time he sees me photographing what I've cooked! My daughters have actually gotten into the act, too, and are quite versed in searching for recipes and answers here on Zaar. Makes me proud to be their Mom. RecipeZaar isn't just a "website." It's a lifestyle. And some of the friends I've made here are LIFELONG friends to me --- and in my estimation, those types of people are a rare thing to find in this world. :) P.S. Pube says, "Hello everybody!" ;) <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/purplechefhat.gif" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/chef3.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/beartag_1_1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/adopted_1_1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/200_artistrichardneuman-art-prints_.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/untitled.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/PAC08Main.jpg"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/adoptedspring08.jpg"> <a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/?action=view¤t=craftykookaburras.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/craftykookaburras.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/ZWT2.gif"> <img src="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/kzbhansen/Banners/Animation3.gif"> <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Zaar%20World%20Tour%204/ZWTAB-tg.gif"> <a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b45/Stacky5LRC/banner002_200.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
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