Butterscotch Meringue Pie

Pie making is not in my DNA. My mother wasn't a splendid cook, to say the least, but at least she sometimes made a cake or nut bread. So I at least understood how to do that. I had pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, and never even had a slice of apple pie until about 3 years ago. ("Hmm. That's strange," I can hear you thinking. Yes, it is.) So, a long time ago, knowing that my dearly beloved loves lemon anything, I taught myself to make lemon meringue pie, using, of course, store bought crust. Some day, I may become brave and learn to make crust. Hey, it's more likely than me running a marathon when I'm 82, right?

So, in perusing a cookbook a while back, I discovered a recipe for butterscotch meringue pie. Perfect! We both love butterscotch and meringue. Aw, crud, it needs a crust. Well, I'll weasel my way through it! BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE PIE

1 pie crust, 9" diameter, baked

Filling:

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg yolks

Meringue:

3 egg whites
6 tbsp sugar

Line a 9" pie plate with the crust and bake until golden (or use a store bought 9" deep dish crust).

To prepare the filling, in a saucepan mix together the brown sugar, white sugar, cornstarch, salt and powdered milk. Over medium heat, stir in the water with a whisk, then add the cream. Heat to boiling, stirring frequently, and boil one minute, stirring constantly. To the egg yolks in a bowl, add some of the hot mixture, then stir the yolk mixture into the hot mixture on the stove and cook one minute longer. Turn off the heat, add the vanilla and butter, and stir until the butter is melted and combined. Pour into the pie crust.

Meanwhile, whip the egg whites with 6 tbsp sugar until stiff peaks form. Top the butterscotch mixture with the meringue, and bake at 400 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes, until the meringue is golden and beautiful. Cool thoroughly before serving, at least 2 hours, so the filling has time to firm up.
Now, I didn't want to try to make a pie crust. I am very afraid. I may need to conquer my fear, but first I would have to purchase one of those fancy pastry-rolling-out-mats. So, I had some graham cracker crumbs, but only enough to line the bottom of the pan. Well, there's more than one way to skin a cat, as they say. So I lined the bottom of the pan, and stuck meringue up the sides of it, and then poured my filling in, and topped it with the remainder of the meringue. It looked pretty, it worked well, it tasted superb, and the pie crust was rather nonexistent, having melted into the butterscotch filling. My dearly beloved tried to eat half the pie, although I stopped him at 1/3. He never gains weight, curse him! But guess who was in the refrigerator, hunting pie for breakfast?!