Butterscotch Meringues Food

BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place pie crust in a 9-inch pie pan and gently press into the bottom and up the sides. Fold edges under and crimp edges.
• Top piecrust with a piece of parchment paper and add pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and weights and bake another 5 minutes. Let cool.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
• In a large heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar, 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in half-and-half and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
• Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Place egg yolks in a medium bowl and gradually whisk in 1/4 of the hot half-and-half mixture. This will temper the eggs so that they do not curdle.
• Add the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan and whisk in. Cook, whisking continuously, until thick and bubbly, about 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter until the butter completely melts. Pour into prepared pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until foamy.
• Gradually beat in 6 tablespoons of sugar and keep beating until stiff peaks form.
• Remove plastic from pie and spoon meringue over filling. Spread it all the way to the edges so that it completely covers and seals the filling.
• Bake until golden, about 12 minutes, in in 350 degree oven.
• Let cool completely before slicing.

BUTTERSCOTCH PIE WITH MERINGUE TOPPING

Steps:

• Begin by taking a moment to separate the 4 eggs** you will need for this recipe. Place 1 egg yolk in a small bowl (for the pie crust.) Place 3 egg yolks in another small bowl (for the pudding). Place all 4 egg whites in a large bowl or stand mixer that is very clean and grease free (for the meringue. The whites need to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before you beat them, that's why we're doing this now.)
• Now make the pie crust. Fill a small bowl with ice and water so it is ready when you need it.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.
• Use a pastry cutter or fork to cut in the butter-flavored Crisco.* Cut with the pastry cutter until it looks like coarse crumbs. Don't overdo it! You want pea-size chunks of shortening.
• In the small bowl with 1 egg yolk, whisk in 1/4 cup ice water, then add it to the flour mixture. Stir until it with a fork until it is just coming together, then use floured hands to knead it a few times (only to make it come together). Divide the dough in half.
• Shape one half into a disc, put it in a ziplock, and stick it in the freezer. Save it for another pie another day!
• Generously sprinkle flour onto a sheet of parchment paper or a pastry cloth (or the counter). Roll the dough with a rolling pin, using as much flour as you need so that it doesn't stick. Invert the parchment paper onto a 9-inch pie pan and gently peel off the paper. (Or if you are not using paper, roll it up gently on the rolling pin and transfer to the pie pan.)
• Arrange the pie crust and fold any excess crust underneath (I don't believe in trimming it off. Just fold it under!) Crimp as desired. I used a fork, easy peasy. Use the same fork to prick the bottom and sides of the crust all over.
• Place the pie pan in the freezer or fridge. It should chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
• When your oven is very hot and your pie crust is very cold, line the bottom of the pie crust with foil. Fill with pie weights, coins, dried beans or rice, whatever you have. This will prevent bubbles from rising up.
• Bake at 450 for 8 minutes. Remove the foil and pie weights. Return to the oven and bake for another 7-8 minutes, until the bottom of the crust is no longer shiny.
• Remove from the oven and set aside. Lower your oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

BUTTERSCOTCH PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium saucepan, stir together the brown sugar, heavy cream and butter. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a full boil, becoming thick and brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the milk. Slowly add the remaining milk to the sugar mixture.
• Whisk together the cornstarch, egg yolks, vanilla and reserved 1 tablespoon of milk in a medium bowl. Add the cornstarch mixture to the sugar mixture over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until thick, about 3 minutes. Pour the filling into the prebaked pie crust.
• Make a meringue by beating the egg whites and a pinch of salt with an electric mixer until they begin to set stiff. Add the granulated sugar and continue beating until the whites are stiff and hold peaks. Spread the meringue on top of the pie, taking care to spread it to the edges of the crust. Bake until light brown, about 10 minutes.

AUNT JIMMY'S BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Make the Filling: In a large saucepan, combine the milk and cream and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Immediately remove from the heat and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the brown sugar, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring constantly, until caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes. (You'll smell a characteristic nutty caramel odor when the butter browns, signaling that the mixture is ready.)
• Whisking constantly, gradually add the butter/brown sugar mixture to the hot milk/cream mixture. If the mixture isn't smooth, blend for 20 seconds with a hand blender or pour through a fine sieve.
• Put the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk in about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture. Whisk in the cornstarch and salt until dissolved. Whisk the cornstarch mixture back into the hot milk mixture in the saucepan. Whisk in the Scotch.
• While whisking constantly, cook over medium-high heat until thick and just boiling. When the mixture thickens, the whisk will leave trail marks on the bottom of the pot and the mixture will have a few large bubbles boiling up to the top.
• Turn off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour into the prebaked pie shell and set aside while you make the meringue.
• Make the Meringue: In a standing mixer fitted with a whip attachment, whip the whites in a clean dry bowl on low speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue whipping on medium speed until soft peaks are formed. Gradually pour in the sugar and continue whipping on high speed until stiff and glossy. Pile the meringue onto the pie and swirl to cover, spreading it to the edge. (Making sure it touches the edge.) Bake the pie until the meringue is lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Chill the pie, uncovered, at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.

BLOOD ORANGE BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the crust: On a lightly floured surface, and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll pie dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan (not deep dish); fold the edges over and crimp them together. Prick crust all over with a fork and chill in freezer for 30 minutes until frozen. (Cover with plastic if freezing for longer than a few hours. Well wrapped, it will last in the freezer for up to a month.)
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line chilled crust with foil, fill with pie weights or dried rice, then bake for 12 minutes. Remove foil, lower oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake until pale golden, 10 to 16 minutes longer. Transfer to a rack to cool while you prepare the filling. (Leave the oven on if baking the pie immediately.)
• In a heavy saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, egg and sugar. Stir in the orange and lemon juices, zest and salt. Add pieces of butter and cook, whisking constantly, over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat a spoon, about 7 to 9 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should register 180 degrees. Inspect the filling: If you think there are any coagulated bits of egg, strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
• Pour filling into pie crust and return to the oven to bake until filling is set (it should jiggle only slightly in the center), about 18 to 40 minutes. (Pies prepared in glass and ceramic dishes can take much longer to bake than those prepared in metal dishes. Don't give up: The curd will eventually set.) Remove pie from oven and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees for baking the meringue.
• As the filling bakes, make the meringue: Fill a medium pot with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Using a large metal bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Set the bowl with the egg white mixture into the pot above the water, and whisk constantly by hand until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm (160 degrees on an instant thermometer) and has thickened and lightened in color, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat.
• Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-low speed and gradually increase speed to high, until mixture is thick, fluffy and stiff peaks form, about 5 to 8 minutes. Be careful not to overbeat.
• Spread the meringue over the hot filling, making sure it meets the edges of the crust. Using a knife or spatula, swirl in a design if you like, and bake until lightly browned, about 8 to 12 minutes.
• Allow to cool completely and top with more orange zest before serving.