Butterscotch Cream Pie

Fall is a time to go rustic, don't you think? And what better way to go rustic than with a pie! To be honest, I'd never really heard of Butterscotch Cream Pie before I stumbled upon this recipe recently, but once I did I thought it sounded delicious. Why are we not making more cream pies these days? To be fair, when you think fall, you don't really think cream pie, but when you think summer, you don't necessarily think butterscotch either, so this might be just the ticket to cross that divide.

Making any pie for me can be pretty annoying, though. I'm just not one with the pie crust, you guys. If it's your simple ground up crackers crust, great, but when it's this type of situation where I have to chill and roll and chill and blind bake and all that jazz, it always feels rather daunting. I need a better rolling pin, that's number one, and maybe it wouldn't be so bad. And, if I'm being honest, this crust did break on me when it blind baked. Does that matter in the end? Not really. Because you make the filling separately and it's already semi-set when you put it into the pie, it doesn't seep through, so it was really no big deal. And, it must be admitted that a traditional pie crust holds up a lot longer than a graham cracker one, which loses its crunch and crispness very quickly.

Does this pie scream butterscotch at you? No. It's a delicate flavor, and if I didn't tell you it was butterscotch ahead of time, you'd probably just think it was some kind of sugary cream pie. And you wouldn't be wrong. Essentially what you're making here is a pastry cream filling with a whipped cream topping. Ain't nothing wrong with that, friends. 

Butterscotch Cream Pie
Author: Jen @ Fresh From The…
Servings: 8
Prep time: 02:00
Cook time: 00:30
Total time: 05:30

A rustic and delicately delicious cream pie.

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Coated Pie Shell
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled
• 3-4 tablespoons ice water
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 3.5 full crackers ground up)
Butterscotch Cream Filling
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 5 large egg yolks
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Whipped Cream Topping
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. For the Crust: Mix flour, salt, and sugar in food processor fitted with the steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over mixture, tossing to coat butter with a little of the flour. Cut butter into flour with five one-second pulses. Add shortening; continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter bits no larger than a small pea, about four more one-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the water over mixture. Using rubber spatula, fold water into flour mixture, then repeatedly press down on dough mixture with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more water if dough will not come together. Shape dough into ball with hands, then flatten into 4-inch wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 30 minutes before rolling.
3. Generously sprinkle 18-inch work area with 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs. Remove dough from wrapping and place in center of work area. Scatter a few more crumbs over disk top. Roll dough from center to edges to make 9-inch disk, rotating a quarter turn after each stroke and sprinkling additional crumbs underneath and on top, as necessary, to heavily coat dough. Flip dough and continue to roll, without rotating, into 13-inch disk just under 1/8-inch thick.
4. Fold dough in quarters, then place dough point in center of 9-inch Pyrex pie pan. Unfold dough to cover pan completely, with excess dough draped over pan lip. Trim and flute crust.
5. Refrigerate dough until firm, about 30 minutes. Prick shell at 1/2-inch intervals to keep dough from ballooning during baking (illustration 5). Press a doubled 12-inch square of aluminum foil inside pie shell. Prick foil to prevent further ballooning. Refrigerate to let dough relax, at least 30 minutes longer. Note: I used parchment paper with pie weights instead of pricked aluminum foil.
6. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake, checking occasionally for ballooning, until crust is firmly set, about 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, remove foil, and continue to bake until crust is crisp and golden brown in color, about 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely.
7. For the Filling: Dissolve cornstarch and salt in evaporated milk; whisk in egg yolks and set aside.
8. Meanwhile, heat butter and brown sugar in medium saucepan over medium heat until candy thermometer registers 220 degrees, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in whole milk. Once sugar dissolves, gradually whisk in cornstarch mixture. Continue cooking until mixture comes to boil; cook 1 minute longer. Turn off heat, then stir in vanilla. Pour filling into shallow pan (another pie pan works well). Put plastic wrap directly over filling surface to prevent skin from forming; cool until warm, 20 to 30 minutes. Pour filling into pie shell and, once again, place sheet of plastic wrap over filling surface. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 3 hours.
9. Whip cream to soft peaks. Add confectioner's sugar and vanilla; continue to whip to barely stiff peaks. Spread over filling and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe from Cook's Country