Butterscotch Sour Cream Pie – An Old Fashioned Butterscotch Pie Recipe

Butterscotch Sour Cream Pie is an old fashioned meringue pie with the sweet, creamy filling baked directly in the pie crust.

Butterscotch Sour Cream Pie Recipe

There is nothing quite like a classic meringue pie complete with a creamy homemade filling. We love this Lemon Meringue Pie recipe straight from my husband’s grandma.

When I want to find an old-fashioned recipe, I head right to my vintage cookbooks. One of my favorites is The Betty Furness Westinghouse Cook Book from 1954. It breaks down every type of recipe will all kinds of helpful tips such as how to prevent a meringue from weeping. Don’t worry, I’ve shared all these tips in this post.

Butterscotch is one of my favorite dessert flavors, and I’ve been meaning to conquer a butterscotch meringue pie for some time. This particular recipe caught my attention because the butterscotch filling cooks in the crust in the oven and because it’s a butterscotch pie with sour cream which is rather unique.

Classic Meringue Pie Recipe

The ingredients for this old fashioned butterscotch pie are simple starting with a pre-made pie crust.  With that being said, go ahead and make a homemade crust if your heart desires.  Truth be told, I wish I had more time in my life to conquer my Grandma’s recipe for homemade pie crust. Our friend Liz over at Farmwife Cooks has a great homemade pie crust recipe.

Is butterscotch a favorite flavor of yours too? Check out our other recipes featuring butterscotch:

• Grandma’s Butterscotch Pecan Rolls
• Butterscotch Zucchini Cake
• Grandma’s Butterscotch Brownies

Butterscotch Pie with Meringue Ingredients

Butterscotch Pie:

• Pre-made Pie Crust
• Egg yolks
• Brown Sugar
• Sour Cream
• Salt
• All Purpose Flour
• Butter, melted
• Vanilla

Meringue Ingredients:

• Egg Whites
• White Sugar

How do you make butterscotch pie from scratch?

Step by Step Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Beat egg yolks with electric mixer. Stir in sour cream.
3. In a separate large bowl, mix brown sugar, salt and flour.
4. Add sugar mixture to sour cream mixture and beat.
5. Pour in melted butter and vanilla extract; stir.
6. Add to unbaked pie crust.
7. Bake pie for 10 minutes at 425 degrees F before reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake for an additional 30 minutes. Check during baking to see if the crust is getting too dark; if needed, tent the crust with aluminum foil.
8. Let homemade butterscotch pie cool completely before adding meringue.
9. To make meringue, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold in sugar by hand.
10. Spread from crust to crust over cooled pie.
11. Bake at 350 degrees for for 18 minutes.

What is the key to making meringue?

Follow these helpful tips to making a good meringue for your old fashioned pies. These tips will help prevent a weeping meringue as well as a tough sticky meringue.

1. Most 9-inch pies call for a 3-egg white meringue. For an extra large meringue topping, use 4-5 egg whites.
2. Use 2 level Tablespoons of white sugar for each egg white.
3. Beat the egg whites first before adding sugar.
4. You’ll know the egg whites are at the perfect consistency if they are glossy on top and stiff.  To test the consistency, invert the bowl of beaten egg whites. They should remain in the bowl.
5. Fold in the sugar by hand gradually, using a folding motion. Do not beat the sugar into the egg whites.
6. Be sure to seal the meringue around the crust edge of the pie.  Start by piling the meringue in the center and spreading it all the way to the edge.  A flat-edged spatula works great for this purpose.
7. Bake the meringue at 350 degrees F for 18 minutes to brown.

How to properly store a meringue pie?

A properly prepared meringue should not weep during storage. Meringue pies should be stored in the refrigerator.  Stick a few toothpicks into the pie, and drape plastic wrap over top. The toothpicks prevent the plastic wrap from sticking to the top of the meringue.

Another good rule of thumb is to let the meringue pie cool completely before refrigerating. Let the pie cool approximately 2 hours before transferring to the refrigerator.

Recipe FAQs

• This pie is better served cold or room temperature than warm.  The butterscotch filling sets up to creamy perfection.
• I tend to use either a frozen pie crust or refrigerated pie crust dough. Follow the instructions on the package before filling.  Or, use your favorite homemade pie crust recipe.
• The baking process for this old fashioned Amish butterscotch pie is a 2-step process: the first 10 minutes of baking, the oven is set at 425 degrees F, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
• Let the pie cool before topping the with meringue.
• See our whole list of tips above in the post for how to make properly make a meringue topping.
• Check out our Amazon Store for our pantry essentials and favorite kitchen supplies.

Old Fashioned Pie Recipes

Lemon Meringue Pie (using fresh lemons)

Peanut Butter Pie

Southern Sweet Chocolate Pie

Grandma’s Rhubarb Pie

Sugar Cream Pie (with a secret ingredient)

Grandma’s Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

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