Butterscotch Cream Pie
(9-inch) baked piecrust or graham cracker crumb crust
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
3 tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
In 2-quart saucepan with spoon, mix sugar, flour and salt. Stir in milk until smooth. Over medium heat, cook mixture, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and begins to boil (about 10 minutes). Boil 1 minute. Remove immediately from heat and set aside.
In cup with wire whisk, beat egg yolks with small amount of hot milk mixture. Slowly pour egg mixture into saucepan, stirring rapidly to prevent lumping. Over low heat, cook, stirring constantly, until VERY thick (do not boil) and mixture mounds when dropped from spoon.
Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla; pour into piecrust. Cover surface of mixture with plastic wrap to prevent skin forming. Refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.
Just before serving: Beat cream until stiff peaks form. Discard plastic wrap. Spread cream on pie.
Lemon Cream Pie
Prepare filling as above but substitute 2/3 cup granulated sugar for brown sugar, reduce milk to 1-3/4 cups, and reduce butter to 1 tablespoon. Omit vanilla but stir in 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1 tsp grated lemon peel. Fill and top pie with whipped cream as above.