Instructions: Mix half-N-half, sugar, flour, and salt in large saucepan; heat until warm and turn heat down. In heavy skillet, put 1 cup of the sugar and heat over low heat until sugar melts and starts turning gold. Add butter to skillet and stir constantly until butter is melted and partially blended into syrup. Quickly pour syrup into warm milk mixture, and stir constantly over medium heat until syrup is blended in and mixture is thickening and bubbly. Mix a cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, blend, and pour back into pan; cook and stir another 2 minutes, add vanilla, and remove from heat. Pour into baked pie shell, spread meringue over, and bake at 350 about 10 to 15 minutes, till meringue is golden. Pour leftover filling into a bowl for nibbling purposes before the pie is cool.

My husband and I form a team to make Butterscotch pies - I make the cream filling part while he stirs and watches the melting sugar. That extra hand helps!

NOTES : Roxie Cathey, if she were still alive, is my mother-in-law. She passed away when my husband was 16. Mary Brewster is my sister-in-law and my husbands surrogate mother, being 20 years older than my husband. MIL made this pie on a regular basis while DH was growing up, but never gave the recipe to anyone. With my sister-in-laws encouragement and testing, I FINALLY figured out a reasonable facsimile. Needless to say, when I host the family Christmas get-together every year, two of these are required. Not requested - required. (G)

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