ISO - Chess PIe

Keltin

Keltin

New member
Anyone ever heard of a Chess Pie. It's a Southern thing, but definitely good....simple, but good. I've got a simple recipe for DW. She requests this all the time (her grandma' made it), and loves what I make, but I want more insight and slants on it. Anyone got any recipes for this?

Honestly, she's from Tennessee, and I’d never heard of Chess Pie before (I’m a Banana Pudding man myself!), but found a recipe and made it. She loves it. But I need to learn more about it. Any clues.
 
I've never had it either, Keltin, but I've seen it on lots of menus. Banana Pudding is the perfect dessert in my book, too.
 
I've heard of it. I've eaten it. I've never made it. My own theory, based on nothing, is that certain pies became popular in the south around the time of the civil war...buttermilk pie, sweet potato pie, pecan pie and chess pie, among others. Supply lines were often cut off. People used what they had on hand, probably adapting from recipes when times were better.

So... this is my reasonable explanation. I'm not sure if it's the right one.
 
Good Morning. Yes, Chess Pie is definitely a pie that is dearly beloved by many southerners. You dont hear about it as much as a few decades back, but then that seems true of many of our regional things now. I attribute that to not so many cooking at home as in previous generations, and families scattered.

I have a couple of great recipes for Chess Pie. I have recently moved back home and so lots of my best things are still packed away, and I dont recall that one clearly enough to post it with certainty. I will try to find it for you.
 
I believe I have a recipe for that in a cookbook our civic league put together a few years ago. I also have a history book about the Virginia county where my family lived for a few generations that has some recipes in it. I'll look in it when I get home and see if there's a recipe for chess pie. I'm pretty sure there's one for a chocolate chess pie that came from a cafe where my mom and her family ate when she was growing up there. I think it comes in lemon, too - will check.
 
Here is one of the Chess Pies that I used to make. My Mother got on a tear about 30 years ago wanting a Chess Pie, and couldnt find a recipe that suited her.

She kept saying "I want a Chess Pie like Grandma used to make." Her friends and I hunted and hunted for the right one and many did not suit her. Finally I came up with this one. Mother said it was "as close to Grandma's as you can get".

Southern Chess Pie

1 Stick Butter
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
4 Whole Eggs
1/2 Cup Milk, Sweet or Buttermilk (Mother insisted it had to be Buttermilk)
1 Rounded Tablespoon Cornmeal
1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice (I often put 2)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Put in 9 " Pie Shell
Bake 1 hr - 1 hr 15 at 300*
Do Not Overbake.
 
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DownByTheRiverSide said:
Here is one of the Chess Pies that I used to make. My Mother got on a tear about 30 years ago wanting a Chess Pie, and couldnt find a recipe that suited her.

She kept saying "I want a Chess Pie like Grandma used to make." Her friends and I hunted and hunted for the right one and many did not suit her. Finally I came up with this one. Mother said it was "as close to Grandma's as you can get".

Southern Chess Pie

1 Stick Butter
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
4 Whole Eggs
1/2 Cup Milk, Sweet or Buttermilk (Mother insisted it had to be Buttermilk)
1 Rounded Tablespoon Cornmeal
1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice (I often put 2)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Put in 9 " Pie Shell
Bake 1 hr - 1 hr 15 at 300*
Do Not Overbake.
Click to expand...

Holy cow! Great recipe! Karma for that! :thumb:

I was thinking...corn meal....you sure....and DW said Yes, she's had it that way before. Got to try it. Thank you!
 
leolady said:
I'm gonna play crazy and say, "I don' know nuttin about birthin no babies.........I mean chess pie".
Click to expand...

I gotta go with, I bet you have a good TNT recipe there... and also remind anyone posting recipes in threads to also post them independently for the sake of the contest!!
 
See attached recipe (scroll down). Best I've ever had, nearly idiot-proof recipe.

268614319_tmYsC-M.jpg
 

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Thanks! It did come out all pretty like, even with a store-bought frozen pie crust. Tasted even better. :pig:

Give it a try. It's so easy you don't even need to get out the electric mixer -- a whisk and a bowl will do. Hardest part is zesting and juicing the lemon.
 
Ah Keltin, I have as many chess pie recipes as I do soul food cookbooks, but I can't recommend one over another!

Alas, my family never favored chess pies, so I don't have any family favorites.
 
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