Chess Pie

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Confusingly named yet incredibly popular in the American South, Chess pie is a great pie recipe to keep on hand so that you can make a sweet treat whenever you feel like it. Easy to make and better to store, it bakes up perfectly when you make a blind baked pie crust. You can also make a Chocolate Chess Pie or a Lemon Chess Pie if you want!

Make sure that you didn’t miss my new Impossible pumpkin pie as well!

Classic Chess Pie

Coming from the American South, chess pie is more about providing a utilitarian, filling, and slightly sweet dessert with a super unique texture. Part custard, part cornmeal, and with a flavor that is part acidic and part sweet, Chess pie is definitely something you have to try at least once!

It freezes incredibly well and is super quick to whip up, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t keep this recipe close by so that you can always make it for a quick dessert after dinner.

Chess Pie Ingredients

Make sure you look at the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts so that you know exactly what to buy for this recipe.

• Pie crust

• Salted butter

• White sugar

• Vanilla extract

• Eggs

• Cornmeal

• Heavy cream

• White vinegar

How To Make Chess Pie

• Preheat your oven to 450 Fahrenheit

• In a large bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, and vanilla together

• Mix in the eggs, then the cornmeal, whipping, and vinegar until smooth

• Pour the batter into the prepared pie plate and place on a baking sheet

• Turn the oven down to 350 Fahrenheit and bake for 45 minutes until the top is browned and the pie is set

• Let cool completely and then serve topped with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

What Is Chess Pie?

Chess pie is another one of those dishes that has a weirdly strange name that doesn’t really help anyone figure out what to expect.

Chess pie doesn’t have anything to do with the game, nor does it has a chequered chess board-like pattern, as you might expect. Instead, the name could be linked to a derivation of “cheese pie” due to the slightly thick custard-like filling that makes it look like a cheesecake. Or, it could be named from the pie chest, which was some of the early refrigerators.

Regardless of its name’s origins, though, Chess pie is an incredibly unique pie primarily due to its strange texture.

While the majority of the filling ingredients are pretty normal, the inclusion of cornmeal and vinegar gives it a sort of jammy, almost jiggly texture that just isn’t found in any other kind of pie.

How To Store Chess Pie For Later

A great quality of this pie is that it stores incredibly well with just a little bit of preparation.

Chess pie is great to freeze and will be just as good as the first time you try it once it is defrosted properly.

To store, you need to let your Chess pie completely cool then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.

From there, you could just refrigerate it if you were only looking to store it for a few days, but for longer storage in the freezer, you should keep it in an airtight bag.

Stored this way in the freezer, you can expect at least three months of no freezer burn or damage to the texture or flavor of the pie after defrosting it.

Do You Eat Chess Pie Warm or Cold?

To eat it, you can either just eat it completely cool, the way Chess pie is usually enjoyed, or slightly warm. If you eat it warm, it won’t be as solid as it will be when cold, so it doesn’t slice as neatly as cold chess pie does.

Looking for more delicious Pie recipes? Try these out:

• Blueberry Pie

• Campfire Cherry Hand Pies

• Cream Cheese Pineapple Pie

Enjoy! Happy baking!

Love,

Karlynn

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