Chess Pie

From

THE MYSTIC BAYOU SERIES

 

Source: Martha White’s Southern Sampler, Rutledge Hill Press, 1989

(Yes, really. That’s how long the family has had this cookbook. The Jalepeno Cheese Grit page looks like it survived great hardship.)

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So chess pie is a family favorite because it’s such a staple in the area of Kentucky where we grew up. There’s a legend about a local restaurant that specializes in chess pie and mile-high meringue pies, that the owner needed to get rid of a bunch of eggs and combined all of these ingredients to make what was basically a custard pie. When asked what it was, she said, “It’s just pie.” But everybody heard, “chess pie.” I can’t confirm that this restaurant was the source of this story, but here we are. 

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Also, chocolate chess squares, featuring in the Naked Werewolf series were a specialty of a local bakery in my hometown and unfortunately I do not have my own recipe for them. There are several recipes available online. 

 

INGREDIENTS

1  1/3 cups sugar

1/3 cup (or 5  1/3 tbsp) softened butter

3 eggs

1/3 cup 2 percent milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp white vinegar

1 tbsp self-rising corn meal mix

1 unbaked pie shell*

Sprinkle of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg

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*You can make your own or use frozen. We do not judge frozen pie shells in this household.

If you want to make a chocolate chess pie, you can add 3 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder during the cornmeal adding phase. 

 

INSTRUCTIONS 

Preheat oven to 350. Place pie shell on a baking sheet. Cream sugar and butter together in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add milk, vanilla, vinegar and cornmeal. Beat until blended. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Sprinkle the surface lightly with cinnamon and nutmeg. 

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Bake for 40-45 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Don’t panic if the filling doesn’t look set. It will continue to “form” as it cools.