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Chess Pie

Chess Pie

Chess Pie is a classic Southern dessert with a rich, buttery filling made from simple pantry staples like sugar, eggs, and cornmeal. Baked in a flaky pie crust, it’s sweet, custardy, and lightly crisp on top—pure comfort in every bite!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Southern
Calories: 400

Ingredients
  

For the crust:
  • 1 1/4 cup 175g all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
  • 1/2 cup 115g cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons ice cold water
For the filling:
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 cups 300g white sugar
  • 1/2 cup 115g melted unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup 35g cornmeal
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg optional

Equipment

  • 9-inch pie dish
  • Mixing bowls
  • Pastry blender or fork (for crust)
  • Whisk
  • Rolling Pin
  • Pie weights or dried beans
  • Pie crust shield or foil strips

Method
 

Make the crust:
  1. In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and sugar.
  2. Cut in cold butter using a pastry blender or fork until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
  3. Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until dough holds together when pinched.
  4. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill for 30 minutes.
  5. Roll out the dough on a floured surface, fit it into your pie dish, and crimp the edges.
  6. Chill again for 15 minutes. Then line with parchment and fill with pie weights.
  7. Blind bake at 375°F (190°C) for 10 minutes. Remove weights and bake another 5 minutes.
Make the filling:
  1. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and salt until blended.
  2. Add sugar and melted butter; whisk until smooth.
  3. Stir in milk, cornmeal, flour, vinegar, vanilla, and nutmeg.
  4. Pour filling into the pre-baked crust.
Bake:
  1. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 40–45 minutes, until the center is just set and the top is golden.
  2. If the crust starts to brown too fast, cover with a pie crust shield or foil.
  3. Cool completely before slicing.