This old-fashioned Southern chess pie is so luscious and creamy, made from a handful of pantry staples, that it will be hard to resist.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time45 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Chess Pie Recipe
Servings: 10
Calories: 321kcal
Ingredients
½cupsalted butter,browned and cooled
1½cupsgranulated sugar
2tablespoonscornmeal
2tablespoonsall-purpose flour
¼teaspoonsea salt
4largeeggs
¼cupwhole milk
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1tablespoonwhite vinegar,or lemon juice
1unbaked pie crust
Powdered sugar,for dusting the top of the pie
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Brown butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook and swirl butter until the butter begins to turn a toasted golden brown color. Remove from heat immediately and transfer to a dish to cool.
Whisk together the sugar, cornmeal, flour, and salt in a medium bowl.
In another mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and vinegar. Stir the cooled butter mixture into the milk/egg mixture.
Pour wet ingredients into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients and stir or whisk to combine well.
Pour the pie filling into a 9-inch unbaked pie crust.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, checking the pie after 20 minutes and covering (between 20 to 30 minutes, when pie and crust are browned) with aluminum foil to prevent the crust and top of the pie from over-browning.
Remove the pie from the oven when the center is just slightly jiggly.
Allow the pie to cool completely before slicing.
Dust lightly with powdered sugar and serve.
Notes
The cornmeal and the flour help to thicken the custard filling.
If you are using a store-bought pie crust, we recommend placing the crust, foil tin and all, into a glass pie plate for added stability and easier transport.
Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to check your pie at the lower end of the recommended baking time.