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Lemon Chess Pie is a perfect tartly sweet Southern creation of eggs, sugar, butter, and a little bit of flour and cornmeal that tantalizes the taste buds with its unique flavor and texture.
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I’ve been sharing recipes perfect to take on picnics:
- Orecchiette Pasta Salad with Feta, Arugula, Strawberries, and Prosciutto
- Goat Cheese Crostini Spread with Preserved Lemon and Balsamic Drizzle
- Mango Margaritas with a Turmeric Chili Twist
- Mango Aguas Frescas
And every great picnic has to have a dessert right? I’ve chosen to do Lemon Chess Pie because it is best served cold or at room temperature. But also it is tart, fresh, and sweet-all things perfect for a picnic in my opinion.
You can also try making an Orange Chess Pie instead of lemon.
What is a Lemon Chess Pie?
A lot of people don’t know what a Lemon Chess Pie is. Whenever I make it for a potluck one of two things happens:
- Nobody touches it because it looks too different and they don’t know what it is
- One brave soul tries it and then word quickly spreads and it’s gone.
Both options are nice. I like option one when I’ve really made the pie for myself because I get to take the whole thing home. Option two is also nice because it always feels good when people like your baking.
I had to do a little research on what a lemon chess pie is. Even though I grew up eating it, I had no idea what kind of pie it was in technical terms.
Lemon Chess Pie – Classic Southern Recipe
Chess pies are Southern (of course) and consist of eggs, sugar, butter, and very small amounts of flour, cornmeal, or vinegar. The most common flavorings are vanilla, lemon, and chocolate.
There are a couple of theories on where the “chess” came from but my favorite is one that actually fits into my family history.
The Pie Safe or Pie Chest
One of the pieces of furniture that have always been around and survived all the various moves a military family goes through is a tall and narrow wooden bureau-like piece with a hinged door and three shelves. I grew up listening to my mom call it the “pie safe” or sometimes the “pie chest.”
We thought maybe a chess pie was in reference to pie safes/chests and it turns out there might be some truth to this theory.
Because chess pies have so much sugar in them, it’s joked that they could be stored in pie chests at room temperature rather than refrigerated. The southern draw changed the “chest” to “chess.”
I’m going with this theory (I mean Southern Living confirmed my suspicions so I don’t need any higher authority).
Lemon Chess Pie
This recipe comes from my Nana but I don’t know where she got it, so I can’t vouch for its true origins. For all I know, it could have come off the back of a cornmeal box or from some magazine.
There is a story about how my great granny sweet-talked the recipe out of a famous Texas pie restaurant but that could just be a tall tale.
It can be a finicky pie sometimes though. Baking times can vary based on the oven, the weather, and the altitude. I always make sure I cover the edges of the crust in foil to prevent burning because the center always needs a little longer.
The first day I make it, I’m civilized and eat it with a fork. But actually I love eating this pie with my hands. Like this. Because I can.
What are your favorite family recipes?
Distraction Time
24 Days. That’s how much longer I have with my colon. When I look at the calendar I have mini freakouts. I’ve recently taken to looking at my stomach wondering what it’s going to feel and look like after the surgery. But then I distract myself by baking.
5 from 1 vote
Lemon Chess Pie
Lemon Chess Pie is a perfect tartly sweet Southern creation of eggs, sugar, butter, and a little bit of flour and cornmeal that tantalizes the taste buds with it’s unique flavor and texture.
Servings 8 to 10
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr
Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups flour sifted
- 2/3 cup frozen butter grated
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 6 tablespoons to 10 ice cold water
Filling
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon yellow corn meal
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 3 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Instructions
Crust
Sift two cups of flour into a large bowl and grate the frozen butter into the bowl. Using two forks, cut the butter into the flour until the consistency is very fine, like corn meal.
Add a tablespoon of vinegar and toss to combine. Add, a tablespoon at a time, ice cold water, tossing and cutting it into the dough each time. How many tablespoons you need will depend on the weather, but keep adding until the dough sticks together but isn’t soggy.
Separate the dough into two balls and wrap in plastic wrap. Put them in the fridge for 15 minutes or until it is easy to handle.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Take out one of the balls of dough and roll it out into a circle on a lightly floured surface. Make sure it is slightly larger then an 8-inch pie tin.
Carefully place the rolled out crust into the pie tin and flute the edges. The dough will shrink in the oven so make sure the flutes aren’t on the inside edge of the pie tin. Poke the dough with a fork in the center and along the edges. Put in the oven for 10 minutes.
Take it out and let it cool. Place foil around the edges and the prepare the filling.
Filling
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Toss together sugar, corn meal, and flour.
Stir eggs and add to the dry mixture.
Stir in the lemon zest, milk, melted butter, and lemon juice.
Pour into the pie shell and bake for 1 hour. Check the pie. If it has risen slightly, including the middle and is a golden yellow color with a crusty top, it is done. If the middle is still sunken and moves like a wave cook for 10 to 30 minutes more, adding 10 minutes at a time until the middle is done.
Notes
The pie crust recipe is for two topless pies or one covered pie. I just store the extra dough in the freezer to use for another time.
Author: Megan Wells
Course: Desserts
