🥧 Southern Chess Pie (Classic Recipe)
Southern Chess Pie is a rich, buttery, old-fashioned custard pie with a slightly crisp, sugary top and smooth center. It’s simple pantry ingredients — no fancy steps — just true Southern comfort.
🛒 Ingredients
🥧 Pie Crust
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1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust (homemade or store-bought)
🥣 Filling
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1½ cups granulated sugar
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1 tablespoon cornmeal
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1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
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½ teaspoon salt
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½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled
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4 large eggs (room temperature)
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¼ cup whole milk or evaporated milk
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1 tablespoon white vinegar
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2 teaspoons vanilla extract
👩🍳 Instructions
1️⃣ Preheat
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Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
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Place pie crust in a 9-inch pie dish and crimp edges.
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No need to pre-bake.
2️⃣ Mix Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together:
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Sugar
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Cornmeal
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Flour
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Salt
3️⃣ Add Wet Ingredients
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Stir in melted butter.
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Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.
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Mix in milk, vinegar, and vanilla until smooth.
The batter will be thin — that’s normal.
4️⃣ Bake
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Pour filling into unbaked crust.
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Bake 45–55 minutes until:
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Top is golden brown
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Center is just slightly jiggly (it will set as it cools)
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If edges brown too quickly, cover with foil or a pie shield.
5️⃣ Cool Completely
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Let cool at room temperature at least 2 hours before slicing.
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Pie sets as it cools — don’t rush it!
❄️ Storage
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Store covered at room temperature for 1 day.
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Refrigerate up to 4 days.
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Serve at room temp or slightly chilled.
💡 Pro Tips
✔ Don’t overbake — center should still have a slight wobble.
✔ Use evaporated milk for extra richness.
✔ For lemon chess pie, add 1 tablespoon lemon zest + 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
✔ For chocolate chess pie, add ¼ cup cocoa powder.
If you’d like, I can also share:
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🥧 Old-fashioned buttermilk chess pie
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🥧 Chocolate chess pie
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🥧 Lemon chess pie
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🥧 A small 6-inch version
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🥧 A version for selling (with cost breakdown)