Chess Pie

5 from 12 votes

A crisp crust meets a sweet, buttery, and oh so creamy filling in this classic Southern Chess Pie!

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 10

Total Time1 25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Southern

Servings: servings

Calories: 298kcal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the cornmeal and flour.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides after each. When the egg mixture is well beaten add buttermilk, vanilla, lemon juice, zest and salt beat until smooth.
Pour the filling into a par-baked crust and carefully transfer into the oven. For a Parbaked crust, use my pie crust recipe, roll one of the disks out into the pie plate then use a fork to poke holes along the sides and bottom of the pie crust. Line the pie crust with parchment paper. Fill with pie weights, making sure the weights are evenly distributed around the pie dish. Pre-bake the crust for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment paper/pie weights then add the filling. If you would like, you can brush some egg wash on the outside of the crust as well (just take 1 egg and whisk together with a teaspoon of water).
Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the edges of the filling are firm but the center remains somewhat jiggly. Check the pie after 15-20 minutes and place a piece of aluminum foil on top to keep it from getting too brown.
Remove from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and allow to come to room temperature, about 1-2 hours.

It is crucial that you make sure that your eggs and all wet ingredients are room temperature to really set up the custard.