A Classic Southern Holiday Dessert | Buttermilk Chess Pie (A Sweet Gift)

Hello all Hive members. Hope you're having a wonderful holiday season. I want to share with the community my recipe for a sweet dessert.

It's Buttermilk Chess Pie or just Chess Pie. This particular dessert is eaten on holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas. Other times can be for special occasions where family get together.

This pie is delicious, but extremely sweet. That's why I only prepare it on special occasions.

Chess Pie, as I've always known it from my mother, is a Southern dessert. Its tradition goes back to the time of enslaved African Americans in the southern United States. The preparation and perfection of this dessert has also been passed down from generations. Cooking became an art form for enslaved people.

Once called "desperation pie", whenever plantation households had extra ingredients or allowed the slaves to use ingredients they farmed or were given to them, these resourceful individuals took the ingredients and crafted delicious and unique foods, vegetables, and desserts. They made do with whatever was available. Thus, the idiom "desperation".

Chess Pie is also known as Buttermilk Pie. Similar ingredients are found in both. However, the buttermilk pie differs from the chess pie in that word "buttermilk". In the chess pie, you can use regular milk. The buttermilk will contain buttermilk. I've found the taste to be slightly different.

Cornmeal is a valuable ingredient in both pies. The cornmeal forms a thin, crumbly crust on top that adds structure and flavor to the pie. Otherwise, it would be just a jiggly dessert.

Also, I've found that the chess pie separates into two layers. The top layer resembles a pie; while the bottom layers looks like a silk pudding.

This pie is another of my family's favorite. I had time a couple days ago, so I made this one for Christmas celebration.

Let's begin.

INGREDIENTS

1 [9 inch] Pie Crust (I use a ready made name bank crust to save myself some time and energy)

Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Sugar
2 tablespoons Flour
1 tablespoon Cornmeal
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg (to infuse a hint of spice)

Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup [1 Stick] Melted Butter (I use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)
3 Eggs (beaten well)
1/2 cup Buttermilk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice

PREPARATION

First, pre-heat over to 425 deg.

Thoroughly mix together all dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix together all wet ingredients. Then, add them to the dry ingredients.

Second, blend well until thoroughly mixed and mixture contains no lumps. The filling should be silky smooth.

ASSEMBLY

Now, it's time to assemble your dessert. You should have enough filling for one 9" pie.

First, prep the pie crusts by docking. To do this, take a fork and press small holes in the crusts, paying attention to the sides. This ensures even baking and browning of the crust. However, it's absolutely necessary to perform this step. I do it to ensure the center of the pie crust is completely browned and not gooey.

Pour filling into pie shell.

I never purchased a pie ring to keep the crusts from burning first, I use a baking hack. Just tear aluminum foil lengthwise and wide enough to cover the edges of the pie as shown below.

BAKE

It's time to bake. First, place pie in 425 deg. oven for 10 minutes.

Then, reduce heat to 325 and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven. Carefully remove aluminum foil. Pie will be a bit giggly, but will set when cool.

Cool completely, then refrigerate for up to two hours before slicing.

Finally, you can refrigerate for up to one week in a pie container.

P.S. I placed the pie on my dining table to cool. I took a short nap. Surprise, Surprise! before I could cut it and document my photo, my husband had already confiscated a slice. His excuse...it looked so good, he couldn't wait.

Also, my camera phone took a darker image of the pie once I switched location to the dining room.

ENJOY!

Have you ever baked a Buttermilk or Chess Pie? Do you use different ingredients? If so, please comment below. I like to try different variations of this recipe.