Easter in Louisiana is yet another season when family and friends surround themselves with delicious food. My Uncle Dudley, my mom’s only sibling, has been having a family reunion at his home out in the countryside for several years. Cousins have connected for the first time and others have rediscovered each other at this annual event. The majority of family attending are connected through my Grandmother. Most of them have never tasted her baking. So this year I’m bringing her chess pie. I imagine she baked this extra sweet egg-custard pie for her family for Easter.
My Paw Paw, Maw Maw and Uncle Dudley
Her hand-written recipe just lists the ingredients on a small stained scrap of paper, now yellowed and brittle with age. I looked up the cooking details from several cookbooks.
Maw Maw’s Chess Pie
1-cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoon butter (unsalted)
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons flour
2 teaspoons corn meal
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
9” pie shell
Crust: (I buy ready made though I’m sure my Maw Maw made her own.) Preheat oven to 300°. Prick bottom of shell several times with fork. Add mixture of sugar and flour and rub into the holes. Bake shell for 10 minutes. This keeps shell from becoming soggy.
Filling: Mix flour and corn meal. Add softened butter, beaten eggs, vanilla, salt and sugar. Mix well. Slowly pour in milk. Mix until blended. Pour filling into pie shell.
Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until set.
Goes well with vanilla ice cream (but what pie doesn’t)
Other recipes you may like:
Maw Maw’s Hot Milk Cake
Maw Maw’s Cocoon Cookies
Maw Maw’s Fresh Apple Cake
I honor my maternal lineage: I am Connie Lee, daughter of Jimmie Dee, daughter of Jimmie Corrine, daughter of Minnie Mae; mother of Jade Lee-Mei.
Connie,
I am not making this up..I have a handwritten, by my daughter,at about age seven, recipe for her great grandma’s chess pie..the recipe is not as complete as yours, which I will keep, but it is in my recipe box…we all had one before computers,. I have never tried to make it, sure that any effort of mine would fall far below the standard she achieved without thinking, but I can assure you, I will do so now….and will let you know, when I do, if it is edible! Thanks for a flood of wonderful memories. May you and yours have a beautiful Easter.
Juanita, this is a easy recipe to make. Let me know how it turns out. I always appreciate your comments.
I love this old black and white photo, hand written recipe and tie with your family history. I still have the stained, handwritten recipe cards of my grandma’s family favorites.
Pat, I treasure my old family photos and my grandmother’s hand-written recipes. It’s a great connection to my heritage. I’m glad you have your grandmother’s recipes too.
I think all our grandmothers had the same writing style. 🙂 I have some of my grandmother’s recipes that I will always treasure. Chess pie is something I have never tried but now that I have the recipe, I think I will!
Helene, I think they all took penmanship in school. I’ve made the pies and posted this before I’ve eaten the pies. But I’ve made it before and it’s delicious (and very sweet).
Chess Pie??! Wonder where the name comes from?? Sounds interesting…not one I’m familiar with, but I have no Southern ties. Cornmeal must be the key ingredient! Might just be curious enough to give it a try! Thanks for sharing!
Phoebe, it’s an old southern recipe that I’ve grown up with. It’s a sweet egg custard-like filling. I have no idea why it’s called a chess pie. Let me know if you make it.
I always love your recipes, stories and pics! Always sweet and sentimental.
It was really special to share her recipe with her family. My uncle looked at the picture and said “I loved those shoes, that’s when I was in college.”