Jess Pie

I made my first chess pie for my niece Lauren.  She loves them.  A true southern pie, it must have cornmeal in the filling to be called a chess pie.  History is, it was called jess pie, then with the advent of pie chests, chest pie.  Somewhere on it became Chess Pie.  It really was good and after it cools, just melts in your mouth.  Here's the recipe I used.

Browned Butter Chess Pie

6 tablespoons butter

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook butter in a skillet over medium heat, stirring often (5 to 6 minutes) until butter just begins to turn brown.  Remove from heat.  Whisk together eggs, lemon juice and vanilla till smooth.  Add sugar then cornmeal, flour and salt and stir.  Whisk in browned butter.  Pour mixture into piecrust of your choice.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until top is lightly browned.  Cool on wire rack.

As an experienced pie baker, I tweaked the recipe.  It had some rigamarole about pre-baking the crust with pie weights for a time which I did not do.  Also, I doubled the filling recipe and used slightly more butter.  For my piecrust, I use both butter and shortening.  It turned out perfect.

Pecan Pie recipe

This recipe is different than the usual pecan pie recipes. Generally, pecan pie is caramel colored or slightly dark with a gooey, tooth cracking sweet center. Good, though a little too sweet for my tastes. In my recipe the center is lighter colored, a rich buttery yellow that looks more like a filling for a chess pie. You'll have to trust me on this one - it's really a beautiful and delectable pie.

Pastry

11/3 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2c. vegetable shortening
4 - 6 TBS water
Add salt to flour, then cut in shortening with a pastry cutter until pieces are pea sized. Add water 4 TBS. first, more if you need it. Don't overwork the dough or pastry will be tough. Roll out on a floured surface. Makes one 9" single crust. TIP - you can certainly use a pate brisee for the crust. I find the shortening makes a flakier crust. (I've read that lard is even better). Tip - prick the bottom of the pie shell with a fork so it won't rise up and spill filling over the side of the pie.

Filling

4 slightly beaten eggs
1 c. Karo syrup
1/3c. sugar
pinch of salt
1 TBS white vinegar
4 TBS butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1 heaping cup (approx.) pecans

Combine eggs, sugar, syrup, salt, vinegar, butter (melted) and vanilla. Mix together thoroughly. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell. Arrange the pecans on top of the filling beginning at the outside edge of the crust and working in a circular pattern toward the center. Bake 35 - 40 min. in 350 degree oven. Don't overbake. Top with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream. Guaranteed delicious.





This is how it will look when it's done. The edges will be puffed up and the center won't shake. It will fall back down flat as it cools. Sometimes it's hard to tell when the pie is done, you just don't want it to be shaking in the center like it is still liquid.