{{short description|Pie made from wheat flour, butter, sugar and eggs}} {{use mdy dates|date=September 2024}} {{Infobox food | name = Chess pie | image = Buttermilk Chess Pie, August 2009.jpg | caption = A slice of vanilla buttermilk chess pie | alternate_name = | country = United States | region = | creator = | course = | type = Pie | served = | main_ingredient = Pie crust, eggs, butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, corn meal | variations = Lemon chess pie, vinegar pie | calories = | other = }}
'''Chess pie''' is a dessert with a filling composed mainly of flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and sometimes milk, characteristic of Southern United States cuisine.{{sfn|Weinstein|2007|p=339}} Because the ingredients are inexpensive and available year round, it is considered one of the classic desperation pies.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Wheaton |first=Hazel |date=2024 |title=What Are Desperation Pies, and Why Are These Vintage Treats So Hot? |url=https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/desperation-pies/?srsltid=AfmBOooj5GCGkdI_ys22xnflplYoGD359CO0bDpDfpXomYOY6BDGAAGK |website=Taste of Home}}</ref> '''Jefferson Davis pie''' is similar, but may also contain spices, nuts, or dried fruits and is usually topped with meringue.<ref name="Pastries">{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title=Pastries |encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink |publisher=Oxford University Press |last=Kaufman |first=Cathy K. |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Andrew F. |pages=438 |isbn=978-0-19-530796-2 |oclc=71833329}}</ref>
==Etymology== The origin of the name "chess pie" is not definitively known, although many theories have been proposed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chess pie |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/chess-pie |website=Britannica |access-date=2024-09-11 |archive-date=2023-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314094622/https://www.britannica.com/topic/chess-pie |url-status=live }}</ref>
The most likely theory is that "chess-cake pie" (i.e., "cheese cake pie") became "chess pie" over time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=chess pie |url=https://dare.wisc.edu/words/quarterly-updates/quarterly-update-17/chess-pie/ |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=Dictionary of American Regional English |archive-date=2024-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417122201/https://dare.wisc.edu/words/quarterly-updates/quarterly-update-17/chess-pie/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Martha Washington's Chess Cake recipe is similar to today's chess pie.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calta |first=Marialisa |date=2012-02-13 |title=We cannot tell a lie: this cake looks a lot like a pie |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2012/02/13/we-cannot-tell-a-lie-this-cake-looks-a-lot-like-a-pie/61096875007/ |website=The Oklahoman |access-date=2024-09-11 |archive-date=2024-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911040258/https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2012/02/13/we-cannot-tell-a-lie-this-cake-looks-a-lot-like-a-pie/61096875007/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="jes_pie">{{Cite web |last=Cathey |first=Dave |date=2016-01-06 |title=A dessert gambit: Oklahoma cafeteria's closing brings the Food Dude to search for a chess pie recipe |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/columns/dave-cathey/2016/01/06/a-dessert-gambit-oklahoma-cafeterias-closing-brings-the-food-dude-to-search-for-a-chess-pie-recipe/60700232007/ |website=The Oklahoman |access-date=2024-09-11 |archive-date=2024-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911040257/https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/columns/dave-cathey/2016/01/06/a-dessert-gambit-oklahoma-cafeterias-closing-brings-the-food-dude-to-search-for-a-chess-pie-recipe/60700232007/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Another popular theory is that "chess pie" is an eggcorn of "It's just pie" due to a misinterpretation of the pronunciation "It's jes' pie" in Southern American English, inasmuch as the pie was thought to be so simple any home cook with eggs, butter, and sugar would know what to do.<ref name=jes_pie/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Salkeld |first=Lauren |date=2022-09-08 |title=What Exactly Is Chess Pie? |url=https://www.thekitchn.com/what-is-chess-pie-23431662 |website=The Kitchn}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Donovan |first=Lisa |date=2018-12-17 |title=I wanted the real story behind chess pie's name. But no one wanted to talk about it. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/i-wanted-the-real-story-behind-chess-pies-name-but-no-one-wanted-to-talk-about-it/2018/12/17/ab387360-fcca-11e8-ad40-cdfd0e0dd65a_story.html |access-date=2024-09-11 |newspaper=Washington Post |archive-date=2021-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203040429/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/i-wanted-the-real-story-behind-chess-pies-name-but-no-one-wanted-to-talk-about-it/2018/12/17/ab387360-fcca-11e8-ad40-cdfd0e0dd65a_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It also contains no fruit, as most pies did at the time.{{fact|date=May 2026}}
==History== Chess pie is the South's most searched-for Thanksgiving pie.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cericola |first=Lisa |date=2024-08-29 |orig-date=2023-10-13 |title=Even We Were Surprised By The South's Most Searched For Thanksgiving Pie |url=https://www.southernliving.com/chess-pie-favorite-thanksgiving-pie-8349850 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427005237/https://www.southernliving.com/chess-pie-favorite-thanksgiving-pie-8349850 |archive-date=2024-04-27 |website=Southern Living}}</ref>
Despite the pie's iconic status in the South, no recipe for "Chess Pie" appears in the first Southern cookbook, ''The Virginia Housewife'' (1824) by Mary Randolph. Food writer Jean Anderson characterizes the early recipes for transparent pudding, such as "Mary Randolph's Transparent Pudding" (containing no milk) in the 1825 edition are "for all intents and purposes chess pie".<ref name="anderson2012"/>
The cookbook ''Buckeye Cookery—With Hints on Practical Housekeeping'' (1881) included a recipe submitted by Mrs. J. Carson of Glendale, Minnesota.{{sfn|Wilcox|1881|p=217}} The recipe maintained the basic custard ingredients of eggs, butter, and sugar, but the egg whites were whipped into a meringue and spread on top.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilcox |first1=Estelle Woods |title=Buckeye Cookery: With Hints on Practical Housekeeping |date=1881 |publisher=Buckeye Publishing Company |page=217 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QJ5GAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22chess%20pie%22&pg=PA217}}</ref>
Recipes for "Chess Pie" made without milk can be found in early 20th century cookbooks.<ref name="anderson2012">{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Jean |date=2012-03-14 |title=The South's Storied Chess Pie: Food + Cooking |url=http://www.gourmet.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/food/gourmetlive/2012/031412/the-souths-storied-chess-pie.html |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=gourmet.com |archive-date=2024-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914155524/http://www.gourmet.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/food/gourmetlive/2012/031412/the-souths-storied-chess-pie.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Variations of the chess pie have included transparent pie, molasses pie, brown sugar pie, syrup pie, and vinegar pie.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McDermott |first=Nancie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkRvhbmZ5QMC&dq=compendium&pg=PT94 |title=Southern Pies: A Gracious Plenty of Pie Recipes, From Lemon Chess to Chocolate Pecan |date=2010 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=978-0-8118-6992-8 |access-date=2024-09-12 |archive-date=2024-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914155524/https://books.google.com/books?id=BkRvhbmZ5QMC&dq=compendium&pg=PT94#v=onepage&q=compendium&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Composition== The basic chess pie recipe calls for the preparation of a single crust and a filling composed of flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and milk or condensed milk. Some variations call for the addition of cornmeal as a thickener. Many recipes call for an acid such as vinegar, buttermilk, or lemon juice.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rattray |first=Diana |title=Southern Chess Pie: Tips and Variations |url=https://www.thespruce.com/chess-pie-recipes-and-pie-making-tips-3034486 |access-date=2018-02-21 |work=The Spruce |archive-date=2018-02-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222045035/https://www.thespruce.com/chess-pie-recipes-and-pie-making-tips-3034486 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SouthernLiving">{{Cite web |title=Chess Pie Recipes: Taste of the South |date=2013-05-09 |first=Elizabeth |last=Brownfield |url=http://www.southernliving.com/food/kitchen-assistant/chess-pie-recipes-00417000072438/ |access-date=2013-05-13 |website=Southern Living |archive-date=2013-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514123029/http://www.southernliving.com/food/kitchen-assistant/chess-pie-recipes-00417000072438/ |url-status=deviated }}</ref>
Recipes dating from the 19th century typically include eggs, butter, sugar, and vinegar baked in a pie crust, with regional variations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Huggins |first1=Mollie |title=Tried and True: Tennessee Model Household Guide. Practical Help in Household |date=1897 |publisher=Publishing House Methodist Episcopal Church, South |page=142 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Op9FAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22chess%20pie%22&pg=PA142 |language=en}}</ref>
Flavor variations include lemon, coconut, and chocolate chess pie.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Crady |date=2017-03-14 |title=Chess Pie: Nothing More Southern |url=http://porterbriggs.com/chess-pie/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222044203/http://porterbriggs.com/chess-pie/ |archive-date=2018-02-22 |access-date=2017-06-19 |website=Porter Briggs}}</ref>
Some nut pies, including some pecan, fall under the category of chess pies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Galarza |first=Daniela |date=2015-07-01 |title=Everything You Need to Know About Classic American Pie |url=https://www.eater.com/2015/7/1/8872413/pie-crust-apple-cream-custard-chess-styles-where-to-eat |access-date=2018-02-21 |website=Eater |archive-date=2021-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203042828/https://www.eater.com/2015/7/1/8872413/pie-crust-apple-cream-custard-chess-styles-where-to-eat |url-status=live }}</ref>
Traditional pecan pie recipes do not include milk or condensed milk in the filling, and are typically regarded as a type of sugar pie similar to British treacle tart rather than a milk-containing custard.{{fact|date=May 2026}}
==See also== * Buttermilk pie * Chess cake * List of pies, tarts and flans
==References== {{reflist}}
===Works cited=== *{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title=Karo Syrup |encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink |publisher=Oxford University Press |last=Weinstein |first=Jay |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Andrew F. |pages=339 |isbn=978-0-19-530796-2 |oclc=71833329}}
{{American pies}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chess Pie}} Category:Sweet pies Category:Cuisine of the Southern United States Category:American pies Category:Thanksgiving food