You know a pie recipe is old when several stories are told about its history. Some say the term chess pie goes back to an eighteenth-century English cheese pie. Another links the origins of the name to the Southern pie chest, or pie safe, a piece of furniture that holds kitchen confections. Another anecdote tells of a man who stopped to eat at a diner in Alabama. He loved the pie he was served, and when he asked what its name was, the waitress replied, “jes pie.” Whatever the truth may be, as food writer Stephanie Anderson Witmer says, “So many Southern pies, like the chess pies, are elegant in their simplicity. They use staple ingredients, but are divine.”

　　

Ingredients

makes one 9-inch pie

　　1/2 recipe Plain Pie Pastry (page 17) or Vinegar Pie Crust (page 19)

　　1/4 cup unsalted butter

　　1 1/2 cups sugar

　　3 eggs

　　1 tablespoon cornmeal

　　Juice of 1 1/2 lemons

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the rolled-out crust. For a crispier crust, consider parbaking.

　　

Step 2

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. Beat in the eggs, then stir in the cornmeal, and then the lemon juice. Pour the filling into the crust.

　　

Step 3

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the filling is a deep golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before slicing.

　　Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies