BUTTERMILK CHESS PIE

Old Fashioned Buttermilk Chess Pie

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 rounded tablespoon of cornmeal

2 rounded tablespoons of all purpose flour

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup of butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup of buttermilk

2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs

Zest from one lemon, chopped fine

Juice of 1/2 of a lemon

1 unbaked pie shell,homemade or commercial (Pillsbury recommended)

Homemade whipped cream

Freshly grated nutmeg

Prebake the pie shell if desired, according to package directions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the sugar, cornmeal, flour and salt. To that add the butter, buttermilk, and vanilla; mix. Beat the eggs, add and mix. Stir in lemon zest and juice. Place pie crust into a 9 inch pie plate and pour mixture into the pie shell.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and set. Use a pie shield (or aluminum foil) on the edges after about 20 minutes to prevent crust from overbrowning. Can also tent entire pie with aluminum foil if the top of the pie itself is overbrowning.

Let cool completely on a rack. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a grating of fresh nutmeg on top.

~Cook's Notes~

For a classic chess pie, increase sugar to 2 cups, increase cornmeal to 2 tablespoons, omit the buttermilk and replace it with 1/4 cup of milk, omit the lemon juice & zest, and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar. All other ingredients are the same. 

For a traditional buttermilk pie, eliminate the cornmeal, reduce eggs to 3 and separate them- you'll beat the egg whites separate and fold those into the filling before putting it into the pie shell. Increase the buttermilk to 1-1/2 cups - everything else stays the same, except you fold in those beaten eggs whites at the end, then turn the filling into pie shell. Bake in the middle of the oven at 325 degrees for 1 hour (instead of the 350 degrees).