This lemon chess pie is the kind you’d find cooling on a farmhouse table—firm in the center, smooth as pudding, and just the right balance of sweet and tart. Baked in a pre-baked crust and finished with a cloud of whipped cream, it slices easily once cooled and feels like something your grandma might’ve made on a Sunday afternoon. With both lemon and orange juice it has lots of citrus flavor.
With the lemon lovers in my house, a classic lemon chess pie is always a big hit. The texture is smooth and creamy with a light citrus flavor. My chess pie has lots of citrus flavor from both lemons and oranges, and of course it has to have cornmeal.
Chess pie is pretty common in the south with the two most popular being chocolate chess pie and lemon. A classic chess pie will have a bit of cornmeal to help stabilize the custardy filling which gives it a bit of a grainy unique texture.
This traditional Southern pie is so easy to make, just whisk the ingredients together in one bowl, and bake it in a partially baked pie crust similar to a buttermilk pie. It will need to cool for a few hours. Somehow this pie does not feel as heavy as some desserts. The lemon orange combination make this pie ideal to serve after any meal.
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If you love citrus but don’t want to make a pie crust, try a lemony Atlantic beach pie that uses Saltine crackers for the crust.
It’s one of those year round desserts. Soon we’ll have lots of fresh fruit for pies and cobblers, but we still have a few weeks and Mothers’ day and Easter are coming up. This would be a scrumptious dessert to serve for either occasion.
How to avoid a soggy pie crust
The secret is to partially cook the pie crust whether it’s a homemade pie crust or store bought.
- Roll out a pie crust and place it in pie pan. Freeze for 10 minutes.
- Place a cookie sheet in the oven and turn it to 425º.
- Remove the pie crust from the freezer and line it with parchment paper and place pie weights inside. These are the pie weights that I have been using for years, you will need 3 packages to fill up a pie pan. Place it on the hot cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, remove the pie weights and bake an additional 5 minutes, and let it cool.
What you’ll need
For the full list of ingredients, go to the Recipe Card below.
- Pie crust – make a 9″ pie crust or buy one from the refrigerated section of your grocery store. If you haven’t made a flaky pie crust from scratch, it’s easy to do.
- Lemon and Orange – You’ll use the juice from both and the zest from the lemon. The zest gives it so much flavor without any extra liquid, just avoid the white part which can make it bitter.
- Stone ground yellow cornmeal – this adds texture and sweetness to the pie while helping to thicken it up and is the signature ingredient in a chess pie.
- Heavy cream – don’t substitute this ingredient, it allows the pie to thicken to the perfect consistency.
Just One Bowl!
Step 1: Pre-bake the pie crust
Partially bake the pie crust and let it cool.
Step 2: Combine and whisk
Step 3: Bake
Bake for 40-50 minutes until the center just slightly jiggles. Remove and allow to cool for about 3 hours.
Add a pie shield about half way through to prevent the crust from getting too brown. But don’t do what I did the last time I made this and drop the pie shield in the middle of the pie. No one ever knew because I just covered the top with whipped cream.
Pies aren’t meant to be perfect!
This is a pie that you have to make in advance because it needs to cool for three hours so that the custard can set. A chess pie is normally served at room temperature, but if you don’t finish it off in a day or two, it’s still pretty yummy after it’s been refrigerated.
Add a dollop of whipped cream to compliment the citrus flavor and serve with some pistachio cranberry shortbread cookies.
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Citrusy Lemon Chess Pie with Cornmeal
Ingredients
- 1 9 inch pie crust partially baked
- 1 ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon stone ground yellow cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons butter melted
- 5 large eggs
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice 2-3 lemons
- 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Equipment
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Roll out the pie crust and place in pie plate. Place in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Place a flat cookie sheet in the oven and preheat to 425º.
- Remove pie crust from freezer and line with parchment paper. Place pie weights in the center. Bake for 15 minutes until the edges are set. Remove the pie weights and bake an additional 5 minutes. Let cool.
Pie
- Preheat oven to 325º.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, sugar, cornmeal, flour and salt. Add melted butter and whisk to combine, then add eggs one at a time whisking well after each addition. Continue to whisk briskly until the filling is thick and light colored. Stir in the heavy cream then lemon juice, orange juice and vanilla.
- Pour the pie filling into a cooled pie crust. Bake for 40-50 minutes rotating half way through. Remove when the edges are set and center is slightly jiggly and it is golden on top. Do not over bake or the custard can separate. The filling will continue to cook as it cools. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 3-4 hours.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- Be carefully not to over bake the pie, it will continue to cook once removed from the oven.
- Cover the edges of the pie with a pie shield or aluminum foil half way through the cooking time to prevent it from getting too brown.
- Plan ahead as it needs to cool for 3-4 hours.
- This pie is best served at room temperature but can be refrigerated.
Nutrition
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