Chess Squares Recipe | Simple Southern Dessert Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are chess squares made of? ›

This straightforward recipe uses basic ingredients, most of which you probably have in your pantry, like eggs, softened butter, cream cheese, and confectioners' sugar. These ingredients combine to create a custard-like filling reminiscent of chess pie, yielding a delightfully uncomplicated, soft, gooey-baked treat.

It has some similarities to English lemon curd pie. It is likely derived from recipes for cheeseless cheesecake that appeared in cookbooks as early as the 17th century, such as in Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery and the English A True Gentlewoman's Delight (1653).

Compared to other custard-based pastries, the chess pie holds up relatively well at room temperature. Often, it was stored in something called a "pie chest." The word "chest," some say, eventually became "chess." Southern gentlemen liked to enjoy the dessert after dinner while they played chess.

The magic ratio is 1 cup granulated sugar to 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Combine the two in a high-powered blender like a Vitamix, a food processor, or spice grinder, then blitz away until you have a soft, powdery consistency—the total time could be several minutes, depending on the power of your machine.

Chess is played on a board of 64 squares arranged in eight vertical rows called files and eight horizontal rows called ranks. These squares alternate between two colours: one light, such as white, beige, or yellow; and the other dark, such as black or green. The board is set between…

The filling gets poured into a pie crust, baked, and cooled, then it's ready to enjoy. Is chess pie the same as pecan pie? Nope, there's no nuts in chess pie!

And so, supposedly, the name “Chess Pie” was coined. Chess pie and its many Southern variations — including vinegar pie, transparent pie and Tyler pie (a favorite of Edna Lewis's, putatively named for President John Tyler and perfected by the women of Miss Lewis's hometown of Freetown, Va.)

Some chess pie recipes may call for flour instead of cornmeal (or a little of both), but cornmeal helps thicken the filling while also intensifying its pretty yellow color. You'll also find a tablespoon or so of vinegar in most recipes, which helps balance out all of that sugar.

Rather, this Arkansas specialty earned its nickname because it “plays possum,” meaning it also tries to fake out diners with a deceptive appearance. The standard explanation is that the pie's thick top layer of whipped cream obscures secret layers of flavoring beneath it.

You can also think of pecan pie as an extension of chess pie, with brown sugar and corn syrup taking the place of granulated sugar and pecans adding nuttiness and crunch. And then there is Kentucky bourbon and walnut pie (aka Derby pie), which adds Bourbon, chocolate, and walnuts to the chess pie formula.

What are the ingredients in a chess pie? ›

Classic chess pie pairs a traditional butter pie crust with a sweet, custardy filling made with sugar, butter, and eggs. Flour and cornmeal thicken the filling and vanilla enhances the creamy custard. And did we mention that the unlikely secret ingredient of this sweet and gooey pie is vinegar?

Wooden white chess pieces are normally made of a light wood, boxwood, or sometimes maple. Black wooden pieces are made of a dark wood such as rosewood, ebony, red sandalwood, African Padauk wood (African padauk which is similar to red sandalwood and is marketed as Bud Rosewood or Blood Red Rosewood) or walnut.

Exotic woods, precious metals, glass, clay, stone, ceramic, ivory, marble and more. Most modern sets currently produced are in plastic and resin. Quality sets created in the 18^th and 19^th century were predominantly made in ivory or fine wood, like ebony or rosewood.

Maple is a popular material for chess boards and pieces, as its light color contrasts well with the dark pieces and squares of many boards. It is a hard, light wood that can be almost white in some cases, which is why it is often used for the white squares of a chessboard.

The game has 8 pieces (1 king, 1 queen, 2 bishops, 2 knights, 2 rooks ) and 8 pawns a side, so the breadth had to be eight. 64 squares are a result of the number of pawns and pieces lined up. However, the length & breadth could be technically any size if you choose to change the rule.