Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe (2024)

Chocolate Chess Pie is a classic Southern chocolate pie with a creamy middle topped with a crisp topping. Chess pie is easy and so delicious!

Looking for more delicious chocolate recipes? I think you’ll love my Best Chocolate Cake, Best Chocolate Cupcakes, and Grandmother’s Chocolate Cobbler. Yum!

Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe (1)

Chocolate Chess Pie is seriously one of the best things ever created – especially if you love chocolate like I do.

Creamy, custardy, and oh-so chocolatey on the inside, chocolate chess pies are also crowned with the signature crunchy top crust that you’ll find in really good chess pie recipes. This pie is always a favorite dessert. We especially love it topped with a dollop of homemade whipped cream.

And really, the simplicity of a chess pie makes it even more special.

Table of Contents

  • Why You’ll Love This Recipe
  • Easy Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe
  • What is Chess Pie?
  • How To Make Chocolate Chess Pie
  • Ingredients
  • Step-by-Step Instructions
  • Storage Tips
  • Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Delicious chocolate pie recipe. Every single bite is filled with delicious chocolate flavor.

Easy to make. The hands-on time for making this amazing chocolate pie is less than 10 minutes and it is easy enough for a beginning baker. I learned to make it with my Grandmother when I was a young girl and I haven’t looked back!

Great to make ahead or freeze. Since the cooling time is key to this recipe, it is great to make ahead or to freeze to serve later.

Easy Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe

Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe (2)

See the inside of that pie?

Oh my goodness!!!

Irresistible!

What is Chess Pie?

Chess Pie is a traditional southern pie recipe with deep roots in England. Chess pie is made from sugar, flour, butter, and eggs and then baked in a pie crust. The combination of the sugar and flour mixed together gives the pie a crispy, crackle finish on the top while leaving a custard-type filling from the eggs. Cocoa powder is also included in this chocolate version of the classic pie.

How To Make Chocolate Chess Pie

To make this pie, you’ll need the following ingredients:

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Ingredients

Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.

  • Sugar – I use granulated sugar in this recipe.
  • Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – I use natural unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe.
  • Flour – a little all-purpose flour is used to thicken the pie filling.
  • Espresso Powder– optional, but recommended to enhance the chocolate flavor in this pie.
  • Salt – just a pinch is used to balance the flavors of the pie.
  • Butter– you’ll use melted and slightly cooled butter for this recipe.
  • Evaporated Milk – I make homemade evaporated milk. You can also use your favorite store-bought.
  • Vanilla extract – enhances the flavors in this sweet pie recipe. Use a high-quality vanilla extract. I love to use my homemade vanilla extract. It is so easy to make and always delicious!
  • Eggs – In this recipe, you’ll use lightly beaten eggs for the pie filling.
  • Pie crust– you’ll need one unbaked pie crust. You can use homemade pie crust or your favorite store-bought in a pinch.

Step-by-Step Instructions

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Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe (5)
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Mix the pie filling. Whisk together sugar, cocoa, flour, salt, and espresso powder. Pour your melted butter and evaporated milk into the sugar and cocoa mixture and beat on high speed with an electric mixer. Mix in vanilla extract and eggs until well combined and continue to mix for about 2 minutes to lighten the batter.

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Pour into the pie crust and bake. Pour the chocolate mixture into a 9-inch, unbaked pie crust. Bake for 55 minutes.

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Cool the pie before slicing. The center of the pie will be a bit soft. Allow it to cool completely on a wire rack for an hour before slicing. The pie will continue to set as it cools.

Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe (10)

Storage Tips

To store leftovers. Cover the pie loosely with wrap and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To make ahead. This pie is excellent to make ahead as it is best served cold! Like with the storage instructions, make the pie ahead of time and cool. Cover the pie loosely with wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Remove from the refrigerator, slice, and serve.

To freeze. You can easily freeze a baked Chocolate Chess Pie. Bake and cool completely. Wrap tightly with freezer-safe wrap and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, that in the refrigerator overnight and then slice and serve.

Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe (11)

Here’s my recipe for Chocolate Chess Pie. I hope you love it as much as we do!

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Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe (16)

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Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe

Robyn Stone

4.83 from 23 votes

Chocolate Chess Pie is a quintessential Southern chocolate pie. Get this family favorite chocolate chess pie recipe.

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup (297 g) granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons (21 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons (15 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon (0.58 g) espresso powder, optional
  • pinch (0.4 g) kosher salt
  • 4 tablespoons (57 g) butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 5 ounces (141 g) evaporated milk
  • 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
  • 3 large (150 g) eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 (9-inch) pie crust, unbaked

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325º F.

  • Whisk sugar, cocoa, flour, and espresso powder (if using) and salt together. Pour butter and evaporated milk into sugar and cocoa mixture and beat on high speed. Add vanilla and eggs. With mixer speed on high speed, mix for approximately 2-3 minutes to lighten.

  • Pour mixture into 9 inch unbaked pie shell and bake for about 55 minutes. The center of the pie will be a bit soft. Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing. The pie will continue to set as it cools.

Notes

Storage, Make Ahead, and Freezer Instructions

To store leftovers. Cover the pie loosely with wrap and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To make ahead. This pie is excellent to make ahead as it is best served cold! Like with the storage instructions, make the pie ahead of time and cool. Cover the pie loosely with wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Remove from the refrigerator, slice, and serve.

To freeze. You can easily freeze a baked Chocolate Chess Pie. Bake and cool completely. Wrap tightly with freezer-safe wrap and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then slice and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 452kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 288mg | Potassium: 149mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 319IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Enjoy!
Robyn xo

Categorized as:All Recipes, By Cooking Style, Chocolate, Christmas Recipes, Cooking, Dessert Recipes, Father’s Day Recipes, Freezer Friendly Recipes, Game Day Recipes, Halloween Recipes, Holiday and Occasion Recipes, July 4th Recipes, Mother’s Day Recipes, Pies / Tarts / Cobblers, Recipes, Shower Recipes, Southern Favorites, Thanksgiving Recipes, Valentine’s Day Recipes

Welcome to Add A Pinch

About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

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Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is chocolate chess pie made of? ›

The custardy filling is made with eggs, sugar, milk, butter, cornmeal, vanilla, and unsweetened chocolate. The filling gets baked into an all-butter pie crust until it's just set in the middle and crackly on top, just like your favorite brownies! What's the cornmeal do in chocolate chess pie?

Why do they call it a chess pie? ›

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.

Are derby pie and chess pie the same? ›

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's the difference between a chess pie and a buttermilk pie? ›

Chess pie is thickened with cornmeal (and sometimes a little bit of all-purpose flour!), whereas buttermilk pies uses only all-purpose flour. Many buttermilk recipes will play up the tartness, with added lemon juice and zest, giving it a pleasant citrus flavor.

What does a chess pie taste like? ›

The Takeout likens the texture of chess pie to whipped honey, and the surface of it to crème brûlée. Because buttermilk or vinegar is sometimes added, there can also be an undercurrent of tartness. Many recipes also call for lemon juice, and the result is a texture and flavor that can resemble old-fashioned lemon bars.

Why is it called crack pie? ›

Tosi originally named the dessert Crack Pie for its addictive qualities, but changed it to Milk Bar Pie in 2019 after the name was criticized as insensitive.

What is the pie rule in chess? ›

The pie rule applied to chess says that player 1 makes a move for white (divide) and player 2 selects the side they wish to play (choose). Player 1, knowing that player 2 will select the more advantageous side, must play a move that is neither too strong or too weak.

Why do they call it Shoo Fly Pie? ›

Pie lore offers two explanations for its unusual name. The simple one is that flies get stuck in the sticky-sweet molasses, so bakers must shoo them away. The second explanation is that the pie was named after the 19th-century “Shoofly” brand of molasses.

Can you leave chess pie out overnight? ›

Chess and nut pies (ex. Salted Maple, Hot Cocoa Chess, or Brandy Pecan) are best eaten within 3 days of purchase if stored at room temperature. However, they can also be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

What is the Ohio signature pie? ›

The buckeye pie is made of chocolate and peanut butter fillings, artfully layered to imitate the appearance of the nut—or the namesake candy.

What is penguin pie? ›

Penguin Pie – Smoked Haddock, Potatoes, Cheese & Onion Sauce | Brockleby's.

Why is it called Hoosier pie? ›

Add in the Hoosier and you have a nice nod to the thrifty Indianans, likely Amish or Shaker farm folks, who created this pie in the pioneer days. Sugar cream pie is what's known as a "desperation" pie, the kind of dessert you could make on a farm when you didn't have fresh fruit on hand.

What is a patsy pie? ›

The English word "pasty" derives from Medieval French (O.Fr. paste from V. Lat pasta) for a pie, filled with venison, salmon or other meat, vegetables or cheese, baked without a dish. Pasties have been mentioned in cookbooks throughout the ages.

Why is it no longer called crack pie? ›

The famous Milk Bar "Crack Pie" shall henceforth be known as "Milk Bar Pie," after the name of the pie was slammed in a column published by the "Boston Globe." In a letter published on the Milk Bar website Monday, pastry chef Christina Tosi announced that her company had changed the name of the pie.

Why do people put a slice of cheese on pie? ›

In the 17th and 18th centuries, a dairy-based sauce often topped English pies, such as custard. Somehow, some folks decided to try out cheddar along the way, and the rest was history. You'll still find this combination on menus and dining tables across the Northeast and Midwest.

How to make chess pieces chocolate? ›

Chop 24 ounces semisweet chocolate; microwave three-quarters of the chocolate in 30-second intervals, stirring until melted. Add the remaining chocolate; stir until smooth. Fill 2 molds with the chocolate using a piping bag; scrape off the excess. Freeze 15 minutes, then pop out the pieces.

What are Mcdonald's pies made out of? ›

Ingredients: Apples (apples, Ascorbic Acid, Salt, Citric Acid), Enriched Flour (bleached Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sugar, Palm Oil, Water, Apple Juice Concentrate, Modified Food Starch, Invert Syrup, Contains 2% Or Less: Yeast, Salt, Cinnamon, Sunflower Lecithin, ...

How many calories are in chocolate chess pie? ›

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 12
Calories 330
% Daily Value *
Total Carbohydrate 40g15%
9 more rows
Sep 19, 2023

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