Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 5 min | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 1

Ingredients

• 30 grams fresh¹, coarse ground coffee
• 350 grams hot (not boiling) water

Adjust ratios to taste.

Equipment

• Pour over carafe (e.g. Chemex or equivalent)
• Paper pour over filters (I prefer white paper filters)
• Burr grinder (strongly recommended)
• Goose neck kettle (recommended for easier pouring)

Directions

Preparation

1. Grind beans. If possible, grind beans just before brewing. Consistency should be medium-coarse, similar to coarse salt or sand.
2. Heat water. Water should be just shy of boiling, 195°-205°F.
3. Pre-wet filter. Put filter in place on carafe and pre-wet with enough water to soak most of the filter. It doesn’t take much water and this will hold it in place. Dump filtered water out of carafe.
4. Assemble on scale. Put coffee in wetted filter and place entire carafe on gram scale.
5. Zero out your scale now.

Brewing

This recipe uses the three pour method. Each pour should be slow but steady and in a circular motion, working from the center out and back in.

1. Pour just enough water to saturate the grounds (~30g). Give it a gentle stir with a chop stick. Allow to “bloom” for 30 sec.²
2. Pour until the scale reads 200g. Allow to filter down.
3. The final pour should take you all the way to 350g.

Once the brew is complete, you should end up with a beautiful, smooth bed of wet grounds. If you have a rough crater, you probably poured too quickly.

Enjoy!

The origin of the name “chess pie” is steeped in history and folklore. No one really agrees on the exact origins but the most likely explanation is that it is a corruption of the word “cheese”. Chess pie was likely brought to the American colonies from England as early as the 17th century and is similar to many cheesecakes and cheese curd pies found in cookbooks from that era. It’s basically a cheese-less cheese pie. Today, you’ll find variations of this pie everywhere from New England to the deep South but it’s most prevalent further south.

Regardless of the origin, I have many fond memories of eating chess pie and chess bars over the years… but I won’t bore you with any more history. There are many variations of this recipe but they follow the same basic direction (mostly tweaking ingredients and proportions). I received this recipe from a dear friend who taught me a little about cooking and a lot about life.

It’s time for pie!

Recipe

Chess pie. A delicious and very southern pie.

Equipment:

• 9 inch pie dish
• OPTIONAL: Aluminum foil
• OPTIONAL: Pie weights (or dried beans)

Ingredients:

• 1 pie crust (store bought or homemade)
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 large eggs, room temp, lightly beaten
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Fit the pie crust to a 9 inch pie dish and use a fork to prick the bottom and sides. Optionally: Line the pastry with aluminum foil and add pie weights. Pre-bake pie crust for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove foil and pie weights. Allow to cool completely.
2. Lower oven temperature to 350°F.
3. Whisk together all pie filling ingredients. Pour into cooled crust. Place on rack in lower third of oven.
4. Bake until set. It should take 50-55 minutes. TIP: After 10-15 minutes, you can cover the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning.
5. Allow to cool completely.
6. Serve cold or at room temperature. Fork optional!

Variations

Chess pie can also serve as the starting point for some tasty deviations:

• 🥛 Buttermilk Chess Pie
• 🍫 Chocolate Chess Pie
• 🎃 Pumpkin Chess Pie
• 🍊 Orange Chess Pie
• 🍋 Lemon Chess Pie

Baking one of these variants is a simple exercise of adjusting proportions and adding one or more key ingredients to reach your desired flavor. Enjoy!