Chess pie goes by many names, often based on the ingredients that are added to it. Buttermilk Pie, Vinegar Pie, etc. But they all fall into the chess pie category. This classic dessert is based on four ingredients – eggs, milk, butter, and sugar. I’ll admit that I have quite the affinity for Buttermilk Pie myself, but I’ll take a chess pie in nearly any of its various forms.
For Thanksgiving, I had decided on doing a Buttermilk Pie to add to the dessert spread. Grabbing for a carton of buttermilk in the dairy section of the grocery store, I saw Eggnog already on the shelf. I thought, “Now, why can’t I use eggnog in this pie rather than buttermilk.” I grabbed it and jetted home to figure it out.
Turns out, with a few tweaks, eggnog makes an amazing substitution – like super amazing. My family absolutely loved it. It was the only pie that was eaten completely and with what seemed like 487 desserts, that’s saying something. 🙂
It’s so easy to make, too. Just mix, pour, and bake. You can make your own crust (if you’re feeling industrious), use a pre-shaped frozen one, or do like me and use a refrigerated crust you roll out into the pie pan. Just make sure it’s a deep dish. Y’all enjoy!
Recipe Card
Eggnog Chess Pie
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter 1 stick, softened
- 2/3 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups eggnog
- 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 prepared unbaked, deep dish pie crust
- powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°. With a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and mix well. Add the eggnog, flour, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg. Mix well.
- Pour into the unbaked pie crust. Place in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 350°. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the pie is just set (but still has a little jiggle to it) and golden brown. Cool completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Cool completely before storing in the refrigerator.
Notes
Please note:
If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
Do you think the eggnog sold in liquor stores would work? It’s thinner than grocery store eggnogs, and, of course, alcoholic!
I’ve not tried that so I can’t say for sure.
So easy to make and so delicious! We had to give half of the pie to the neighbors so my husband would not eat it all in one sitting. It had a nice custard type texture and was not overly sweet. Make sure to use good eggnog. I think it makes a big difference. Thanks so much. This finished our Christmas dinner with a bang!
So glad to hear it turned out great for you!!
I would look for a bourbon pecan pie or maybe a custard recipe to gauge how much bourbon to put in. The eggnog taste for this is subtle but still comes through. I don’t think you want the bourbon to overpower it and you dont want to lose the texture from adding more liquid. Bourbon pecan pie and custards that add grand marnier usually strikes a nice balance of the flavors but doesn’t mess with the ingredients to make it too runny. Good luck!
I made this pie last night. It is delicious! Extra pluses: a very quick and great way to use up the rest of the eggnog. I always buy a quart and only end up drinking a few glasses. It has a firm pumpkin pie-like texture with subtle eggnog taste. Not overpowering but makes you crave the second slice. My store-bought pie crust on the bottom didn’t brown as much as I would have liked in the glass pie pan. The top browned very quickly but maybe because my rack was in the middle of the oven? Is it supposed to have somewhat of a crust on top? I’m definitely making it again but next time I’ll put it on the second-lowest rack and use a pie tin instead of glass. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it. It does develop a little crust on the top.
Stacey, I have not tried this pie, but here is a hint my beloved mother gave to me (a hundred years ago–lol) and I never bake a pie without using the hint. Mother always, always lightly sprinkled glass/aluminum pie pan with cornmeal before placing the pie crust in the pan. Helps with browning and crisping up the bottom of the crust. Hope this helps Victoria and maybe you.
Janice
Thanks for sharing that tip, Janice! I’ll certainly have to try that.
I’m so excited to try this! I’m thinking of adding bourbon to it. It occurred to me to replace 1/4 cup of eggnog with a 1/4 cup of bourbon, but I’m a relatively inexperienced baker and worried it will mess up the chemistry. Any advice? I might just try it and see what happens, haha. Thank you!!!
I think it sounds great! But I’ve not tried that, so I can’t say for sure if it will work.
I happened across this recipe while I was looking for a chocolate chess pie recipe. I baked it yesterday and it turned out amazing. I bake all my pies that have a rather liquid filling in my 10 inch cast iron skillet. This helps the bottom to brown better for me. My glass pie plates did not brown well. I tried the cast iron for the first time on pumpkin pie several years ago and ever since, that’s my go to method. That said, thanks for this great recipe. My family was very happy with it.
Love that idea! I do find that pies baked in glass never really bake great since glass is an insulator. Love the cast iron idea and so glad this one turned out great for you!
we call it egg custard made much like yours. By what ever name it is quick to put together and loved by all.
I cannot wait to try this pie, I love eggnog!
Me too! I really love this pie!
Thanks, Stacey 🙂 Can’t wait to try it…
Hope you’ll enjoy!!
Ditto! What size pie pan?? Sounds delicious…
9.5″ is the one I used. Other similar sizes will work as well.
Can you please specify the size of the deep dish pie? I have seen everything from 9″ to 10.5″ and even smaller!
menkens, the Pyrex pie plate shown in the pic. above the recipe looks similar to mine. It is deep dish and 9.5 inches. I love it, crusts always brown nicely.
Yes it does! Thanks for jumping in. 🙂
You’re very welcome, Stacey. I loved my pan so much I bought a 2nd one last (2015) Thanksgiving. My son loves eggnog and I’ll bet he’ll love your pie, as will I. Thanks for the recipe!
Mine is about 9.5 inches.
My grandmother made those kind of pies and she she called them custard pies. As she got older she put moth balls around her cabinets to keep insects out and then her pies started tasting like mothballs and no one would eat them.
Oh, no! I’d say that’s probably not a real popular flavor. God bless her!