Peaches and Chess Pie combine in this delicious mash-up!
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If you love Chess Pie and Peach Cobbler, then boy, do I have a treat for you!! This Peach Chess Pie combines the custardy goodness of chess pie with the sweet and flavorful twist of peach cobbler. It’s amazing. And surprisingly easy!
Now, to my knowledge, no one is quite sure why we call this custardy beauty a chess pie, but the theories abound. From where they were stored (in a chest) to how we Southerner’s might say “it’s jes’ pie,” many folks have their guesses. I just know that I’m a big fan of it and its cousins, the vinegar and buttermilk pies. One thing that seems consistent is that chess pie almost always contains a small amount of cornmeal or flour. Now, I’ll leave all that to the experts. Regardless of what’s in it, I just know that this version is delicious!
If making your own pie crust is your thing, you can absolutely do that here. I used the refrigerated rolled-up pie dough, but even frozen will work fine. It’s just whatever you have time to do. Just make sure it’s deep dish and about 9-inches across. If it’s not, just be cautious not to overfill your pie. You don’t want to have to scrape all that off the bottom of your oven. I promise. 🙂
Recipe Card
Peach Chess Pie
Ingredients
- 2 medium peaches
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon almond flavoring
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon cornmeal
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1 (9-inch) unbaked deep dish pie shell
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Peel and thinly slice the peaches and place them in the pie shell.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and salt together until smooth. Add the almond flavoring and mix well. Mix in the eggs and the cornmeal. Add the buttermilk and mix until smooth. Pour the mixture over the peaches.
- Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes until just barely set. Allow to cool before slicing.
I have a question… can the 3 whole eggs in this recipe be substituted with, say, 4 egg yolks? I made a chocolate chess pie for Thanksgiving that used only yolks, so I made meringues with the whites. Now I have the opposite problem, I need to make a bunch of meringues and can’t bear to waste the yolks, but I would rather try the peach chess this time! Do you think this would do anything undesirable to the taste or the texture?
I’m honestly not sure. I’ve not tested it that way, so I’m afraid to guess.
Could you make it with frozen peaches?
Thaw them first and they should work just fine.
I have 2 questions…1. Can I sub milk and a bit of vinegar for the buttermilk, which I never buy?
2. Will I ruin this recipe if I don’t have cornmeal?
I’ve honestly never tried it using the buttermilk substitute, so I can’t say for sure on that part, Sandy. It *should* work though. You can replace the cornmeal with about 1 tablespoon of flour.
Do it make this in a baked or unbaked pie shell?
I normally bake this in an unbaked pie shell, but you can blind bake it if you wish. You’ll just need to watch the crust if you do blind bake it to ensure the edges don’t get too dark.
Hi Stacey,
I love peaches but I have no luck picking out juicy fruit. The ones I select tend to be mealy. Any peach-picking tips?
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Dorothy
Hi Dorothy! I always look for peaches that have a strong peach smell, are brightly colored, and are firm but give when gently squeezed.
My aunt always said to look for peaches with some stem on them. When the stem will detach with very little effort it’s ready for pie and eating. Has always worked for me. I have 8 on my counter right now and soon as those stems loosen this is the pie I’m making. Looks wonderful.
Thanks for the great tip, Margi!
Amazingly good. Chess Pie must be a southern recipe. When you ask others, they have never heard of Chess Pies.
When I was little back in the dark ages, once a year the church would deliver dinner. No idea what the other stuff was, but I loved that pie.
Thanks so much, Annie!!
Love this adaptation with the peaches! My northern husband loves chess pie! This is great! Thanks Stacey!
Thank you!!
Yummo! Mine didn’t look as dazzling as yours, but it sure was tasty!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Ruth!!!
Hi Stacey, since we are in the midst of winter and there are no fresh peaches available, could I use well drained and sliced canned peaches? This recipe sounds delicious and I hate to think I have to wait until mid summer to try it out.
Many thanks from British Columbia, Canada
Yes, canned peaches will certainly work. But if you have access to them, frozen peaches will work even better.
Thank you, I hadn’t thought to try this recipe with frozen peaches…..sounds wonderful!
Of course! Hope it turns out great for you!
ANYTHING WITH PEACHES IN IT IS A SCRUMPTOUS DESSERT. BUT, TO ALSO GET A GOOD RECIPE FOR A CHOCOLATE PIE THAT MAKES YOU DROOL,,,,, YOU ROCK MY FRIEND !!!!!
Ha! Thanks so much, Martha!!
I received a bunch of fresh picked peaches so decided to make a peach pie and found this recipe. Do you want to know how good it is? Well, I’m now baking my 2nd one this week. It is OFF THE CHARTS amazing!! My husband is not usually a fan of chess pie (“too sweet”) but this is wonderful. I made a slight change as I always use unsalted butter so I added 1.5tsp of Pink Celtic Salt. This added an amazing flavor and a little crunch in some bites. Truly magnificent. Thank you ???????? ???????? ♟
That’s awesome, Sandra! I’m so glad that y’all enjoyed it so much!!
IM MAKING 2 OF THESE PEACH PIES FOR SUNDAY COMPANY. I MADE ONE YESTERDAY IT WAS SO GOOD. I SERVE MINE WITH BLUEBELL HOMEMADE VANILLA ICECREAM. I LOVE THE RECIPES YOU SEND. MOST OF THEM ARE SO GOOD. IM A RETIRED CHEFF OF 25 YRS. JUST LOVE NEW RECIPES TO TRY.
THANKS
GWEN SANDEFUR
Thanks so much, Gwen!
Dang dude, where do you come up with all these great recipes? I love all your recipes and made most and love them all. Keep them coming!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. How’s that little boy of yours? Growing up too fast just like mine already has. My son is in his last year of college. I am happy and sad at the same time. My best to you and yours always. Faithful reader.
Jennifer Moreland
Ha! Thanks, Jennifer! Inspiration comes for all kinds of places. Jack is growing like a weed! He’ll be 11 in just a few months!
Stacy, once more drooling here, and it looks wonderful. I have a 1915 copy of The Five Roses Flour Cookbook (Lake of the Woods Millimg) and the suggestion for baking custatd pies is to heat to 450F put in your pie and after 10 minutes turn down to 350F and bake a further 50 minutes. I have always done this, and find the crusts are less likely to be soggy with this technique. I have followed directions and baked at 350 but really find the crust is definetly soggier when not started hot.
This is a great tip! I never saw either my grandmother or mom baking things at two different temps, but I do know of others who do with chess pies like this one.
Oh no, I’ve done this and my pie way way more brown than I expected after the first 10 minutes at 450. Next time, I’ll stick with 350.
Is this room Temperature butter or melted butter?
Room temp should be just fine.
Scary No flour in this pie. Okay I’ll make like you say.
Why is that scary for you, Peggy?
I received a bunch of fresh picked peaches so decided to make a peach pie and found this recipe. Do you want to know how good it is? Well, I’m now baking my 2nd one this week. It is OFF THE CHARTS amazing!! My husband is not usually a fan of chess pie (“too sweet”) but this is wonderful. I made a slight change as I always use unsalted butter so I added 1.5tsp of Pink Celtic Salt. This added an amazing flavor and a little crunch in some bites. Truly magnificent. Thank you ???????? ???????? ♟
Sounds like a delicious pie. You really capture the beauty of the peaches!
Thanks, Joanne!
Oh, I’m a big fan of chess pie! I love this adaption – it’s glorious! What a great way to say goodbye to summer.
I agree! Love this pie!
Made this pie for a family pot luck. Everyone wants the recipe! Delicious
Love hearing that! So glad everyone enjoyed it!
Help. Made this pie but the peaches didn’t rise to the top. Just looks like a Chess Pie. What did I do wrong?
Probably nothing. They won’t always show through to the top. It depends on the size and depth of your dish.
Thanks. Tastes great, just didn’t look as good as yours.
Thank you Thank you Thank you for sharing. Picked up some fresh peaches yesterday and made this pie last night for the office. They are in LOVE with it. It was the hit of our Rainy Thursday!
Wonderful! So glad everyone enjoyed it!!
Love this so delicious looking pie!!!! Definitely going to make it. Thanks for sharing:)
Hope you’ll enjoy!!
You’ve really done it this time, Stacey. It looks positively addictive! I do try to stay away from anything premade or processed and I’m not really a piecrust maker. Do you think I could try some sort of press-in crust? Also, I’ve got some frozen peaches left (our good ones are quite a ways off this year) that I think I could slice a bit thinner while they’re still frozen. But maybe that would mess with the chess part of this pie? Thanks!
Absolutely! I think a press in curst and the frozen peaches will both work just fine. Enjoy!!
Yay! Thanks, Stacey!
I will definitely try this pie! It looks delicious!
Thanks!!
what a great combination – will try it for sure!
Hope you’ll enjoy!!
I just bake this pie, waiting for it to cool off
Hope it tasted delicious!!