Chocolate Chess Pie

Eww, eww, eww. I had such high hopes for this pie. I followed the recipe exactly & it was inedible. The pie filling was so greasy & the pie would not set. You can even see the greasiness in the photos! Sad. If I attempt to make this again I will omit the 1/4c of melted butter. Just remembering my first bite makes me shudder. I feel a little out of place because everyone just raved about this pie in the reviews. I never leave baaad reviews, but I just needed to say something.

I have been making this exact recipe for years. Here is a great tip my grandmother taught me: First mix the sugar and cocoa together very well first. Second, don't melt your butter completely. That is why some are coming up with runny pies. The butter needs to still have some "chunkyness" to it. Hope this helps! Mine comes out great most of the time, although sometimes it cracks. I ususally bake it between 40 and 45 minutes. And then like others suggested leave it in the oven with temperature off for 10-15 minutes with door cracked. Love this recipe!

I found this recipe after a failed attempt at another Chess pie!! After reading recommendations from others, my alterations were as follows: I poked holes in the crust, covered the sides with aluminum foil to keep them from burning, and sprinkled a little coarse sea salt over the bottom. I used only 1 cup of sugar, and 3 1/2 heaping tbls cocoa powder, soft butter (not melted). I slightly beat my eggs in a glass bowl and set them aside. In a seperate bowl, I mixed my sugar and cocoa powder. I then added the milk, and blended with a hand mixer. I next added my butter and vanilla and mixed A LOT!!! I added my eggs at the end and because so many people commented about having problems with the pie rising, I added approximately 1 tbsp of self-rising flour at the very end. I mixed a little more and then poured the mixture over my crust. I baked on 325 for 1 hour. I then turned off the oven, left the pie inside, but opened the door for another 30 minutes. When I took the pie out I dusted it with confectioners sugar. It turned out fabulously!!! I am not a fan of most things that are very chocolately, but this pie was perfect!

I make this pie on thanksgiving this recipe is pretty good;however, the recipe called for too much sugar and less coco. Next time I will add less sugar and more coco.

Classic, simple ingredients, easy, scrumptious. Never had I wanted vanilla ice cream more than last night to have with my warm chocolate pie..It took me 10 minutes to whip together and 50 agonizing minutes of waiting for it to finish cooking. I actually did 3 heaping tablespoons of cocoa to intensify the chocolate flavor and boy was it good; also used a regular, not deep dish pre-made pie crust but next time think I will try doubling the recipe for a deep dish crust for a thicker pie or even using mini/individual pie crusts for parties. 50 minutes was perfect cooking time, just so you know, the pie will still have a slight jiggle to it as it comes out of the oven but don't worry it sets up even more when cooling. I'm guessing because of the butter, the bottom crust was almost caramelized, a nice contrast from the creaminess of the filling; even the top had a thin layer of crunch. The pie is sweet so be prepared..ice cream or whipped cream would definitely cut the sweetness and be a perfect compliment to this dessert. I loved this and can't wait to make it for friends.

I have been playing around with the recipe (after the first attempt was not so great) and found that it is better with 2 tablespoons of butter, 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, and 1 cup of sugar. Also, bake at 350 for 1 hr 15 min on the bottom rack, and let cool a few hours before cutting. This pie is sooo easy and delicious with the recipe modifications!

This is a classic Southern, old fashioned dessert. The key, in my opinion, is to mix it long enough (at least 5 minutes). I just let my Kitchen Aid do the mixing while I prep the crust. I also bake a little longer, 50-55 minutes. And, finally, after it's completely cooled, I put it in the fridge to chill. My boys love this pie, and my husband thinks I could sell it. Yum!

Very good. Reminiscent of a wonderful chocolate chess pie I used to get at a bakery in Graham, North Carolina. Very rich and nice for the Holidays in place of cheesecake.

Made it for the first time Thanksgiving 2006 and it was a hit! Was told I must make this every year. It was so easy to make. I found it a little too sweet so I cut back on the sugar by about a half a cup. It just made the chocolate flavor pop. Delicious!

EXCELLENT! I am from North Carolina and this pie is a staple at almost every church and family gathering. This is the same recipe my Family has been making for several generations. Southerner's love their desserts sweet.. and this recipe is a classic example of that. Classic Chess pie is a soft-set pie. Very smooth, rich and SWEET. For those that prefer a "firmer" pie you can find recipes that call for a touch of flour. I love this pie - it is my absolute favorite and this recipe in my opinion is spot on!

To DIE FOR. let Cool COMPLETELY!

I like to serve this pie warm with vanilla ice cream. It is so decadent!

we made this pie because we were looking for something similar to Golden Corral's mini chess tarts. it was a great pie! we spread a thin layer of Nutella on the bottom of the pie crust, also, but that was the only change we made to the recipie. well, also we had to bake it for an hour and a half for it to rise and thicken! i would use a little less sugar and more cocoa in the future, or maybe a bit of flour, but not because of the flavor, because the texture was a little unpleasantly gritty...but it TASTES wonderful! not sure why we had to cook it for so long...

This was a very easy pie to make. My husband was in chocolate heaven. I'm making it for a second time this week. Rich chocolate flavor without being overly sweet. Wonderful pie!

I made the pie the same way the "most helpful positive review" suggested - cutting back sugar to 1 cup and increasing cocoa to 5 tbs. I followed all the other directions as stated in the recipe, and it was REALLY great! It was a hit at our family's Memorial Day cookout. I let it chill in the fridge after baking to make sure the texture was correct. Delicious, and one I'll definitely make again.

I made this exactly as written and the pie turned out great. It was an easy recipe and it had that wonderful crunchy layer on top with the smooth creamy center. It was a perfect for an easy chocolate pie fix! Thanks for sharing your recipe.

My new favorite chocolate pie! Ingredients are always in the cabinet and it couldn't be any easier to make. Our family likes it better than cream pie with meringue. One suggestion though, beat it for a while so the sugar disolves pretty good. This makes a difference in the smoothness of the filling. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!

I had to alter it...but it is delicious. I added about 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch to the sugar/cocoa mixture, and had to bake it a full 1 1/2 hours. Perfect pie. When doing this it set up just right, and tasted heavenly.

So good!

My husband, a true chocaholic, said this was the best chocolate pie he'd ever eaten. The pie disappeared in 2 days, and I had to make another one. This will definitely become a regular dessert in our house!

Very tasty, although I baked it 15 min longer then called for, it still didnt solidify in the middle. But the flavor was awsome! Good job.

This pie is the classic southern dish - I love it. I did as several reviewers suggested and cut the sugar to one cup, used heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder, and baked it 52 minutes. I read one negative review that the pie is greasy - I can't figure out HOW it could be greasy unless they messed up and put in too much butter. It's rich, for certain… Thanks for the great recipe!

This pie was so good, so rich, and so easy! Only make it if you really like chocolate. Great with ice cream or cool whip.

Mmmm...delicious. I made this as a way to use up half a can of evaporated milk I had leftover from making the Honey Wheat Bread (also on this site)! It was super-simple and surprisingly sophisticated. I made a bunch of changes that I think helped a lot: -Cut sugar to 3/4 cup. -Used about 5 tablespoons of cocoa. -Used 3 eggs. -Substituted applesauce for butter (healthy, and you can't even tell)! -Added a few shakes of all-purpose flour to make sure it'd set (some of the previous comments scared me). -Added a handful of chocolate chips - love that melted and re-solidified flavor. -Didn't use a pie crust - that's right, I put it in a casserole dish (didn't want the extra pie crust calories) and it tasted great!. Next time, I'll make these in individual ramekins for a dinner party. They're SO easy. Even my husband, who is not a big chocolate person, raved about this - it tastes like a flourless chocolate cake or a chocolate mousse with some flour added.

I looked at the top-most review for this pie, which basically said nothing productive other than "EWWWWWWW." So, even with a 4.5/5 rating it worried me, but it looks like my worries were for naught! I decided to attempt this pie for my mother's birthday- she LOVES chocolate chess- and having never made one before, I relied on AR to aid me. The result? My husband turned to me after taking his first bite and told me "this is probably the best pie you've ever made." And he WANTED to eat more of it, and my husband doesn't eat sweets. Ever. My mother also enjoyed it- as did I- and it's something I plan to make over and over again. It's decadent- quite rich- and tastes heavenly topped with whipped cream and a small drizzle of chocolate syrup. Amazing, amazing, AMAZING!

Super yummy! I reduced the sugar to 1 cup, and increased the cocoa powder to about 12 tbsp or 50g (I know, it sounds crazy, but it was REALLY good) Very easy recipe to follow, and everyone thought it was great! Will definitely make again!

Wow, what a great pie, not to sweet just perfect. I made it with the shortbread pie crust and everyone loved it.

My family's favorite pie! It is so easy and foolproof. I follow the recipe exactly: whisk the sugar and cocoa powder (I use Hershey's Special Dark or Ghiardelli), and beat with whisk attachment, on slow/med speed with the kitchen aide until they are really well mixed. Add everything else, one at a time...with the butter last so it has a chance to cool down from being melted. Then I just let it mix. And mix, and mix, while I get the crust in the pie pan. You can't overmix this like you can a cake or a custard. Bake for the 45 min called for then cool completely. One word of warning: the top of the pie LOOKS like the top of brownies: and as it cools the top will crack (mostly around the edges) and sink a bit...so it is not the most attractive looking pie. I get around this by covering the entire pie with whipped cream (homemade is good because you can control the sweetness...the pie is VERY rich). Drizzle some chocolate syrup across the top and sit back and soak up the compliments! Thanks for sharing!!

I read a lot of the feedback and tried to make it according to what I read. So I only used one cup of sugar per pie and three heaping tablespoons of cocoa per pie. I added one can of evaporated milk per pie and realized later they were 12 oz cans not 5 oz. The pies were already nearly done by the time I figured it out so it was too late to do anything about it. They turned out AWESOME! Set up really nice, tasted wonderful! They turned out good enough that I think I will make it the same way next time. I'm actually wondering if some of the folks who have had issues with it not setting would be better served adding more evap milk?

Like others, we cut the sugar to 1c and used 5 tbsp of Ghiradelli cocoa powder. Very good with ice cream - tasted like a brownie!

This pie was a disaster to start, not because it was a bad recipe but because of errors i was making. I spilled the pie in the oven, went to get a cloth to clean it up from the sink, and i cut my finger on my butcher knife!! Needless to say i was very frustrated. I will say though, this pie was sooooooo delicious once i got through all the crisis. My company devoured it and i ate a piece in the middle of the night!

Very easy and not too heavy. Really nice with a spritz of canned whipped cream.

I dare not be the 1st to give this wonderful pie less than 5 stars so no need to worry. I made this pie for Thanksgiving, and even with all the pies to choose from this one was the hit. It is only 2 days after Thanksgiving and I'm making it again. Thanks for a great one, I highly recommend it. 5 stars - Ease & 5 stars - taste. Claire316

This pie is excellent! It tastes great and slices like a dream! I would recommend this pie to anyone!

This pie was really yummy! althoguh, in my excitement of making a chocolate pie from scratch I misread the chocolate ingredient part, and instead of 3 Tablespoons of cocoa powder, I put a whole lot more. Like 1/3 cup of cocoa powder. Thank God, I love chocolate! It made a very rich chocolate chess pie. And my son says it's Goooooooooood! And yeppers I'm with him on that one. Thank you for the recipe. Definately this one goes into my keepers recipe box.

I have been making this pie for 15 years but my recipe calls for 1/8 teaspoon of salt. The SECRET for this pie is to cook it at 325 degrees for 1 hour and I use metal pie crust protector . I put it on the pie after 45 minutes to keep my crust from burning. This pie is so smooth and so decadent. it is my fave and you cannot have it without a big scoop of whip cream/cool whip. YUMMY !!!

I also did 3 heaping tablespoons of cocoa and baked for 50 minutes. It was perfect! To die for!!! I will definitely make again... SOON!!

I went ahead and tried this... at 45 minutes, you have a top crust, but underneath is just tasty chocolate syrup that does NOT set even after cooling. This recipe needs: a) about 30 more minutes OR b) 2 more eggs OR c) about 1/4 cup flour.

Very easy to make and very tasty. I like the light texture.

Not nearly as good as the reviews stated. It came out like it should have, but there was just something missing.

Delicious! I had some left over evaporated milk I needed to use and this was a perfect fit. I loved how it caramelizes/crystallizes on the surface.

I made this pie for a friend of mine who has diabetes, therefore I substituted half the sugar for Splenda. And it still came out perfectly. She said it was wonderful, and keeps asking for a repeat!

Turned out so good! The top is slightly crusty/chewy (like a brownie) with a softer inside. This pie is what I hoped every lava cake would be. Adjustments/Notes: I used an organic whole grain pie crust and it cuts down the sweet just right. Like other reviewers, used only 1 c. white sugar and 5 tbs. of cocoa. Mixed the sugar, cocoa, butter, milk and vanilla over stove and then tempered the eggs. YUM!

i loved it with tweaks. 4 tablespoons of hersheys cocoa powder and 1 cup sugar. it set up fine. i added minced pecans. very sweet and nice! i let it set @ one hour, even better the next day.

Good pie Susan, our company really enjoyed it.

Super easy pie! First I combined the sugar and cocoa (I used about 1c sugar and 3 heaping tbsp cocoa). After that was well mixed, I slightly melted my butter and added my evaporated milk/vanilla to that mixture. I used a hand mixer to mix the wet ingredients with the dry thoroughly. After this, I added my two eggs and mixed with the hand mixer for about 2-3 min. I sprinkled a bit of coarse sea salt on the bottom of my pie crust and poured the chocolate pie mixture in. Baked at 360F for about 50min and let it cool with the door cracked for about 15min. Turned out beautifully and had no issue with it rising or setting! This is my go-to recipe for a easy 15 min prep pie.

I tried this recipe tonight, and I admit to worrying about the amount of butter due to a one-star review. I added the amount of butter indicated in the recipe, and although I added one extra Tbsp of cocoa due to my son's preference for very dark chocolate flavor, I followed the rest of the recipe to a T and the pie came out PERFECT. It's not oily or greasy so I'm not sure what happened with the other reviewer's pie. It is important to beat the egg into the sugar and cocoa mixture separately from the other wet ingredients, and as another reviewer said, it should be mixed for awhile (longer than we're used to), so maybe that had something to do with it. The top of this pie was crispy and the middle was gooey, just like it was supposed to be. It could not have been an easier recipe and it could not have come out any better. Thanks for sharing!

My family devours this pie in less than a day! So easy to make too. I cook a few minutes longer and let it sit for a couple hours before serving.

This was so very delicious! I had to give some away to keep from eating it. It does need to cool completely so you can cut it - it is worth the wait.

Regular chess pie is so much better.

This pie tastes a lot like a chocolate pudding pie, except you don't have to cook the pudding on the stove. It's easy, tasty, fast, and using ingredients you always have on hands... What more to expect? The top cracks as the pie cools, but I don't think it is a problem.

This was an excellent pie. The only thing I would do different in the future is cut down a bit on the sugar. I have a major sweet tooth, but this was just a tad over the top for me... still, it was delicious! Also, I had to cook it about 10 minutes longer than the recipe stated. The middle was still quite "jiggly" after 45 minutes - 10 extra and it was perfect. Will definitely make this again!

Phenomenal! Made it with 1 1/4 c. sugar and a extra Tb of cocoa and 2 Tb butter it was perfect! Best when still warm!! Next time I'm gonna try to add a little Nutella!!

EXCELLENT!!!! I wanted a different chocolate pie for Thanksgiving in addition to my Dad's fave - chocolate cream pie. Dad says he now has a new favorite pie. This was sooo good and sooo easy to make!!! Will use this recipe a lot!

Very yummy and easy to make!! I used fat free condensed milk and it worked just fine.

Excellent recipe. I have already given away a copy.

Excellent pie! Very tasty, and it hardly took any time at all to make. A really good pie for rich chocolate lovers or for someone in a rush.

This is like the pie I remember from my childhood. So yummy and a perfect holiday dessert

This recipe made a delicious pie. My guest ate a bite and said "Mmmmm", then ate another bite and repeated himself. I doubled the recipe, baked it in a 10" pie pan and browned about 2-3 cups of minature marshmallows on top of it. The word of caution is to make sure to bake the pie until it is "set" and put a cookie sheet under it to catch any marshmallow drippings.

I was rather hesitant about the filling because it was extremely runny (I followed the recipe to a "T"). However, I added an entire small bag (7oz I think) of shredded coconut to the filling. I used aluminum foil to cover the pie crust to prevent it from burning, and it turned out fantastic! It tastes like a Mounds candy bar. Absolutely DELICIOUS! (:

This was sooo good! You have to really love chocolate though, and I do! The top has a thin crispy layer. I'll be making it again for the holidays. Thanks!

Wonderful, easy, quick and DELICIOUS!! My 11 yo daughter loves to bake this pie. It's a winner!

Yum! I'm a huge chocolate fan so I doubled the cocoa. Sinful with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Outstanding! The flavor is unbelievable! Very choclatety and rich!

Pie didn't set in the 45 minute time as recipe indicated so I read a few reviews and some of the more experienced cooks indicated that there should have been a couple of steps included about heating part of the mixture...too late. Mine was already in the oven and soupy at 45 minutes. I had already turned the temperature down to 325, then to 300. It ended up taking 120 minutes; but it was absolutely delicious. And I used a graham cracker crust. Next time I will boil on stove top prior to placing it in the oven. I'm glad I wasn't crunched for time. Please list all steps. Even us lesser experienced cooks are not dumb-we can follow a recipe. Pie is delicious.

This was a great recipe. Even my 5 year old loved it and has requested it for Christmas!! I've never made Chocolate Chess Pie before this and it was fairly easy! Yum!

Delicious pie! I had this pie from a local restaurant recently and have been craving it ever since and had to make it myself. I followed the recipe exactly the first time and it's too sweet for me so I'll reduce the sugar next time. I used a deep dish pie shell and the filling rose during baking and filled it to the top. I had to bake mine an extra 10 minutes for it to be set. There's no need to cook this mixture on the stove top first to get it to thicken and set. It sets in the oven and if still jiggly you need to cook it longer. Each oven is different and mine needed 10 additional minutes. Great recipe that couldn't be easier with ingredients I always have on hand. It tastes like an under cooked brownie and is terrific with vanilla ice cream.

Love this chocolate pie recipe! It’s so easy to make and turned out great both times I made it. The perfect creamy chocolate pie!

My husband absolutely LOVED this. Best served warm with vanilla icecream!

I made this with 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup Splenda, 1/4 cup cocoa, and unsweetened almond milk (I have a milk allergy) instead of regular. It came out awesome!! Set perfectly, didn't crack, and tastes amazing.

I made this just like the recipe suggested and it never set! I was disappointed since I was so anxious to try it. I even cooked it longer and it still did not set. Now the taste of this pie was awesome!!!! So, the taste portion of this gets 5 stars. I will maybe add some kind of thickener and play with it some more. I am determined to get this pie to come out right.

I made this recipe fo rmy family and they LOVED it. Even my Mom who usually hates chocolate pies! It was very easy to make. It is now a new favorite of mine!

Wonderfully easy and tasty! I didn't have evaporated milk so I added 1 oz dry milk to 4 oz C skim milk and it was great. And I used the easy recipe where you just put the flour and the oil in the pie pan and press it in the pan.

Holy chocolate! It's good! I've made it according to the recipe, and also made it with water and buttermilk powder in place of evaporated milk and margarine in place of butter. It's great with the "Best Ever Pie Crust"

This was so good; I used 1 cup sugar and 3 heaping tablespoons cocoa; served warm with vanilla ice cream. Almost like brownie pie. Delish!

I had a little trouble getting it to set. Next time I am going to do as one review I read suggested and heat the mixture, except the eggs. Then stir half a cup of hot mixture into the eggs as you are beating them, then add back in to the pie mixture. I am also going to try placing strips of aluminum foil around the edges of the crust and go with a deep dish crust. Delicious flavor! The gooeyness doesn't actually bother me, but I think the rest of the family would prefer it to be more set in the middle. I also decrease the oven temp by 25 degrees after about 10 minutes and add about 5 min to total cooking time.

This was absolutely wonderful! Everyone in my family loved it. i did the recipe exactly.

This was ok. I'll keep looking for a chocolate pie recipe.

I added a bit of cornstarch and that seemed to do the trick of getting it to set, plus letting it cool in the fridge. But such long cooking time burnt my pie crust a bit :(

I never heard of this pie until I had it at a restaurant it was great, I tried for months to replicate it with several other recipes and this one came the closest.. Hummmm good!!! I wonder how it got its name or what "chess" is in reference to?

This pie was delectable and by far the easiest chocolate pie of any type I have ever made... AND a real crowd pleaser!

I tried this recipe and loved it... Added my own twist with a half cup of milk chocolate chips...

Very good and rich chocolate pie dessert. Ingredients are on hand mostly and I loved how creamy this pie is. Will make again.

Tastes best with homemade graham cracker crust: Mix together 1/3 c sugar and 1.5 c mashed up graham crackers (finely ground). Then mix 6 Tablespoons melted butter and press into GREASED pie pan (make sure you grease it really well). Refrigerate for at least an hour before adding pie filling.

This recipe is so simple and delicious! I used it for my first attempt at making a pie and it turned out great. Thanks for the recipe!

This turned out great and didn't last long! Thanks!

Love it love it love it. Always have the ingredients, easy to make, and soooo tasty.

The perfect chocolate chess pie! With chess pie it's important that you follow the order of the ingredients and only mix until blended. You can decrease the sugar in this recipe by 1/4 cup and use heaping spoons of cocoa for a less sweet and more chocolaty pie. If you double the recipe decrease sugar to 2 1/2 cups total.

I took the advice of most reviewers and added extra cocoa, but followed everything else. It was a *huge* hit with the family. I was informed that this was going to replace birthday cake at future parties. Simple vintage recipes are often the best.

Excellent Pie!! Very easy and was wonerful with a scoop of vanilla ice cream :)

I love this pie! It is the best chocolate pie I have ever tasted and is good with whipped topping.

I followed panamabev's directions, which included tempering the eggs, and the finished pie was perfect!

Definately need to let this cool before slicing. It will come out gooey, but it will firm up and oh the end product is SOOOOOOO good. Excellent , delicious, family loved it. My grandaughter said to give it a 100!

VERY EASY TO BAKE....and VERY TASTY!!

I have been looking for this recipe after I had this pie at our favorite buffet style resturant. This is so very good and chocolately! I baked it for 50 mins and the center was still jiggly. The trick to this pie is to let it cool COMPLETELY! It will set after it cools down. It is very good.. This will be a staple on my menu from now on! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!

This recipe doesn't work. I followed the directions and the pie never set. Time to throw it in the ice cream maker and hope it tastes good as ice cream.

I cut the sugar to 1 cup and upped the cocoa to 5 tblsp. Tasted great.

Great if you like chocolate goop.

I had been looking for a recipe for chess pie since I bought one at a bake sale and it was terrible. This recipe is easy and taste fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing!