Bill Clinton's favorite pie!!!
I thought that the recipe was really a great one. The only thing is...if you are using a regular (not deep dish) pie crust, this recipe makes two pies. I found this out the hard way. I thought that since it says it only makes one pie that I would double the recipe for two...Right?? Wrong...I ended up with four pies. This is not a bad thing, though. The neighborhood just loved it too!!
Read MoreW-a-y too sweet and custard-y. We almost had to pour it out of the pan it was so loose. Not what I was looking for in a Lemon Chess pie.
Read MoreI thought that the recipe was really a great one. The only thing is...if you are using a regular (not deep dish) pie crust, this recipe makes two pies. I found this out the hard way. I thought that since it says it only makes one pie that I would double the recipe for two...Right?? Wrong...I ended up with four pies. This is not a bad thing, though. The neighborhood just loved it too!!
I have baked professionally for the past seven years and I followed the recipe precisely. It turned out great.
This one deserves 5 stars. Very rich, you only need a small piece. I substituted cream for the milk, and used 1/3 cup instead of 1 cup, for a 9-inch pie. Yummy! One of our favorites now.
This is my favorite pie--AFTER I made these changes: cut the sugar to 1 1/2 cups, cut the milk to 1/2 cup evaporated milk. It is the perfect amount for the pie pan and the thicker batter cooks quicker. Really yummy!!!
I made this pie today, following the recipe exactly. With that said, it is not as bad as some have said. It certainly doesn't deserve 1 star. I thought it had a great lemon taste. I did have some problem with it setting up, but I put it in the frig for an hour or so after baking and cooling and it set up fine. It IS time consuming to grate all of that lemon zest. It probably took 6 lemons to get 3 TBSPNs of zest. My husband did the grating, though! Thanks for the post, we had fun making this (my 3yo patted the pie crust!), thanks for a good family kitchen memory! Note: I used REAL butter in this, not margarine. That may have something to do with people's reviews. I think real butter is needed for this kind of pie. Also, as another sidenote, my husband did not like this pie, and I almost bumped it down a star. But then he rarely likes anything I make, much less desserts, so to be fair I left my 4 star rating.(:
I followed the directions to the "t" and ended up with enough filling for two pies. I used the regular frozen kind, not the deep dish. This isn't a bad thing, because the crusts are sold in 2 packs. I let mine sit in the fridge overnight because I like my pie cold...mmm. It's not fair to give a recipe a bad review if you are the one who changed the ingredients-I wish everyone would remember that!
I made this for my Grandpa who loves lemon pie! He thought it was great but next time maybe a little less sugar. I liked it with the sugar though. THANKYOU FOR THE GREAT RECIPE!
I was craving this pie and came across this recepie and it's awsome! My in-laws's were over for dinner and they absolutely loved it. I have to tell you that I did make a little change. I used 3/4 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup of milk. It was rich and really, really delicious. Try it, you won't be dissapointed.
I've made this twice in the past week. My husband and I both prefer it to lemon meringue pie. I've made pies professionally for quite a few years. This recipe makes a 10 inch pie. There is too much filling for a 9 inch pie. I used 1/2 heavy cream the first time and it was almost too rich and interfered with the tart/sweet lemon flavor. The second time I used 1/2 milk and 1/2 half and half. That is the combination we prefer. I only had 2 lemons, which made about 2 tablespoons of zest and it was plenty. You need to use butter, no substitutes. This pie is meant to be rich and sweet, combined with the unique texture from the cornmeal. Wonderful. Will be my go to lemon pie from now on. I did have to increase the baking time for a bit, but just kept an eye on it. This pie benefits from sitting for a few hours and we like it best cold.
I made this pie today and it was absolutely wonderful. My husband and I agree that it's a "keeper". Based on others' comments, I was concerned with having filling left over so I used a store-bought piecrust (Pillsbury) (found in the dairy case in the long skinny box) and rolled it out bigger so that it would fit in my 10" pyrex pie plate. It ended up being perfect as I had just the right amount of filling. I also used half and half instead of the milk and the next time I will cut the sugar down to 1 1/2 cups. I cooked it for 50 minutes which I think was perfect for the 10" pie and it set up very nicely in the fridge - it cut beautifully!!
I had never made a Chess Pie before, but this one was simple and easy. Everyone just loved it and cannot wait for me to make another one.
W-a-y too sweet and custard-y. We almost had to pour it out of the pan it was so loose. Not what I was looking for in a Lemon Chess pie.
Hello Carolyn, I made your lemon chess pie today. It really turned out wonderful. I had enough filling for 2, 8" pie pans. I was going to save them until tommorrow, but one of them is gone already (wonder who ate all of that?). Thanks, Red
LOVE this pie. I used 1/2 cup of juice and 1 1/4 cup sugar. I think maybe it's regional to want it as sweet as this recipe is. So you might like it as sweet as it's written. I like it a little more tart.
Very good pie. I used the zest of one large lemon and substituted lemon oil and extract for the rest. I used half and half instead of milk for a richer taste and 1/3 cup lemon juice. I know chess pies are meant to be sweet but 2 cups of sugar would have made this pie way too sweet for my taste so I only used 1 1/2 cups and it was perfect. This recipe makes a lot of filling. I used a deep dish pie shell and still had some leftover. Will make again.
I was so excited to make this, but had a few difficulties. I used a 9" deep dish pie crust and still had too much filling. Even after removing 1/4 cup, it still ran over. Also needs to bake longer... 40 minutes in my oven and it was still very liquid. Great flavor, though... the lemon zest makes it wonderful.
I love anything with lemon in it, and this recipe has all the lemon flavor and taste you could ask for. I followed the recipe to a tee the first time, but found it way too sweet, to me. I made it again and cut the sugar in half and it was perfect. It has just the right balance of tart and sweet with a custard-like texture. 5 stars and highly recommended!
It was easy to make and everyone loved it. I would make it again, not to sweet just right. The hardest part was waiting for it to cool.
Don't waste your time ...it's missing some key ingredients that would make it good and it's got too much of what makes it bad (sugar and Bill Clinton's name don't help) ... try Lemon Chess II instead of this one.
This is my first ever chess pie, after having only read about them, and I was glad I tried this as I'm a huge lemon fan. This will not replace my fav, lemon meringue, but for those who enjoy lemony things, this is a delight.
This pie is excellent. Very rich in flavor and so easy to make. Made it for Christmas dinner and it was a big success.
Followed this recipe to the letter and it turned out great! It was ALMOST as good as my grandmother used to make.
Flavor was very good, but the pie had to set overnight, and it was still very loose and custardy. Didn't like the texture at all. I also cut the sugar back 1/2 a cup, as 2 cups of sugar in a pie is too much for me. I only used the zest of 1.5 lemons instead of 3 tb. and that was plenty of lemon flavor. Just giving this 4 stars because of the flavor.
This was excellent! I made this for Christmas Eve and it was fabulous! I followed the recipe exactly, allowing the top of the pie to become golden brown before removing from the oven. The center was not set when it came out of the oven. It sat on the counter cooling for a few hours and then the center was nice and firm. You cannot cut this pie when it comes straight from the oven. It is the perfect dessert after a rich, heavy meal.
Too much milk and egg to be a chess pie, but not enought to be a custard pie. Not my favorite. The in-laws liked it though. One extra star for them.
This was an excellent treat for a large crowd of guys on a warm day. Thank you very much! They loved it warm. They asked for another one so the next day it was cold and they raved! This will be made many times over!
This was excellent! For dietary reasons, I substituted oil for butter and soy milk for the milk and it worked fine. Definetly cut the sugar by at least half a cup, and I think it needs another 1/4 cup of lemon juice to give it a bit more tart flavor. This is great!
This may very well be Clinton's favorite pie, but my gram gave me a recipe from a cook book that belonged to her great grandmother from the early 1800's. Never the less, this is a great and tasty pie!!!
My husband wanted a chess pie and I have never made one. I looked for a good recipe and decided on this one. I followed the recipe exactly. I baked mine for over an hour and had to cover the crust to prevent burning. I took it out of the oven when the middle was set. My husband really enjoyed this. He said it isn't old fashioned chess pie like his grandmother used to make but it was still tasty. It was very lemony, and it helped to cut the pure sugar taste of most chess pies. The only reason I gave 4 stars was due to the cooking time and the consistency of the final product. As you can see in my photo, the filling was still a little loose. The pie was very hard to serve and would fall apart in a few seconds after being put on the plate. Still tasty! Thanks for a great new twist on an old classic!
I've just tried this recipe for the first time, and it's really terrific. Next time I might add a little more lemon zest to push the lemon flavor just a bit. The recipe makes 1 deep-dish or 2 regular pies. It does need some time to set after baking. My 2 pies rested for about 3 hours before being served, and they set beautifully.
This is a great pie. For those of you who said it was too sweet, IT'S A SOUTHERN PIE! It's SUPPOSED to be sweet! :-)
So easy and delicious. This makes the perfect lemon chess pie. I did allow it to bake for an extra 15 minutes or so until it set completely, and then put it in the refrigerator until it was completely cool. Will definitely make over and over again.
I made this for Mothers Day and it turned out lovely. I bought 2 frozen pie crusts, not deep dish! I took the suggestion and used half & half instead of milk and used 1/2 cup of lemon juice instead of 1/4. I took the lazy way out and rather than zest lemons I bought lemon peel from the spice isle, I didn't have a lot of time since I had to bake it Saturday after work. I used splenda instead of sugar. Let it cook and then in the fridge overnight and took it to my mother-in-law for dinner. Everyone loved it and it cut beautifully. Since I did 2 pies it only took 35 minutes in the oven. I'll be sure and make this again!
Last night, I made this and another dessert for a church luncheon and if I had known how good this pie was going to turn out, I would have made two of these instead. This is a rich dessert with a pleasant lemon flavor that's not tart or overpowering. This pie would be perfect served with fresh mixed berries on the side.
This reminded me of a Domino's pizza - it looked so delicious but the taste was very bland and disappointing. Somehow the whole was much less than the sum of the parts - real butter, eggs, milk, real lemon juice, sugar and homemade piecrust should have been wonderful, and they just weren't. To me the only point of dessert is to taste great, and this pie just didn't make the cut. As other reviewers noted, there was not enough lemon flavor from 1/4 c. lemon juice, the recipe makes a lot of filling (completely filling a homemade 9" piecrust with tall crimped edges), and it takes about twice the recommended time to cook.
Made this for Easter and it was awesome. I read some other reviews and made a few changes and everyone is right! This is an awesome pie. Creamy, light and just the right amount of lemon flavor and sweetness. Definitely going to make this again!
Very yummy! I cut the sugar down to 1-1/4 cup, that was still a little too sweet for my tastes. I had a nice "custardy" texture. I also mad a fresh lemon whipped cream to serve with it. Also, it makes 1-9" deep dish pie.
Followed recipe exactly. We did not care for this at all and will not make it again.
Made it the night before and had it the night after. I may not be a professional baker, but my taste buds are as professional as anyone elses. Nice job Carolyn and thanks!
Perfect! My office raved! Top seemed a bit overly browned, but seemed to provide an almost-caramel-crispy topping. Fabulous lemon flavor!
Yummy!! Instead of a pie crust I decided to use tart shells. They were amazingly delicious. Also, I went with heavy cream 3/4 cup and 1/4 (reg)milk. Thanks for the recipe.
Good, not stellar- I used a 9 inch deep dish and all the filling and it didn't overflow at all, the pie was nice and thick. Cooked until just the middle shook a little and took it out to cool.
I made this recipe for the first time last Thanksgiving, and it was such a hit that it will certainly be a tradition from now on! My only change was to reduce the amount of lemon zest to 2 tablespoons. Move over lemon meringue!
I made this pie today on Election Day & it was easy & turned out perfect. I used a roll out Pillsbury crust in a 9 inch pie plate & cooked at 350 for 45 minutes,and it was very delicious. I used only one cup sugar (by accident but it tasted great!)& 1/2 cup of lemon (because we like it tart),real butter,& fat free milk. Great easy recipe! Thanks for sharing! (and we LOVE Bill Clinton!!) ; )
This pie was very simple to make, set up well, and cuts nicely. But it had very little lemon taste and was a bit too sweet for my taste. (I did cut the sugar by 1/2 cup.) For curiosity's sake, I looked up "chess pie," and found it has NO connection to chess, but may have developed from a cheese tart. Or, when someone asked, "Hey, what kind of pie is this?" the answer was, "It's just pie," which became "jus' pie" and finally corrupted to "chess pie." In my opinion it's OK, but it's just pie, not really a spectacular lemon pie.
I can't count how many times I've made this pie for various dinners & family, outings, and it's ALWAYS come out perfect! But I do cut down the amount of sugar by half a cup. (It doesn't need to be THAT sweet)
This pie is delicious! I increase the lemon juice to 1/3 or 1/2 cup because I like a more lemony flavor. Someone reviewed this recipe recently saying it was kinda dry. The person must have messed up the recipe because I've made this many, many times and it has NEVER been anywhere close to dry. The pie filling part remains pretty gelatinous.
It took 50 minutes to bake to get center set, but the taste is lemony without being in your face, and sweet without being overly so. A little tweaking next time with time and a half-recipe, and we'll be in 5-star territory. Easy and delicious.
I had been looking for a recipe for chess pie for years and when I came across this one I figured to give a try. It was a nice twist from the basic chess pie I tried in the past. It is a winner!
This was just okay for us. I decided to make this as written and although the flavor wasn't bad (other than being way sweet)the texture was really strange. It's not really like a custard but rather mushy. After reading other reviews, i had 2 crusts ready to go and didn't have nearly enough filling for both. One deep dish pie would have been perfect. I probably will not make this again. Sorry Bill!
Made it for dessert for a quick get together, it was easy and turned out great!
This pie was very good. I read the reviews and someone said it made two pies. Not for my nine inch shell. I tried it in two shells, not enough in either, so i poured one into the other, thus the entire recipe and made one pie in a nine inch shell. I baked it ten minutes more, tested it with a knife, that came out clean and it came out the perfect texture. Just the right amount of sweet and tart. Everyone liked it at the Thanksgiving dinner.
After a very busy day & trying to teach my daughter Abigail to make pies. I had some leftover pie crust & decided to whip this up. Much to my dismay after it completed cooking I discovered I completely forgot the milk! :/ It was delicious even though it lacked the ingredient for making it a custard!
Very nice lemon flavor. We gave it five stars. Need a large 9 inch pie shell or can make two smaller pies (reducing cooking time). I will be making this again. Thaks for posting.
I took previous advice and upped the lemon juice to 1/2 cup and made TWO 9" pies (I used frozen store-bought crusts). This was delicious and cooling! I took these to work and got a lot of compliments. Chess pie is not common here in Missouri, but had quite a few co-workers enjoy them. It may have been the crusts I used, but the longer-than-normal baking times did something magical to the crusts, they tasted more like shortbread. Yum!
Very, very good and lemony. We brought this to a "pie party" with 2 other pies and everyone loved it. Didn't change anything.
Very lemony pie. I made it for Thanksgiving, and it was the first dessert to go. Be careful of the cooking time. My pie was still jiggly at 40 minutes, so I left it for 4 more minutes. It was over baked and cracked deeply when it cooled. Still great, though.
Did what another suggested: instead of one pie, replace milk with half and half and increase lemon juice to 1/2 cup - used lemon zest of 2 large lemons. EXCELLENT ! Smooth, creamy, just excellent. THANK YOU
This is the easiest and most delicious pie I have made. I have a 10-inch pie plate and I used it to make this recipe and I orignally thought it might come out to "thin" no way it was perfect. I took it to church for a luncheon and it was a big hit!
This pie is very sweet. My husband loved it. The texture is great and it set up very well. I doubled the recipe and made three pies. I prefer the Creamy Lemon Pie made with Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed milk but my hubby preferred this one.
It was not a hit with my family at all for the Thanksgiving holidays. Very disappointing; my daughter Love "Lemon Chess Pie" and she was not happy at all. She told me not to try a this reciepe again, just stick with the family one that I usually make. I'm not a fan but it was awful.
Amazing, amazing, amazing. I made this for Thanksgiving and received rave reviews. Like some of the other reviews noted...this recipe makes one DEEP DISH pie perfectly! If using regular size pie shells, plan on making either two pies or having left over filling.
This was a great surprise. It looked strange as it was mixed, did not look smooth at all. I did not think it will be successful. Much to my happy surprise, it was amazing. I used 1 cup of sugar only and 3/4 milk, and added 1/4 extra lemon like someone else suggested. I had the perfect amount for a deep dish pie. It was delicious, will make again for sure.
This was good - definitely needs to sit for a while before eating. I thought it needed to be more lemony but others were fine with it.
Yep, made it several times and used buttermilk in lieu of the milk or 1/2 buttermilk and 1/2 half'n'half. Pretty creamy stuff. Used 1/2 teaspoon intense natural lemon extract with the zest. All these little changes are fine. Only commnent otherwise is the oven setting may be too high and the time too short. I moved it back to 300F and let it cook 20 min longer and it really set up. At 350F and 40minutes it didn't set up in the center. Also when you lower an oven setting and increase the cook time, more H2O evaporates and that contributes to the custard to set easily. But not an issue really.
WOW This is a great pie. This was the first pie I have ever made and it was very easy and so tastey. I also needed 2 pie shells. Sooooo good!
Good pie! If you are using a regular 9 inch pie crust, take note of JANET BURGIN's review warning that this recipe makes enough filling for 2 crusts. If I were to make this again, I would probably use half and half instead of milk, and use more lemon zest. Other than that, this was pretty good! Thanks, Carolyn!
Wow!! This was wonderful! My tweeks were, only had about 1 1/2 tbsp of lemon zest and had a little over 1/4 cup of lemon juice from 4 small lemons. I did have to cook it about 55 minutes before the knife came out clean but the only downfall with that is we had to wait longer! A+++++++++
I love this pie, made a few times. I would describe it as lemon curd pie, those scone lovers out there...you know what that means! Taste better the second day. If you want a real lemony flavor, less sugar, by about half and meyer lemons. Wow! Great!
I made this on Sunday....had to give it a try. Had a piece Sunday night and thought it was just ok. But after sitting in the fridge overnite it ws much better! Thanks for the great recipe.
I made this for a Pi Day celebration (March 14!) and it was a huge hit. I had never made a custard pie before and this one came out great. As others have mentioned, it does make more than 1 pie (I used two store bought deep-dish Mrs. Smith's) so be preparred.
I have made this pie for the second time today. I am glad I read the reviews before making it the first time. I used my French White Quiche dish (10inch X 3inch) and it is PERFECT fit for the entire recipe. I love anything lemon. I loved my grandmother's Chess Pie. A total winner~! I serve it with 'real' whipped cream and sliced strawberries and a spring of mint. A crowd pleaser~! Thanks~! I do have to increase the baking time by about 10 to 12 minutes. No problem in setting-up and it comes out the same color as the picture used in this recipe.
I have tried several different lemon chess pie recipes until I found this one. My family and friends love this pie. This Thanksgiving I made 2 of them and they were gone while there were leftovers of the rest of the pies.
This was absolutely wonderful. It deserves more than a mere 5 stars. Made it exactly as stated in the recipe and it was great. I did use a 9" deep-dish shell though since most reviewers seemed to think there was too much batter for a regular 9" crust. For those who think it's too sweet, it's a chess pie...it's SUPPOSED to be sweet. After all, the main ingredients in a chess pie are lots of sugar and lots of eggs. For those reviewers who had problems with the recipe, all I can say is "learn how to follow directions".
I made this pie a few months ago and it was delicious. My father-in-law called today to request it for Thanksgiving!!
Loved it just like it is. I hate it when someone takes a recipe and changes everything in it.
This was very good! I took the advice of other reviews by increasing the lemon juice to 1/2 cup. It tasted great--not too tart and not too sweet; the flavor of the lemon really shined. My only caveat is that my pie did not look nearly as "pretty" as the display picture. Instead of a smooth custard, mine appeared grainy, even though it did cut cleanly. Perhaps I didn't mix it enough. All said, 5 stars for my new go-to lemon pie.
I am not a baker this recipe is Outstanding!I don't know why some are cutting the sugar.It is called dessert.I followed the recipe exactly came out great.The way to test for doneness shake the tray the pie is on loose but the center moves the same.Perfectly browned.My wife said don't change a thing.
My crust came out soggy a litte soggy in spots, but thats my fault. I did not know that I need to bake the crust a few minutes before putting in the filling. Also I think it is because the butter content of the filling. I will make again but I think I will, cut down the butter and use cream the next time I make this pie.
Yes this is a awesome chess pie. I double up on the lemon flavor and before cooling in the refrigerator I put a little more lemon juice on top of the pie to settle in more flavor.
This is the best recipe!!I give it 5 gold stars!! I would say, just make sure that you use fresh lemons for the lemon zest and use EXACTLY 1/4 cup of the fresh squeezed lemon juice!(no more or less!) I used a store bought Deep Dish pie shell and this pie turned out great, (which was nice considering I made it for company!).This pie is delicious and quick and easy too make!! A pie recipe (originating in the South) its a wonderful custardy ,lemony pie that has the right balance of sweet & tart! When I make this pie,this is always the recipe I use! 2 Enthusiastic Thumbs Up! TRY IT ~ YOU'LL LIKE IT!!
This was pretty good. If I could add a half star I would. If I make this again I'll use cream instead of milk as another reviewer suggested, and reduce the amount of sugar a bit.
This recipe is wonderful. I did modify it as follows: Added 1/2 cup of lemon juice instead of 1/4, and reduced milk to 1/3 cup. In addition I added a teaspoon of lemon juice and 1/3 cup of sour cream. I baked in a wide, deep-dish pie shell and the amount of pie filling was perfect.
I added more corn meal 3tsp and more fresh lemon juice. I cooked my pies at a lower temperature and cooked them longer. Perfect pies but I didn't get a chance to take pictures
