Blueberry Chess Pie

Having not grown up in the South, I had never heard of a "chess pie".

Leafing thru the new issue of Bon Appetit magazine, I came across a beautiful looking thing called a Blueberry Chess Pie.
I did some research and found many recipes for this Southern "pie".

I liked the look of this so called chess thing......but most of the Southern recipes used a ton of sugar (like 2 plus cups!), but this one only used 1 cup, not too bad.......so I decided to give it a go.

If you are not familiar, this dessert has a custard like consistency, not a fruit pie at all.
You can probably make it without a crust, but why not make a nice crust so you can call it a pie.

A little cakey, a little piey (not a word), and a little custardy.

The verdict: LOVED.

The perfect vehicle to show off my NJ blueberries.

I changed a few things around, because there was just too much batter for a 9" pie. You can click on the link for the original recipe, or stick with me, I wouldn't steer you wrong.

Blueberry Chess Pie: (adapted from Bon Appetit)

pie crust recipe for a 9" pie.

Filling:

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp of flour
2 tbsp cornmeal plus a teaspoon
1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
zest of an orange
pinch of salt
1 tbsp vanilla
4 eggs
8 tbsp (1/2 cup) butter

1 cup of buttermilk (I used 1 cup 2% milk mixed w/ a tbsp of vinegar)
2 cups blueberries

The recipe wants you to pre-bake your pie shell at 350F, however, the recipe I use does not require pre-baking. I just fill it and bake.
Make your favorite pie crust recipe or you can use store bought if you like, I won't tell.

Turn the oven down to 325F.

Mix the flour, cornmeal, zest, sugar and salt in a large bowl.

Mix the softened butter and the vanilla into the bowl with a mixer and add in the eggs, one at a time.

Add in the buttermilk at the end. It's ok if the batter is sort of broken.
Carefully, mix in the blueberries with a spatula and pour the batter into the prepared pie shell.

Bake 50 minutes at 325F until top is golden, and center is just set (still has a little jiggle).

Let cool an hour before slicing.

We loved this warm the best, but also delicious cold and firm from the fridge the next day (I could eat it any old way).

We have a winner.