The Cook’s Corner: A Column from Local Kitchens
By The Kitchen Correspondent
Welcome to The Cook’s Corner, where seasonal recipes and everyday favorites are shared from kitchens across our community. Each week, we feature a dish we love- bringing the stories, traditions, and people that make our local food scene so special to the table. Enjoy!
A Slice of Chocolate Chess Pie
Every family has that one dessert you can count on showing up. In ours, it was chocolate chess pie.
My aunt brought one to every single holiday and family gathering when I was growing up. And I mean every one. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, random Sunday lunches - if we were all together, that pie was there. She always picked it up from a little bakery in Georgia, carried in a simple white box that didn’t look like much. But we all knew what was inside.
It was probably one of my favorite desserts back then and not much has changed because it still is.
Chocolate chess pie is not layered or decorated or trendy. It’s rich, sweet, and a little messy when you cut into it. The top forms that thin, crackly layer while it bakes, and underneath is a dense, fudgy filling that’s somewhere between brownie and custard.
What I remember most is how fast it disappeared. Someone would cut small slices at first, pretending to be polite. Then someone would go back for a bigger piece. By the end of the meal, there were usually just a few crumbs left on the pie tin.
And right beside it? My grandmother’s extra-large tub of Cool Whip. She never bought the small one. It was always the biggest size available, lid popped off and set on the counter with a serving spoon stuck straight down in the middle. Everyone added a big dollop. I’m sure vanilla ice cream would be just as good- maybe even better- but in my mind, chocolate chess pie is meant to be eaten with a spoonful of cold store-bought Cool Whip right on top.
For years, I thought of it as something that only came from that bakery in Georgia. But the truth is, it’s a straightforward, classic Southern pie that’s easy to make at home.
Here’s the version I use now.
Chocolate Chess Pie
Ingredients:
• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) melted butter
• ½ cup evaporated milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, cornmeal, flour and salt. Stir in melted butter and evaporated milk until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Pour the filling into the pie crust. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the center is mostly set with just a slight jiggle. The top will form a thin crust as it cools.
Let the pie cool completely before slicing.
These days I make it in a regular grocery store crust and serve it straight from the pie plate with the same Cool Whip on top. It’s not from a Georgia bakery, and it doesn’t come in a white box — but it tastes close enough to bring it all back.
And if it disappears before the next morning? Well, that’s usually how you know you did it right.
Have a recipe worth sharing? The Cook’s Corner welcomes submissions from home cooks, local residents, chefs, and restaurants throughout our community. Selected contributors may be contacted for a brief interview so we can share the story behind the dish. To submit a recipe or inquire about a collaboration, email thekitchencorrespondent87@gmail.com.
