Easy Lemon Chess Pie

Chess pie is as Southern as sweet tea and front porch rocking chairs, and this lemon version might be the best way to meet it for the first time. The filling is barely more than eggs, sugar, melted butter, lemon juice, and a grating of lemon rind, beaten together and poured into an unbaked pie shell.

It bakes into a golden, custardy filling with a thin, crackly sugar crust on top that shatters when you press your fork through it. The lemon keeps it from being cloyingly sweet, adding a bright tartness that balances all that butter and sugar.

Six ingredients, 15 minutes of prep, and a pie that disappears before it fully cools.

Pro Tips

• Beat the eggs until smooth before adding anything else. This prevents streaky bits of unmixed egg in the finished filling.
• Use fresh lemon juice and real zest. Bottled juice works in a pinch, but the zest is what gives this pie its fragrant, citrusy aroma. Don’t skip it.
• Watch carefully in the last few minutes. The top should be golden brown and the center should jiggle slightly, like set custard. Overbaking dries out the filling.

Variations

• Buttermilk chess pie: Replace the lemon juice with ¼ cup of buttermilk and add a teaspoon of vanilla for a more traditional version.
• Lemon lavender: Stir a teaspoon of dried culinary lavender into the filling before baking for a floral, elegant twist.