Southern Chess Pie and Pecan Pie

My southern husband's two most favorite pies are: pecan and chess. I'll agree that pecan pie has always been one of my favorites as well, but being a "yankee", I had never heard of a chess pie until I met my husband. His Aunt Mary sent me her chess pie recipe shortly after Michael and I were married, and I was amazed the first time I made it. It was SO good. Now it's a staple dessert at our Thanksgiving meal every year, along with a pecan pie.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Aunt Mary's Chess Pie

1- 9 inch unbaked pie crust (homemade or store bought)
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 T cornmeal
2 eggs
4 T milk (whole or 2 %)
1 T white vinegar
1 T vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a pie plate with the unbaked pie crust.
Whisk together the butter, sugar, cornmeal, eggs, milk, vinegar and vanilla. Pour into the unbaked pie crust. Bake for 35-40 minutes until set. Cool completely and then serve with homemade whipped cream! Enjoy!

Southern Pecan Pie

(adapted from a recipe by Guy Fieri)

1- 9 inch unbaked pie crust (homemade or store bought)

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

5 T unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

3 large eggs

2 cups toasted pecans, chopped*

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a pie plate with the unbaked pie crust, flute the edges.

In a large bowl, whisk together the corn syrup, brown sugar, salt, butter and vanilla.

In a small, separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Then whisk the eggs into the sugar mixture.

Fold the chopped, toasted pecans in to the egg mixture.

(* I highly recommend toasting the pecans for the best flavor, but it's optional. Here's how to toast the pecans: For every 1 cup of pecan halves: melt 1 T butter in a saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the pecans and toss to coat. Spread pecans onto a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes, until fragrant. Remove from oven and let cool. )

Pour pecan mixture into pie crust. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is set. Let cool completely (or overnight) before slicing. Serve with homemade whipped cream! Enjoy!