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    Home » Recipes » Dessert Recipes

    Pi Day: Bill Clinton's Lemon Chess Pie

    Published: Mar 14, 2013 · Modified: Jul 3, 2023 by Ashley

    This post may contain affiliate links, which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

    Pi Day: Bill Clinton’s Lemon Chess Pie

    For some reason, I got it in my head that this year for Pi Day (not to be confused with National Pie Day), I wanted to make a pie and I wanted to make a pi symbol out of powdered sugar on top of it.

    I haven't done anything quite like that before, but it looked pretty cool in my head, so I set out to find a new pie recipe that looked like it would be relatively flat enough on top to look nice with that type of decoration.

    Pi Day: Bill Clinton’s Lemon Chess Pie

    Enter this Lemon Chess Pie. I had heard of chess pies before, but didn't really know what they were. Basically, it's a custard pie that has cornmeal added to the filling.

    It turned out really well! One of my very favorite pies (and probably the one I've baked the most often) is a Rhubarb Custard Pie, but I don't recall making any other custard pies, so this was a nice treat.

    This pie is silky and tangy and a really nice after-dinner treat. Be sure to bake it in either one deep dish pie crust or 2 standard ones, as it makes a LOT of filling.

    I used a storebought deep dish pie crust and I still had a little filling leftover.

    Pi Day: Bill Clinton’s Lemon Chess Pie

    Bill Clinton's Lemon Chess Pie
    Allrecipes.com

    "Bill Clinton's favorite pie!!!" — Carolyn

    Original recipe makes 1 - 9 inch pie

    1 (9 inch) pie shell
    2 cups white sugar
    ½ cup butter, softened
    5 eggs, beaten
    1 cup milk
    1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
    1 tablespoon cornmeal
    ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
    3 tablespoons lemon zest

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

    In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar and butter or margarine until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and milk. Add flour, cornmeal, lemon juice, and lemon rind. Mix until smooth. Pour mixture into pastry shell.

    Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until set in center.

    Big Flavors Rating: 5 Stars

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Deborah

      March 15, 2013 at 2:13 am

      I wish I would have made a pie for pi day, but now I can make this one - looks great!!

      Reply
    2. Joanne

      March 16, 2013 at 9:38 am

      I didn't get a chance to make a pie for pi day either and I am totally regretting it! This looks and sounds awesome. I've always wanted to make a chess pie.

      Reply
    3. Ashley

      March 17, 2013 at 12:23 pm

      It's even better the next day, cold, straight out of the fridge. Yum!

      Reply

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