Anne Byrn's Nashville Chess Tartlets

Cornmeal and apple cider vinegar make this Middle Tennessee chess pie different from that in other parts of the South.

Rinne Allen

Found in farm journals and church cookbooks, chess pie recipes were the easy, everyday pies baked by people who did their own baking. They needed no fresh fruit or refrigeration, and that was fortuitous, because before the 1930s, home refrigerators as we know them didn’t exist. Having spent a lifetime baking chess pie and eating other people’s variations on chess pie, I can confidently say this recipe is the best. What makes Middle Tennessee chess pie different from that in other parts of the South is the cornmeal and apple cider vinegar. I grew up with little chess tarts at summer barbecues, packed in box lunches, and on the table at holiday parties. Because those premade tartlet shells aren’t so easy to find anymore, I make my own by cutting a piecrust into rounds, pressing them into muffin pans, then filling and baking. So good! —Anne Byrn

Nashville Chess Tartlets

Makes 18 tartlets

Prep: 40 to 45 minutes

Bake: 12 to 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 (9-inch) piecrust rolled to a 12-inch diameter
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon white cornmeal
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons whole milk or buttermilk

"Baking in the American South" by Anne Byrn includes 200 recipes and more than 150 photos from 14 states.

Rinne Allen/Harper Celebrate

Bake With Anne

Byrn shared three recipes from 'Baking in the American South' with AARP members:

Nashville Chess Tartlets

This smaller version is great for summer barbecues, packed in box lunches, and on the table at holiday parties.

My Grandmother’s Virginia Spoonbread

One bite, and you will see why cooks have revered it and why historians have waxed poetic about it.

Ella Beesley’s Refrigerator Rolls

These are the Southern version of Parker House rolls — light as a feather and yet wickedly rich.

Directions

Heat the oven to 425° Fahrenheit, with a rack in the lower middle.

Cut the piecrust into 12 (2¾ to 3-inch) rounds, and reroll the dough to cut 6 more rounds. Press each round into the bottom of a shallow muffin pan, prick with a fork a few times in the bottom, and place in the fridge while you make the filling.

Place the butter in a small saucepan over low heat until it has melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Place both sugars in a large mixing bowl and pour in the melted butter. Stir with a wooden spoon until creamy and combined, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, cornmeal, flour, vinegar, salt, and milk or buttermilk. Mix until well combined, 1 minute more.

Remove the muffin pans from the refrigerator. Spoon about 1½ tablespoons filling into each tartlet crust, and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Leave in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a small, thin metal spatula around the edges and carefully lift the tartlets out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To bake a whole pie: Pour the filling in a 9-inch pie crust and bake at 425F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and bake until golden and set, 25 to 30 minutes more.