buttermilk chess pie

There is something indescribably wonderful about watching my 18-year-old son bake a buttermilk chess pie. As the smell of this delicacy wafts through my house, I recall all the times I stood in my maternal grandmother's kitchen and helped her prepare this sugary treat. It simply doesn't seem like Thanksgiving to me if I can't have a slice of Granda's chess pie and a double-helping of her cornbread dressing. Although Lucille Baker passed away when I was a teenager, her recipes are now being used by a fourth generation to carry on a tasty family tradition. This recipe even garnered me a blue ribbon when I entered it in the Tennessee State Fair in 2005. Enjoy!

Granda's Buttermilk Chess Pie

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 stick of margarine (softened)

1 Tablespoon cornmeal

1 Tablespoon flour

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 frozen pie crust

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cream sugar, margarine, cornmeal and flour. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add buttermilk and vanilla, mixing until well blended. Pour into pie crust and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.