Chess pie is the pie baker's pie because it's not as spectacular as your apple and cherry pies or lemon meringue or coconut. It's mostly butter and eggs with some flavoring like lemon, simple but good; a custard pie without milk.

Today I made a chocolate chess pie from an inherited recipe card that came From the Kitchen of Jean Miller, who probably lived in the Decatur, Illinois area in the 1950s and 1960s. Written on the back of the card: "This is a popular dessert here. It is good freshly made and also freezes well."

Chocolate Chess Pie

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 tablespoon flour
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 9 inch unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the sugar, cocoa, flour, and eggs well. Add the milk and vanilla, stir until combined. Mix in the melted butter and bake in the pie crust for 35 - 45 minutes or until still a little jiggly but not runny.

You could try topping this with whipped cream, but it doesn't need it if you don't have any on hand.

Here's my favorite chess pie recipe. The raspberries give it the right touch of tartness.

Raspberry Chess Pie

10 inch pie shell, unbaked
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of salt
3 large eggs
1 quart berries (blackberries, raspberries, loganberries, or boysenberries), fresh or frozen

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and honey. Blend in the flour. Add the nutmeg, salt, and eggs and blend thoroughly. Now add the berries and stir through the butter mixture carefully to prevent breaking the berries. Pour into the pie shell and bake in a 450 degree oven for 12 minutes. Stir the filling to distribute the berries. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake 20 to 25 minutes longer, or until the pie tests done halfway from the edge.

Tomorrow I'm making this onion pie from Country Living magazine because I have a lot of them to use up. Three pounds of onions!

Onion Pie

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound medium-size white onions, cut into wedges
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 pounds yellow onion, sliced
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion wedges and cook, stirring gently to keep wedges intact, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion wedges to a bowl. Add butter and onion slices, and sauté 5 minutes or just until wilted. Stir in thyme, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook onions 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees. Line pie crust with a sheet of foil and fill with uncooked dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake crust 5 minutes longer. While crust is baking, stir flour into cooked onion slices until well mixed. Stir in water and cook onion mixture until thickened. Remove from heat. Spoon onion mixture into partially baked pie crust. Sprinkle with half of the Parmesan. Top with onion wedges and remaining cheese. Bake onion pie 35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown, and onions are browned on top. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.