Chess Squares Recipe | Simple Southern Dessert Recipe (2024)

These easy Chess Squares are a simple and comforting Southern dessert! Flaky and buttery, this sweet treat goes perfectly with tea or coffee.

Chess Squares

When I was in New York a few weeks ago we stopped by one of the most unique bakeries I’ve ever visited, Momof*cku Milk Bar. Noted for their unusual concoctions like cookies made with potato chips, birthday cake truffles, and cereal milk ice cream, I’d been wanting to visit Momof*cku’s and try a slice of their famous Crack Pie since I came across the recipe in the LA Times last year.

The thought did cross my mind that I could actually, you know, make the recipe myself, but one thing kept stopping me. It’s decidedly fussy.

With 22 ingredients (including 8 egg yolks, ugh) and the advertised one-and-a-half hours of labor-intensive preparation, I just kept putting the whole thing off.

When I did finally get the chance to taste it two weeks ago, I immediately flashed back to my college days when my girlfriends and I would flounce around in the kitchen, throwing dinner parties for our boyfriends, and making sinfully sweet treats for church Bible studies. Crack Pie reminded me of one of my old standbys, Chess Squares, an unbelievably indulgent southern dessert staple and one of the first desserts I remember making on my own.

I proclaimed this revelation to my foodie friends (except I was really thinking that chess squares are so much better), but all I received were blank stares. They’d never heard of chess squares. Chalking it up to being a “southern thing”, I knew as soon as I got home I had to share this ridiculously delicious recipe with you guys.

The best part is, chess squares couldn’t be easier to make. Just five simple ingredients here.

If this is looking familiar to you, you’re doing better than I was at this point. More on that in a minute.

How to Make These Classic Chess Squares

You start by mixing a yellow cake mix with melted butter and one egg to form a soft dough .

It was at this point that I started to think myself, Huh. This seems a little familiar.

But I pushed the thought out of my head and carried on.

You then mix a pound of powdered sugar with softened cream cheese and the remaining two eggs to create a decadent gooey filling. No wonder they’re so good!

But… Haven’t I seen this recipe somewhere before… recently?

Oh right. That’s when it dawned on me. It’s almost the exact recipe for…

Gooey Butter Cake.

Doh.

How did I not realize that my beloved chess squares were also masquerading under the famous Paula Deen recipe until… just now?

Doh. Again. I wrestled with myself whether or not I should even post the recipe, scolding myself that you’ve all surely heard of gooey butter cake.

But I ultimately decided that no matter what you call them, this delicious dessert definitely deserves a second look.

From its decadent, chewy crust…

To its rich, gooey filling…

And the flaky, sugary, satisfyingly crispy crust…

To the way it makes your whole house smell so divinely sweet and buttery.

If you’ve never made chess squares or gooey butter cake… Give these a try. You won’t be disappointed.

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Chess Squares Recipe | Simple Southern Dessert Recipe (16)

Chess Squares

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 27 reviews

  • Chess Squares Recipe | Simple Southern Dessert Recipe (17) Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Chess Squares Recipe | Simple Southern Dessert Recipe (18) Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Chess Squares Recipe | Simple Southern Dessert Recipe (19) Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Chess Squares Recipe | Simple Southern Dessert Recipe (20) Yield: About 12 squares 1x
  • Chess Squares Recipe | Simple Southern Dessert Recipe (21) Category: Dessert
  • Chess Squares Recipe | Simple Southern Dessert Recipe (22) Method: Oven
  • Chess Squares Recipe | Simple Southern Dessert Recipe (23) Cuisine: American

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Description

These easy Chess Squares are a simple and comforting Southern dessert! Flaky and buttery, this sweet treat goes perfectly with tea or coffee.

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
  • 4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 and spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray.
  2. Mix cake mix, melted butter and one egg to a soft dough. Press into the bottom of the pan.
  3. Mix powdered sugar, softened cream cheese and remaining two eggs until smooth, about 1-2 mins. Pour on top of crust.
  4. Bake at 300 for 40-50 minutes until top is golden brown.

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Chess Squares Recipe | Simple Southern Dessert Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are chess squares made of? ›

This straightforward recipe uses basic ingredients, most of which you probably have in your pantry, like eggs, softened butter, cream cheese, and confectioners' sugar. These ingredients combine to create a custard-like filling reminiscent of chess pie, yielding a delightfully uncomplicated, soft, gooey-baked treat.

What is the origin of the chess cake? ›

Another story that points to chess pie's English roots says that English cooks combined spoil-prone ingredients like butter and eggs with sugar to keep them from going bad and used that to create a pie that could be kept unrefrigerated in a chest. “Chest” became “chess,” and the rest is pie history.

What are chess squares called? ›

In chess: Characteristics of the game. Chess is played on a board of 64 squares arranged in eight vertical rows called files and eight horizontal rows called ranks. These squares alternate between two colours: one light, such as white, beige, or yellow; and the other dark, such as black or green.

What are old chess sets made of? ›

In the early fifteenth century, boxwood was used as most common substance for making chess pieces. Boxwood is fine close-grained yellow wood obtained from shrub common to Europe and Asia. But in the early eighteenth century, ebony wood was used extensively for making chess sets.

What is lemon chess pie made of? ›

While both are made with butter, sugar, and eggs, chess pie relies on an acid like lemon juice or vinegar to balance the sweetness, and is thickened by cornmeal for a pale yellow color. Buttermilk pie calls on buttermilk for its custardy base, along with all-purpose flour to thicken it.

What is the meaning of chess cake? ›

2 also chess pie cake: A dense, sticky cake or bar cookie made with essentially the same ingredients as 1 above, with the addition of flour and leavening, and sometimes with a cream-cheese topping; hence nouns chess (cake) bar, chess cake square one of the serving pieces into which this cake is typically cut.

Why do you put cornmeal in chess pie? ›

Cornmeal: Along with flour, cornmeal helps thicken up the chess pie's custard. Flour: For thickness and body in the custard. Salt: A little salt balances the pie's sweetness.

What wood are chess pieces made of? ›

Chess pieces can be made from a variety of different types of wood, depending on the manufacturer and the intended use of the set. Some common types of wood that are used to make chess pieces include beech, boxwood, ebony, rosewood, and sheesham.

What are the best chess pieces made of? ›

High-Quality & Hand-Carved

Wood is the traditional material used for chess sets, so there are a multitude to choose from. If you want a straightforward set, look for one with weighted pieces and a good contrast with the board.

Why are chess pieces made of wood? ›

Some chess pieces are made out of wood because it is the cheapest material to use, while other chess pieces are made out of wood because it is the most aesthetically pleasing material to use. However, the best material to use for making chess pieces is determined by the type of chess pieces that are being made.

Why are chess squares black and white? ›

Originally Answered: Why do chess boards have black and white squares? Probably because of the way chessboards were originally built, with two different colors of material so the players could see where the squares were. However, having two colors does provide important benefits.

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