Turtle Chess Pie

Top off a chocolaty chess pie with a salted caramel-pecan mixture to pay tribute to turtle candies.

Southern Living Turtle Chess Pie in the pie plate to serve
Photo:

Greg DuPree; Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling; Prop Stylist: Missie Neville Crawford

Active Time:
15 mins
Cool Time:
1 hr 30 mins
Total Time:
2 hrs 20 mins
Yield:
1 (9-inch) pie

Caramel, chocolate, and pecans are never a bad combination, especially when it comes to pie. Although a classic chocolate chess pie is delicious on its own, you can easily impress guests with this turtle candy inspired version. It has a two-ingredient, stir-together topping that while effortless, makes it feel a little extra special. As for the filling, it's a flexible formula; we leave it up to you as to whether you use flour or cornmeal for the binder. Both will work, but the latter adds a bit more texture.

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Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter

  • 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar

  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature

  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract

  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

  • 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour or fine yellow cornmeal

  • 1 frozen piecrust (such as Marie Callender’s), parbaked according to pkg. instructions

  • 6 Tbsp. jarred salted caramel sauce

  • 4 Tbsp. pecan pieces

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter and chocolate chips in a large microwavable bowl on HIGH in 30-second intervals, stopping to stir between each, about 1 minute total.

  2. Whisk brown sugar into chocolate mixture. Whisk in eggs, 1 at a time, until fully incorporated.

  3. Stir whipping cream, orange zest, and salt into chocolate mixture. Sift in cocoa and flour (or cornmeal, if you prefer a little more texture); whisk just until combined. Pour mixture into parbaked piecrust; bake in preheated oven until center is puffed but still jiggles slightly, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing, about 1 hour, 30 minutes. Stir together salted caramel sauce and pecan pieces in a small bowl. Spoon over pie just before serving.

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