No one seems to know why it is called “Chess Pie”  but chocolate and cherries -mmmmm good!

Ingredients:

• 2 unbaked 9-inch pie crusts in glass pie pans
• 1 c butter
• 6 ounces dark chocolate
• 3 c sugar
• 2 Tab flour
• 6 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 12 ounce can evaporated milk
• whipped cream
• Dark Cherry Sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Prick holes in pie crust to prevent bubbling.
3. Bake pie crusts for 8 minutes.
4. Remove from oven to rack.
5. Decrease oven temperature to 375 °.
6. In large saucepan on low melt butter and chocolate, stirring occasionally.
7. In medium bowl, combine sugar and flour with wire whisk.
8. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla and evaporated milk.
9. Add a couple of tablespoonfuls of the melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and stir.
10. Add both sugar and egg mixtures to pan of melted chocolate.
11. Stir to combine.
12. Increase heat to medium and stir constantly for 10 minutes. (really, stir constantly or you will have chocolate scrambled eggs.)
13. Evenly divide filling between the 2 pie pans.
14. Bake for 30 minutes. It will be soft.
15. Serve with Dark Cherry Sauce and whipped cream.

Serves: Makes 2 Pies

Source: Carroll Pellegrinelli – about.com

Dark Cherry Sauce

Ingredients:

• ½ c sugar
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 2 pound frozen pitted sweet cherries, defrosted, 6 cups
• ¼ c water
• ½ tsp almond extract

Directions:

1. Combine the cherries and their liquid with sugar, and ½ cup water in a large pan.
2. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat and cook about 3 minutes.
3. Remove the cherries to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
4. Raise the heat to medium-high and boil until the liquid is reduced to approximately ½ cup, about 5 minutes more. Watch – it will boil over!
5. Pour sauce over the cherries.
6. Add almond extract.
7. Let cool to room temperature or chill.

Serves: Makes approximately 5 cups

Source: Laura b. Russell, Recipe Developer and Cookbook Author

Comment: The sauce can be made ahead. Keep it in the refrigerator, covered.