Famous Kentucky Horse Race Chocolate Walnut Pie Recipe

Different cities, states and regions have signature dishes. In many cases it is because of a local natural resource (Maine lobster, Cajun Crawfish) or an import of culture from another area (pierogi in Cleveland from the Eastern European immigrants). Others were just created there and have survived.

One signature dish of Louisville, Kentucky, is Derby Pie®. Created by Walter and Leaudra Kern, and currently owned by Kern’s Kitchen, the pie is a delicious concoction of chocolate, walnuts and sugar in a tasty crust. For many years others have tried to replicate the recipe and call their recipe Derby Pie®. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, there is one, and only one Derby Pie®.

Over the years, Kern’s Kitchens have fought aggressively to protect the name Derby Pie®. If you called a recipe Derby Pie® and posted it anywhere, you could expect to receive a nice little letter from some lawyers to stop calling your recipe Derby Pie®. While the recipe below has some similarities to Derby Pie®, there is no way I would call it anything like Derby Pie®, so instead of referring it to Derbyish Pie or Not-Derby Pie®, I’ve chosen to rename the recipe: Famous Kentucky Horse Race Chocolate Walnut Pie. It is about time the Breeder’s Cup® had a dessert.

This pie was great. Chocolatety, crunchy and gooey.

It wouldn’t be a recipe from Kentucky if there wasn’t bourbon in it.

Making the batter. Note my Littedeer paddle!

In the crust.

That is a fine looking pie!

I’m ready for horse racing season.

Famous Kentucky Horse Race Chocolate Walnut Pie Recipe

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 tablespoons Kentucky bourbon
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 ready-made piecrust

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs and butter; mix to combine. Stir in the bourbon, walnuts, chocolate chips, vanilla, and salt. Pour the mixture into the unbaked piecrust. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

* Note: If you ever include a similar recipe in a cookbook, you can’t legally call it a “Derby Pie” recipe. The name “Derby Pie” is trademarked, and the owners of the name are very aggressive protecting the name “Derby Pie.”

Source: http://americanfood.about.com/od/desserts/r/chocwalnutpie.htm

® Derby Pie is a registered trademark of Kern’s Kitchen.