Skip to main content

Chess Squares, Nieman Marcus Bars, Paula Deen and Gooey Butter Cake....The real origin

Kevin & Amanda's Chess Squares
So, I saw this recipe on Pinterest a few weeks ago and thought, hmmm.  I need to try this! With my daughter's open heart surgery, starting my final year of school and then a few major work projects, the blog got lost in the shuffle for a bit. 

Last week however, I started on a cooking binge and the first thing on the clip board to try were these chess squares.  I read the blog that posted the recipe and realized they were reminiscent to her of another recipe.  I thought they sounded (and looked) like something I used to have at my grandmas.  So the sleuth in me kicked in, and a hunting I went, trying to find the progression on the variations of  this recipe and ultimately, the origins.

Nieman Marcus Buttermilk Pie
Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake
Searching for "Chess Squares" took me to Nieman Marcus Bars, which led me to the Nieman Marcus Website and their Butter Cake.

I then found the Paula Deen "Gooey Butter Cake recipe" - which is no different than all the other recipes for Chess Squares out there, but she called it Butter Cake - so then I went on the Butter Cake search.

That led me to a blog that described what this particular writer thought to be the origin - A German Bakery mistake in St. Louis.


 Yes, St. Louis claims to have been place of origin for the Gooey Butter Cake, the mistake of some German-American Baker. But lets get picky here.

Traditional English Chess Pie
The more I researched, the more I realized that what we now call as Chess Squares really is an amalgamation of German Butter Cake and the English Chess Pie - or cheese pie.

Original St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
Gooey Butter Cake (I live in MO, so give me some credit here) and Chess Pie are different.  Yes, they are both Gooey - but the real, original Gooey Butter Cake (not Paula's concoction) does NOT contain Cream Cheese.   That cheese/custard filling that is very distinctly a part of Chess Squares really comes  from the Chess Pie origins, that Cheese pie/Curd that is distinctly British. 

So to break it down:

Chess Squares have evolved from Chess Pie.

Nieman Marcus Bars or another name for Chess Squares got their name more than likely from it's
Buttermilk Pie.

Paula Deans Gooey Butter Cake are Chess Squares/Pie and NOT Missouri's Gooey Butter Cake.

The real Gooey Butter Cake has evolved from Butterkuchen or German Butter Cake and is more like a pound cake.


Have we got this all cleared up now? 


What we do know - They ALL are really yummy!  The batch I made - disappeared in less than 10 minutes!

We have provided the easy recipe below, just for your library!

EASY CHESS SQUARES:

My version of Chess Squares
1 box yellow butter cake mix
3 eggs
8 oz of cream cheese, softened

1/2 c (1 stick) butter, melted
4 c Powdered Sugar - sifted

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 cake pan (I prefer a glass pan for this recipe).  Mix cake mix, melted butter and 1 egg.  It will form a soft dough.  Press the dough into the prepared pan.

Mix the sifted powdered sugar (this will make for a very smooth custard), softened cream cheese (make sure it is plenty soft) and 2 eggs until smooth and creamy.

Pour the sugar/egg/cream cheese mix on top of the cake dough mix.   Bake at 300 degrees for 40-50 minutes.   The mix will be light and bubbly.  Do not overcook.  You want a creamy gooey center!


PRINTABLE CHESS SQUARES RECIPE

Comments

  1. The program includes healthy ingredients that will fully cleanse your body within 7 days. This THC detox kit includes permanent cleansing capsules that should be taken alongside plenty of water. Overall, Pass USA offers a wide variety of detox products, including a THC detox kit, detox mouthwash, synthetic pee, clarifying shampoo, detox tea, and more. It’s a one-stop shop for detoxification, and ultimately passing drug tests. As mentioned earlier, we recommend their detox drinks and total body drug test kit. Both are high-quality products that will help with drug testing purposes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Our hair is one of the most visible deposits because the blood that allows our hair to grow is the same blood that transports medicines throughout our bodies. When a hair follicle test is performed, a few hundred hairs are snipped and removed to see if you’ve been using drugs in the last 90 days. To pass a drug test, the drug metabolites in the hair must be below the cut-off values. The most efficient detox hair shampoo nowadays is the Aloe Toxin Rid shampoo. It works by removing toxins from the roots of your hair strands with each wash. Unlike conventional shampoos, which only clean the surface of your hair and scalp, Old Style Aloe Toxin Rid shampoo penetrates deep into the hair follicles, removing toxins such as THC, and can help you pass a drug test by cleansing your hair of any signs of substances like cannabis.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chocolate Chip Reeses or Rollos Brownie thingys?

I have no idea what to call these, but oh my goodness are they easy and good.  This recipe comes to you via Pinterest.  I tried to trace it all the way back to its originator, but failed.  It just kept going.   So, I do not claim these as mine - although I have tweaked them and will try something new this weekend.   As the picture indicates, these were done with premade cookie dough, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and box brownie mix.  Thats the "easy" no frill recipe.   Here it is: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray the insides of a square all edges brownie pan with Pam spray.   Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of premade cookie dough and press into the bottom of each square.  Top the cookie dough with a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup placed upside down.  Then fill up the well with your favorite prepared brownie mix up to 3/4 full.   Bake in oven for 15-18 minutes.  Remove and cool slightly. Here are some tips:   You can use cupcake/muffin tins (either small o

Stuffed Cube Steak

The other day, I had a hankering for cube steak, but did not want Swiss Steak or Chicken Fried Steak - my usual go to's.  I wanted to do something else with cube steak and remembered I had bookmarked a recipe from Pinterest that involved cube steak, bacon and goat cheese.  I tried it, we liked it, and it is now in the regular dinner rotation. I also discovered that this recipe can be done on the grill and is quite tasty either broiled or grilled.  You dont need a potato or rice dish with it.  A really nice salad and some crusty bread with some homemade lemonade really makes this a great summer meal. It is also very quick.  Just what we all want out of our summer dishes! Stuffed Cube Steak Serves 4 4 Cube steaks salt and pepper to taste 4 oz cream cheese (or goat cheese) softened - very soft. 2 T coconut oil 1 small sweet onion (Vidalia or Maui) finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, crushed 2 c baby spinach - stems removed and coarsely chopped 6-8 slices sun dried to