Transparent Pie Is A Thing, And You Should Try It

Photograph by Aaron M. Conway

Not to be confused with that Southern staple chess pie, the transparent pies and tarts from Magee’s Bakery in Maysville feature the addition of milk to their decadent filling. Recipes for transparent pudding (the pie minus the milk and the pastry shell) can be found in cookbooks dating back to 1885, when Mrs. Peter A. White put the dessert on the proverbial map in The Kentucky Housewife: A Collection of Recipes for Cooking. These days, George and Amal Clooney—known to stop in for a dozen or two when they’re visiting the Clooney clan in Augusta—carry the celebrity torch for the eggy custard-in-a-crust. Ron and Judy Dickson purchased Magee’s in 1973 and moved it from downtown Maysville to their 100-acre beef farm out on Orangeburg Road. Single-serving tarts sell for $1.35 each and whole pies are only $7.50. We think that’s one heck of a sweet deal.

Magee’s Bakery, (606) 759-4882