Martha, that looks delicious, and very timely, walnuts are on sale here for $3.99 a pound!

My tastes have changed in that I did not like pecan pie until recently, now I love the stuff. I like walnuts even better than pecans, so I'm saving that recipe, thanks.

Annie

The filling was similar but it had a tad of cinnamon which gave it a totally different flavor.

I prefer this to pecan pie. Maybe it's the smaller amount of sugar? Yum, good!

That's a thing of beauty!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!

Smiles,

Sooz

When my sister was first married, her husband used to ask for a 'Washington Nut Pie'....the mother of a school friend had often made said 'Washington Nut Pie'. (Washington state). She didn't have any idea what kind of pie he meant, and eventually located and called the woman, asked. Pecan pie made with walnuts, pinch of cinnamon ;0)

This would have been early '70's.

This is a recipe from California

When you mentioned Washington Nut Pie, I was sure the punch line was going to be filberts, since we grow lots of those in WA. Maybe we grow walnuts, too. That pie looks a lot like what my aunt used to make in little tartlets and called them chess pies. Are chess pies different? Raisins maybe?

Chess pie doesn't have nuts, Olychick. It's just plain pie. Of course there are variations with all sorts of things added, but the original is just plain filling.

This is pretty much a standard recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/9090/chess-pie/

Hmmm...interesting. Thanks! I guess people call all kinds of things by different names and that's what we think is the "correct" name. Hers are the only ones I've ever had and so I just assumed they all had nuts (but I couldn't remember if they had raisins).

Thanks, Writersblock. I've heard of chess pie often, and seen it, but never tasted it or seen the recipe (since I wouldn't know if it were standard). Other than the cornmeal, it looks a lot like "sugar pie". :)

I don't know about Washington, but we grow walnuts in California. So I googled, and, yes, walnuts in Washington, too, in addition to the filberts, as well as top level hits for Washington Walnut Pie and Washington Nut Pie. Apparently, it's a thing.

Martha's lovely Palo Alto pie is the first walnut pie I've seen, or at least remember.

Chess pie is common here in the lower midwest. Close to the south, we share many of the same foods. I've found a recipe for a chocolate chess and have made it often -- it's great for you get a lot of chocolate flavor for I think 1/4 cup of cocoa!

Yes, I googled it, too and see that Martha Stewart published a recipe a few years ago for Washington Nut Pie. I found an interesting quote from an obscure book where the characters are speaking about Washington Nut Pie. Lived here all my life and never heard of this recipe!
Ravan's Winter

Tee Hee. I'm going to have to call my sister. I'd never thought to google the recipe or name when I saw reminder this morning, and of course she wouldn't have had a computer in the '70's, although did have access to a major library/books. They were living as almost penniless married students (he was a grad student and she was finishing her BA) attending classes at WSU - in a barely larger than camping trailer with a kitchenette. She was an accomplished cook even then, turning out wonderful meals. That pie had her stymied for many months.