Bourbon balls not your thing? Try a Derby Pie instead, a fudge-sweet chocolate and nut confection invented at Prospect, Kentucky's Melrose Inn. Traditionally served around Derby time, the treat typically calls for walnuts or pecans and a splash of Kentucky bourbon. The Inn's former owners, the Kerns, have been trying to protect its rights to the name "Derby Pie" by filing various lawsuits over the years - even Bon Appetit was no match for the Kerns, losing the right to print recipes using the name in 1987. So if you're looking for a good recipe you may need to try searching "chocolate chess pie" or "Kentucky bourbon pie" or "Thoroughbred pie" instead.
Epicurious has a nice-looking one, for a "chocolate pecan chess pie." I'm planning on making two a little later, to take to a Derby party this afternoon. Now, all I need is a giant hat...
Lisa, over at My Own Sweet Thyme, has a lovely post with a recipe about her aunt's "brownie pie" - supposedly her aunt once worked for the Kerns and was afraid of being sued!
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