When in this part of the country, it is mandatory to eat a slice of
Shoofly Pie. For me, that was no problem. It’s one of my all-time favorites.
Shoofly Pie is a classic Pennsylvania Dutch recipe featuring a super-rich filling made with brown sugar and molasse and it is decadent. Shoofly Pie is basically a Pecan Pie without pecans.
Tradition has it that the term “shoo fly” came from swatting flies trying to land on the freshly baked pie, but the unusual name most likely came from a famous 19th century circus animal called Shoofly the Boxing Mule. The mule became something of an icon leading to brands such as Shoofly Flour and Shoofly Molasses, the two key ingredients in a Shoofly Pie.
Here’s how the locals make it.
Begin with the crust which can be a high quality frozen, deep-dish crust or ideally a homemade butter crust – Grandma’s recipe. If you make your own crust, do it a day ahead and let it chill overnight.
For the filling, combine 1 C molasses with ¾ C hot water and ¾ t baking soda in a medium bowl. Whisk in 1 egg, then pour the mixture in a deep-dish pie shell. Next, combine 1 ½ C all-purpose flour and 1 C packed brown sugar. Cut in ¼ C shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on top of the pie filling and place the pie on a cookie sheet in a 400 oven and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 and bake another 30 minutes. As the pie cools, make sure to shoo the flies away while you pull the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer.
Shoofly Pie
1 cup molasses
¾ cup hot water
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, beaten
1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup shortening
