Shoofly Pie
(American Pennsylvania Dutch molasses tart)
Image by Wikipedia: Syounan Taji
Whether you spell it shoofly, shoo fly, shoo-fly or shoe fly, this famous molasses pie from Pennsylvania Dutch country tastes fantastic. Some say the name comes from the pie's attraction to those little winged pests. Others say its a corruption of the French word "soufflé" or even "chou-fleur" (cauliflower). We prefer the first explanation because it's the funnest.
There are both "wet-bottom" and cakelike "dry bottom" versions of shoofly pie. The main recipe here is for the more popular wet-bottom pie. A recipe for the dry version is in the variations.
6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
- Unbaked single pie crust -- 1
- All-purpose flour -- 1 cup
- Brown sugar -- 2/3 cup
- Butter, softened -- 3 tablespoons
- Molasses -- 1 cup
- Egg, beaten -- 1
- Baking soda -- 1 teaspoon
- Boiling water -- 3/4 cup
Method
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar and butter until evenly mixed and crumbly.
- Whisk together the molasses, egg and baking soda. Then beat in the boiling water until smooth.
- Stir half the flour-sugar-butter mixture into the molasses mixture and pour into the prepared pie crust. Sprinkle the rest of the flour-sugar-butter mixture evenly over the top of the filling.
- Set in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until the center of the pie is set and the edges are puffy.
- Cool completely before serving. Goes well with a dollop of whipped cream and hot coffee.
Shoofly Pie Variations
- Dry-bottom shoofly pie recipe: Makes a more cake-like filling. Work together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 3 tablespoons butter until smooth and crumbly. Stir together 1/2 cup molasses, 1/2 cup boiling water and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Stir the liquid mixture into the dry mixture until smooth, then pour into a prepared pie crust. Bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes.
- Chocolate shoofly pie: Add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to the bottom of the pie shell before you pour the filling in. Or top a baked pie with chocolate icing or ganache after it has fully cooled.
- Some pie makers like to add a pinch or two of ground cinnamon and maybe some nutmeg to the flour-sugar-butter mixture.
