Shoofly Pie: A Favorite Recipe From My Brother-in-Law
Just out of the oven....
Try to Eat Just One Slice....
Sometimes I think I will change the name of this pie to Nostalgia Pie. Every time I make one or look at one, my brother-in-law always comes to mind. He was like the brother I never had. He made every day fun. And, he was quite a baker. Almost any time I visited, there was always a cloud of flour and confectioner's sugar swirling around in the kitchen and dining room.
He would be making all of the many wonderful, tasty, mouth-watering cookies we all looked forward to when he was baking cookies each year.
Cookies were not the only sweets he made. There were shoofly pies, too. Of all of the sweet treats I believe shoofly pies are among my most favorite he was baking. He left the planet about 5 years ago now. He had stopped making these delicious delicasies due to failing health. So this is a continuing tribute to him.
My Daughter and Grandboys Know Shoofly Pie is on the Way
Magic in the Kitchen
One year, I did not travel to visit my sister and brother-in-law.
"Oh, my. No cookies, no shoofly pie this year," I thought. One day, a knock was heard at my front door. It was anUPS delivery person who handed me a suitcase.. As soon as he left, my daughter and I sat down and opened it. It was filled with all of our favorite cookies and 2 shoofly pies!!!
It is my delight to share a recipe that is much like the one he used. It is not the exact recipe but close. The sad truth is no matter what recipe anyone used, their pie would never taste like his. The crust was divinity. It fell apart in my mouth and was such a complement to the wet ingredients that were nestled down inside of it.
When we were not looking, he used some kind of magic to turn the flour, sugar, and molasses into the culinary delight that he would present us. I am certain that at least once I saw tiny little sparkling stars dancing around above the bowls he was using. I know he laughed and smiled as I made the pie today. I could almost feel him there in the kitchen with me. Sadly, he left us too soon. Every time I make one of these pies it is in honor of him.
You will fall in love with this unusual pastry. It is actually often used as a breakfast food but has a way of disappearing at other times during the day.
When Pie is Delicious Enough to Have a Song Written About IT, You KNOW It's Gotta' Be Lip Smackin' Good !!!!!
Good Enough to Sing About....Shoofly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
Options
**Rather than making full size shoofly pies you can make individual ones.
Use the same crust and filling recipe.
Use small individual pie tins, line with crust, and fill with filling. Adjust baking time for the size of your individual pies
**You can use frozen pie crusts (as shown in photo above...but homemade are far superior.)
The town Bird in Hand was Just Down the Road from My Sister's Home
Shoo fly??
Why is it called shoofly pie?
The answer may depend on the source you refer to. I have always been told and have read in many places the following reason.
When those who first traveled to our county to settle in eastern Pennsylvania, they brought along supplies that would make the trip without spoiling. Flour, molasses, and lard were among the items they brought.. When folks got a hankering for something sweet, the shoofly pie would be made.
As you can well imagine, the sticky molasses attracted flies, and, so those preparing the pies could be heard to say...'shoo, fly'. Hence the name.
Cook Time
Ingredients
- Ingredients for Crust
- 1 1/4 cups unbleached, unbromated flour
- 2-3 tablespoons white sugar
- 4 tablespoons diced, cold butter
- 2 tablespoon ice cold water
- Ingredients for Filling
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup white syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Ingredients for Topping
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached, unbromated flour
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup boiling hot water
Instructions
- Crust: To flour and sugar add Crisco and butter; mix well with pastry blender or fork until pea size. Add cold water. Form into a ball and chill.
- Press into pie pan. Cover with parchment paper, top with dried beans (to keep crust from puffing up) and bake at 425 for 12 minutes. Remove beans and set aside.
- Filling: Mix molasses, white syrup, baking soda together well. Pour into shell.
- Topping: Mix all topping ingredients together; sprinkle over topping mixture which has been added to shell.
- Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. The bottom of the pie may be wet and in such cases is termed a 'wet bottom' pie. YUM
Nutrition info
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 slice | |
| Calories | 400 |
| Calories from Fat | 108 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 12 g | 18% |
| Saturated fat 5 g | 25% |
| Carbohydrates 90 g | 30% |
| Sugar 13 g | |
| Fiber 1 g | 4% |
| Protein 3 g | 6% |
| Cholesterol 26 mg | 9% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
© 2015 Patricia Scott
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