Shoo-fly Pie

Shoo-fly Pie is something not everyone knows about- growing up in Nashville, no one seemed to have any idea what it was except my family. And its one of our favorites! I like to think of it as a Mennonite or Pennsylvania Dutch-type coffee cake in a pie crust- less sweet and more simple and completely delicious, and even better the next day (if you can make it last that long!).

This recipe comes to me through my Grandmother Vovo, as did a million things, including my enormous sweet tooth and my love for the kitchen. This is a modified recipe from the Bucks County Cookbook (which is only available through some searching, I believe, as my mother spent a while trying to find a copy of it through the internet after we found that we had lost my grandmother's), and in our opinion, it is The recipe for Shoo-fly pie.

I might go over my Pie Crust recipe in a later post, but for this I shamelessly used a pie crust from the refrigerated section in the grocery store- they're surprisingly good and just the thing if you don't have the the time or energy for whipping up crust of your own. So for this, go ahead and make that easy step and buy one, or use your favorite recipe.
And if you've never had this pie before and it sounds totally foreign, I encourage you to give it a shot- it's really easy and delicious, and great with coffee or tea.


The crust and the two mixtures, ready to be layered.


The pie, ready to go into the oven.


And the finished pie- let cool and Enjoy!


Shoo-fly Pie
-1 piecrust
-2 cups flour
-scant 1 cup brown sugar
-2 teaspoons cinnamon
-1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
-1/2 cup boiling water
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons molasses
Put the pie crust in the bottom of the pan.
Mix the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumb-like.
Mix the boiling water, baking soda, and molasses in a separate bowl.
Beginning with crumbs and ending with liquid, layer the two mixtures in the pie crust until you have used them all up (except if you think you have a little much liquid- you don't want this to be too wet).
Bake in a moderate oven for 45 minutes (the literal instructions from the book)- I usually go for about 365 F or so and make sure to bake it until there are no crumbs on a toothpick inserted in the middle.


Savor it!
love, rue