Episode 9-2 – Shoofly Pie

Episode 9-2
July 16, 2010
Shoofly Pie

Ah, shoofly pie – nothing really describes it quite the right way.  It’s tender and fluffy, yet gooey and chewy filling is almost as irresistible as the sultry warm flavor of molasses echoing in every bite.  Honestly, if you think you don’t like molasses (gingerbread men and gingersnaps are similar in flavor) there is a good chance you might like shoofly pie – even just a thin slice.

I did a little googling on shoofly pie since all I really know about is that it reminds me of Grandma’s.  Shoofly pie originiated with the Pennsylvania Dutch (which is a combination of Mennonite and the Amish peoples) and is still a very popular pie in southeast Pennsylvania and is common throughout the South.  Supposedly, the pie has ancestors in England and Germany where unrefined sugar would be used to make similar pies and when the Dutch came to America to escape religious persecution molasses became a more popular ingredient to use.  Also, when they came from Europe to settle in Pennsylvania they brought staples with them that they knew would not spoil like flour, molasses, and lard.  Since they would have to wait a year before they could rely on their own harvest they had to get creative with the ingredients they brought with them.  The result was shoofly pie.  Whether any of this is true or not is up to you all to decide.  I still think it’s a fun a story.

The name shoofly could have many possible sources.  One site suggest shoofly could be a corruption of the word souffle, although personally I don’t know why since the two have almost nothing in common.  Shoofly could also be a corruption of some lost German word.  The most popular explanation is that Shoofly is actually shoo-fly and comes from the idea that because the pie is so sugary it attracts flies and you are constantly shoo-ing them away.

Shoofly pie is also one of my brother’s favorite pies and I make it every year for the holidays.  It’s a great pie because it doesn’t require refrigeration and it travels well since it’s actually fairly dense.  It’s also a very easy pie and, with the exception of molasses, just about everybody has the ingredients on hand to make it!  Other recipes may add clove, cinnamon, or nutmeg to the filling but I like mine just the way it is.

Shoofly pie is best served a little warm (15 seconds at a time in the microwave – it may not look like it but it can get really hot like molten lava so test it frequently!) with some whipped cream or ice cream.  It is even common to have Shoofly pie for breakfast similar to having a coffee cake with your coffee!

Here is the recipe for Shoofly Pie and enjoy the videos below!  The video was shot directly after the basic pie dough episode so you can imagine how little time it takes to make the a like this pie completely from scratch.  After all – it’s easy as pie!