After making the Shoofly Pie from The New York Times, I wanted to try a second recipe for comparison. So here it is! Just to keep this new one separate from the other, I'm spelling it as Shoo-Fly Pie. The recipe is from a Pennsylvania ladies' club cookbook and it's similar to others in the category in that it calls for 1 ½ tablespoons of shortening and also includes 1 egg. Also, there's no question that this is a wet bottom pie.
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Two Distinct Shoo-Fly Pie Layers
With this pie you get a thick layer of soft cake sitting over a molasses flavored pudding-like mixture. It's also a little sweeter and darker than the New York Times Shoofly. Here's a picture of them together. The new one is on the top.
So Which One's The Best?
The new Shoo-Fly Pie has two distinct layers, but it's not runny or overly sweet. And I appreciate not having to use so much butter. My family liked the this pie a lot, but when pressed to make a choice they liked the earlier one (The New York Times version) with the stick of butter.
Golden Barrel Molasses
After I made this pie, I went to the farmers' market and found Golden Barrel molasses. Looks like there's another Shoofly (or Shoo-Fly) pie in the future.
Some Other Recipes to Consider...
Correction to recipe: The egg mentioned above and in the directions goes in after the molasses and the correct amount of water is 1 cup, as listed in the ingredient list.
Recipe
Wet Bottom Shoo-Fly Pie
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (130 grams)
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar (150 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons shortening (18-20 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup molasses, Grandma's brand unsulfured (320 grams)
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 unbaked 9 inch deep dish pie dish lined with dough
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Have ready a 9 inch unbaked deep dish dough-lined pie plate, and set it on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together in a mixing bowl.
- Add shortening to the flour mixture and mix until coarse and crumbly. Measure out ½ cup of the flour mixture and set aside for topping.
- Make a well in the crumb mixture in the mixing bowl. Put the egg and molasses in the well, mix those two together, then drag in all the flour mixture and blend everything.
- Pour boiling water over the flour mixture and stir until evenly blended. Next, channel your inner 5 year old and add the baking soda. Stir and watch the magic! The mixture will become fizzy and light.
- Pour your fizzy filling into the pie shell. Again, make sure it is sitting on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Sprinkle the reserved ½ cup of crumb mixture over the liquidy pie filling.
- Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Let cool for about 4 hours or so. When you cut it, you should have two very distinct layers -- a top layer of cake and a soft molasses flavored layer.
Anna says
I hope you like it, Charity! My daughter makes it all the time now. It's one of her favorites.
Charity says
Thank you for posting this wet bottom shoe fly pie. It is a pie my mother made us back in the 50s. I’m excited to taste it and share with my siblings.
Anna says
Just looked at it, Cindy. The TOH recipe sounds good. I'll bet someone in Pennsylvania has managed to turn Shoofly into cheesecake.
CindyD says
You might want to take a look at the Taste of Home Caramel-Pecan Cheesecake Pie (haven't tried it, came up on Facebook). Wonder what the Shoo Fly pie would be like with a cheesecake layer?
Anna says
The New York Times SFP was pretty cakey. The piece that I cut today (frozen and then thawed) could be picked up and eaten by hand like a muffin. Still, I wouldn't call it bread because it was so soft. It's definitely a pie you need to try if you haven't already.
Sue says
You’ve sure been busy with the Shoofly pies! I think I like the idea of the cakier version but how can I really know? I think the only brands of molasses I see here are Grandma’s and Brer Rabbit. Now I will be paying more attention.