I am glad you’re here, and I’m so excited to be able to teach you to make Classic Wet-Bottom Shoo Fly Pie recipe from ingredients you probably already own. If you’ve never made one before, I think you’ll really enjoy this homey and old fashioned pie!
Like most old fashioned recipes there is no definitive way to make it. Some are “dry bottom” and some are “wet bottom.” Read on to learn the difference and how to make my wet-bottom version.
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Necessity Is the Mother of (Pie) Invention
Man oh man, but our grandmothers and their mothers and grandmothers before them knew how to take a lot of nothing and turn it into something sublime.
And in the dead of winter when there is no fruit to be had (or wasn’t any to be had out on the Prairie or wherever), stalwart, pie-loving women took stock of their pantries and made amazing pies with what was on hand.
Pretty much all the ingredients in shoofly pie are pantry staples: no fancy or gourmet ingredients necessary to make a delicious homemade pie.
Seriously, check out the ingredient list for the filling:
NOTE: The first three ingredients: flour, brown sugar, and butter are for the streusel topping. So the molasses filling itself only contains 5 ingredients!
- flour
- brown sugar
- butter
- molasses
- hot water
- egg
- baking soda
- salt
I can pretty much guarantee that you have all these ingredients with the possible exception of the molasses which is readily available at grocery stores right by the corn syrup and other baking sweeteners.
This pie is one of four I made for a series on “desperation pies.” You may enjoy some of these others, too.
- Cinnamon Sorghum Custard Pie
- This guy right here.
- Chocolate Chess Pie
- Indiana Sugar Cream Pie
Shoofly Pie and Apple Pandowdy
My first introduction to classic shoo fly pie was in the song. Do you know the one?
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pandowdy
make your eyes light up and your tummy say howdy.
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pandowdy,
I never get enough of that wonderful stuff!
Just from hearing my mom sing this song around the house, I figured that shoo fly pie and apple pandowdy were Not To Be Missed, but I never had either until I made a classic wet bottom shoofly pie the other day.
And yeah, you need to make a pandowdy too. I haven’t made an apple one yet, but I made a blueberry peach pandowdy that is a real winner!
Where Did It Get Its Name?
The name “shoo fly pie” suggests the pie is so sweet that, before you can eat it, you have to shoo away the flies that will come visiting.
Origins
Shoofly pie is most popular in and around Amish and Mennonite communities in Pennsylvania whose cooks are known for making delicious food alchemy with basic pantry ingredients. Moravian Sugar Cake, anyone? Right?
The original crust recipe most likely contained lard, and the recipe I based my version on called for shortening which wasn’t invented until 1910 and certainly wasn’t an ingredient in the pies made by the settlers who came to Pennsylvania in the early to mid-1700’s.
I went with an all-butter crust, since I didn’t have any lard and the butter would have been a more likely candidate than shortening.
How Do You Make Pie from Molasses?
Shoofly pie is put together in a really interesting way. There are two basic components: a lean streusel (by lean, I mean it’s made without too much fat) and a molasses and egg syrup. Seems like there is no one right way to make a shoo fly pie.
- Some people put some of the streusel on the bottom of the crust, pour in the syrup and then add the rest of the streusel on top.
- My friend Joe Pastry makes his beautiful version by actually stirring the streusel into the molasses syrup making a batter that bakes into a cake-ish layer on top and a gooey layer of molasses underneath.
I rather liked the idea of having a very light-colored top and then being surprised by the very dark filling once you cut into it, so this is how I made mine:
- layer about 1/4 of the streusel into the crust
- add half the syrup
- add another 1/4 of the streusel
- add the rest of the syrup
- put the rest of the streusel on top
What Does the Baking Soda Do?
Another interesting thing about the pie is the use of baking soda. You whisk it into the molasses with hot water and then an egg. The baking soda changes the color of the mixture, making it lighter.
I’m pretty sure what is happening is not unlike the Dutch process for making cocoa powder: alkalizing.
You take an acidic ingredient (cocoa powder, molasses) and introduce a substance with a high pH (a base, such as baking soda).
This raises the pH of the original ingredient into neutral territory, and it can tone down bitterness quite a bit.
These days, the unsulfured molasses we use is pretty mild, but I bet back in the days of the original Amish and Mennonite settlers in Pennsylvania, the molasses they used could have curled your hair! Strong stuff! It probably needed some toning down with baking soda.
What Does It Taste Like?
Without the baking soda, it could be a bit on the bitter side, with a very strong molasses flavor. But since some enterprising cook back on the prairie or somewhere added baking soda to mellow out the flavor, this pie tastes of molasses without the bitterness.
It is sweet, and without any dairy in the filling, the molasses flavor–sans bitterness–really shines through.
The streusel layer is sandy and a little crunchy, and the baked “molasses custard” part is sweet and smooth. Both textures contrast nicely with the crisp pie crust.
For another layer of texture, you could always serve it with a scoop of ice cream.
Wet Bottom vs Dry Bottom Shoofly Pie
There are two basic kinds of shoo fly pie.
- one with crumbs mostly on top, like the one I made, and
- another with a lot of crumbs/streusel thoroughly stirred in, yielding a more cakelike pie.
The version with the streusel on top and the molasses “gel” underneath is called “wet bottom shoo fly pie,” and the more cake-like kind with the streusel stirred in is called “dry bottom shoofly pie.”
Neither version is more authentic than the other, so don’t worry about that. You just need to decide which version you want to eat!
Enough singing and talking, talking and singing. Ready to make some pie? Let’s get to it!
Other Old-Fashioned Pie Recipes You Might Enjoy
- Butterscotch Pie: a cooked butterscotch pudding topped with brown sugar meringue. Lovely.
- Buttermilk Pie: long on flavor and short on ingredients. An excellent combination.
- Coconut Custard Pie: another traditional pie with only a handful of ingredients in the cozy custard and loads of coconut.
Questions?
If you have any other questions about this recipe or any other, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
You can leave a comment here, and I will be back in touch in about 24 hours.
If your question in more urgent, you can email me and I answer within about 4 hours.
Either way, I promise to help!
I really hope you love this recipe, you guys!
If you make it, please share a photo with me before you devour them, either in the Pastry Chef Online Facebook Group or on instagram by tagging @onlinepastrychef and using hashtag #pcorecipe.
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Thanks, and enjoy!
Classic Shoo Fly Pie | #tbtfood
Classic Shoo Fly Pie is perfection in both texture and flavor. It's not hard to make, sets up to a barely woogly center, and the crisp, crunchy-yet-sandy streusel is a fantastictopping. The streusel that is baked in with the filling helps it to set up as the starches in the flour gel. It's a genius pie for lean times and not so lean times. I do hope you give it a try.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 9" pie shell, (not deep dish), docked and frozen* (See Note)
For the Streusel
- 4.5 oz all purpose flour, (about 1 cup)
- 4.7 oz dark or light brown sugar, (about 2/3 cup, packed)
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
For the Molasses Syrup
- 9 oz molasses, (3/4 cup)
- 4.5 oz hot water, (1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- heavy pinch kosher salt, (about 1/4 teaspoon)
- 1 large egg, , beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
To Make the Streusel
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour and the brown sugar. Rub in the butter very well so there are no little bits of butter remaining. The mixture should look about like cornmeal and should clump together when you squeeze it and then sort of fall apart if you poke it. Squeeze some together so you have some pebbles of streusel and leave some of it sandy.
To Make the Molasses Syrup
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the molasses and hot water. Thoroughly whisk in the baking soda and salt. Mixture may get sort of frothy and will definitely lighten in color. Thoroughly whisk in the beaten egg.
To Assemble and Bake
- Layer about 1/4 of the streusel in the bottom of your frozen pie shell.
- Evenly pour in about half the molasses mixture followed by another quarter of the streusel.
- Pour on the last of the molasses mixture and then top the pie with the remaining streusel. This layer will be pretty thick and you probably won't be able to see the filling underneath.
- Carefully place the pie on the center rack of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 350F.
- Continue baking for about 15 more minutes then cover the pie loosely with foil to prevent excessive browning of the crust. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until the pie is nicely puffed up all over. It will settle as it cools.
- Serve warm or barely warm with lighely sweetened (or even unsweetened) whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.
Notes
Since shoo fly pie filling is so wet, your bottom crust can sort of dissolve or get soggy. This didn't bother me. If it bothers you, you can blind bake and egg wash your crust to make it "waterproof." Please see the Joe Pastry post for instructions.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1/8Amount Per Serving Calories 259Saturated Fat 2gCholesterol 31mgSodium 94mgCarbohydrates 52gSugar 40gProtein 2g
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And that is really all there is to it! This is a truly delicious pie. The barely set, sort of woogly texture of the molasses layer is balanced by the sandy crispness of the streusel on top. Simple and easy and pure comfort. Please, if you’ve never tried shoo fly pie, don’t miss out. There’s a reason why it’s a classic!
Thank you for spending some time with me today. I appreciate it.
Have a lovely day.
Renee - Kudos Kitchen says
How fun! The song is fun to listen to while reading your post. It had me tapping my feet 🙂 Pinning!
Jennifer Field says
It is a very snazzy song, isn’t it?! Glad you like it, Renee! Those Pennsylvania Dutch folks know what they’re doing!
Cheryl says
Huzzah, Sissy! This pie looks AMAZING!!! The photos are simply gorgeous and wait for it… I HAVE EVERYTHING IN MY PANTRY! Even the molasses! I may forgo the gym so I can bake this beautiful pie.
I very much enjoyed reading this post and the explanation of science in baking. Thank you for another fantastic recipe to add to my “Must Make” list!
xx
Jennifer Field says
Oh, Sissy! If you love molasses, you will be All Over This pie! #nomnomthepie! <3
Suzette says
I believe 4.5 ounces of water would be equivalent to 1/2 cup of water plus one tablespoon and not one cup of water plus one tablespoon. Am I right? I’ve never had shoo fly pie but it looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it!!
Jennifer Field says
Yikes! Thanks for catching that–you are so right! I shall fix it immediately. And if you like molasses, I really think you’re going to love this guy, Suzette!
Carol says
This pie was super darn delicious! I was unable to eat half and save half! I had to eat the whole thing!! Thanks for sharing!
Jennifer Field says
I was really surprised by how much I liked it too, Carol! I mean, I *like* molasses, but I didn’t realize it would be so magic in a pie! And to think, you were *almost* disappointed it wasn’t the Other pie! lol I’m so glad you enjoyed it! xo
Suzanne says
If you’re interested, I’ll share my great Nana’s recipe for Shoo fly pie. I’m half Penna Dutch & grew up on a farm down there. I can guarantee that’s it’s authentic! The top definitely isn’t streusel, it’s kind of a sandy crumb. And we called our Sugar Cream pies ‘Milk Pie’….though my Pappy called them ‘Slop Pie’, lol
Jennifer Field says
I would love to see your recipe, Suzanne! And maybe streusel isn’t the right word–it’s a very lean streusel, so not much fat. It was, indeed, very sandy! Slop pie. Ha! How rude, Pappy! lol =)
Jamie says
Oh my gosh, read my comment below! Another Grandma Nana with a Shoo Fly Pie recipe! Lucky you!
Jamie says
Here is why I am super thrilled that you shared the recipe for real Shoo Fly Pie (that looks spectacularly perfect!): when I was in college in Philadelphia, I rented a house with two friends for the summer. One of the friends, Andy, had a grandmother who lived outside of the city and had for maybe most of her life. We all called her Nana. She was one of those Main Line, old family women, polite, elegant, funny. We invited her to the house one evening for dinner and she brought, yes, you guessed it, a shoo fly pie. I had no idea what it was. It looked kinda chocolatey or something similar. She cut us each a thick slice which we happily took. And I remember putting a first forkful of that pie in my mouth and thought I was going to die. It was disgusting. Bitter, weird. But this was Nana and I had to be polite. So another forkful, and another, I suffered. But then something strange happened. The fourth and fifth mouthful and it started to taste better. Then more and it started tasting wonderful! By the time I had finished that slice of shoo fly pie I was head over heels in love with shoo fly pie. And the 3 of us fought over the rest of the pie that Nana left with us after the meal. And I have never eaten it again nor have I ever made one because I never trusted a recipe to match Nana’s pie. Yours looks just like hers. Thank you.
Jennifer Field says
I love this story! If I had thought it was chocolate, I’d have been very very sad when I took a bite, too! lol But when you go in knowing what to expect, then it’s bliss from the first bite! <3
Sandi says
OMG this pie looks amazing Jenni! Love the name.
Jennifer Field says
Thanks! For a pie that is mostly molasses, it is really delicious, and I love the crumbly topping, Sandi!
Laura says
Goodness! A pie devoted to molasses lovers?! I’m all in. Stuck here in California I’ve never encountered shoo fly pie. I just know the other shoo fly song: shoo fly, don’t bother me. shoo fly, don’t bother me…. etc…. LOL! Great story, Jenni. I always learn something about food history from you!
Jennifer Field says
Oh, I had forgotten about that other song, Laura! Now it’s in my head! lol I really liked the shoofly pie even more than I thought I would. It is extremely good!
Beth says
How I love the name of this pie and it’s so great to be able to make something from the pantry!
Jennifer Field says
I rarely have fresh fruit, so I’m usually desperate and All In for some sort of cream pie!
SR says
I really enjoy reading what you write about your recipes. On some sites, I find myself thinking, “Just get to the recipe, already,” but never here. (Yes, I could just skip to the recipes; but the author may have some kernal of wisdom to impart – I like to give him/her the benefit of the doubt.) The info that you give is both readable and relevant – kudos for that!
Most Shoo Fly Pie recipes (that I’ve seen) call for a layer of breadcrumbs over the crust, which is what I’ve always used (streusel on top of the pie, though). The pie is similar to Britain’s Treacle Tart, with molasses instead of golden syrup. I’ve never seen a recipe that calls for a layer of streusel over the crust. I had the ingredients, so I gave it a try.
It set up a little softer than I’m used to, but that was fine. I found it a bit too sweet, but a friend tried it and said that she’s never going back to the crumbs. Questions of taste aside, the pie comes together easily, looks great and slices well. I’d make it again, especially to serve to people who are on the fence about Shoo Fly Pie – slightly sweeter might just win them over.
Thanks for sharing!
Jennifer Field says
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment here, Staci. I really appreciate hearing from readers. It is so cool to hear about all the different versions of these “desperation pies” there are out there. Probably almost as many as there were cooks desperate for pie in January! =)
Kathy Brisiel says
Ok, stupid question; do I leave the pie crust frozen or thaw it out first?
Jennifer Field says
If you are concerned with the bottom crsut getting soggy, you can blind bake the crust before adding the filling. Otherwise, yes you can add the filling straight to the frozen crust. I have a link in the Notes section of the recipe with instructions for blind baking if you aren’t familiar. Enjoy!
Shana says
I just made this pie this morning and worried that layering the filling with streusel will cause it to be cakey instead of gooey. I’m looking at it now in the oven and looks like they mixed together, not much of a streusel topping how the pics portray. I made another shoofly pie yesterday and that recipe didn’t have me layer the toppings but only had a thin wet bottom layer. I’m suprised yours is more cakey, not what I expected. Will the streusel float to the top before it’s done? It completely disappeared into the molasses layer.
Jennifer Field says
I definitely made mine just the way I described and then took the photo of the pie I made. I didn’t really do any stirring to combine them, and everything floated. It ended up being very gooey on the bottom with a very thin layer a little cakey where the two mixed and then sandy on top. I hope yours turned out the way you had hoped or that it was at least tasty. I hope you and your family had a good Thanksgiving.
Rocky Joe says
This recipe didn’t work for me. First, even though I used baking soda the inside of the pie was bitter from what tasted like too much molasses (I followed the exact measurements). I think it might need to be cut with corn syrup. Second, by the time I got to the 3rd stage of baking (covering the pie with foil) the pie was already puffed up and the top was already too dark. So I covered it anyway and let it go for 10 more minutes at 350. The pie came out dry except for the very center which was a little wet. It did not taste like a shoofly pie at all. Last, why can’t you used a deep dish crust? You do not explain. I might try to modify this recipe and try again but in its current state it’s unusable.
Jennifer Field says
I’m sorry you were not a fan of this pie, Rocky. First, the pie will taste like molasses because honestly, that’s pretty much all that’s in it that provides flavor. The water, baking soda, and egg are definitely supporting players, so the molasses flavor will shine through. If you don’t like a strong molasses flavor, by all means try cutting it with corn syrup. I think that sounds like a great idea.
Your oven may be off a bit–it’s really hard to say. There are so many variables involved in baking that I cannot say for certain why your pie came out dry, other than that you quite possibly over-baked it.
The only reason I say to not use a deep dish pie crust is that there is not enough filling in the recipe to fill a deep dish crust. If you want to use one anyway next time, you can either increase the filling amounts or just know you’ll have a tall crust all around your filling.
Again, I’m sorry that the pie was “unusable” for you. For us, it was delicious as written and described.
Take care, and if you do try again with some modifications, I would love to hear how it turns out for you. Maybe I can add your modifications to the recipe for people who do not like a strong molasses flavor.
Alonna says
Hey Jenni,
I love your recipes. I grew up eating shoofly pie and my experience is a bit different that your description of the difference between wet and dry bottom pies. Dry bottom is the pie I prefer and have made and it is still made by layering the wet and dry ingredients. In my experience, the dry bottom shoofly pie still has a bit of goo on the bottom but is a 1/4 of and inch not, 3/4. Thanks so much for posting this recipe, and now I am hungry for a dry bottom shoofly pie!
Alonna
Jennifer Field says
Hey. Alonna! I’m so glad you like the recipes! Thanks for giving me even more information about wet- and dry-bottom pies. I layered mine and ended up with a majority of Goo as shown in the photos. Maybe it’s also a function of how much streusel you use. Thanks so much for commenting, and enjoy all the pie, wet- or dry-! 🙂