I am glad you’re here, and I’m so excited to be able to teach you to make Classic Shoofly 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.
If you’re a fan of desperation pies, you may also like my coconut custard pie recipe. For ease of browsing, here are all of my pie and tart recipes. Let’s get into it, shall we?
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Watch my shoofly pie recipe web story here.
Shoofly Pie, At a Glance
✅Skill Level: Beginner
✅Skills: Making a pie crust (optional–pate brisee)
✅Type: Pie
✅Number of Ingredients: For the filling: 5, For the Streusel: 3
✅Prep Time: 15 minutes
✅Cook Time: 45 minutes
✅Yield: 1 9″ pie or 8 servings
Jump Straight to the Recipe
You’ll Like Shoofly Pie If
Not every recipe is for every person, so see if you’ve never had shoofly pie before, see if this is a pie you’ll enjoy.
You’ll like it if you:
- Need pie and don’t have any fruit on hand
- Like a gel-like texture (sort of like lemon meringue pie)
- Appreciate an old-fashioned pie as much for the name as the flavor
- Think pie is a perfectly acceptable breakfast (the Amish call it a breakfast pie)
- Enjoy multiple textures in a pie: this one has a crumbly topping, crisp pastry, and gooey filling
If this pie sounds up your alley, I have a request.
When you do make this recipe, it will help me and other readers if you:
✅Rate the recipes using the stars in the recipe card
✅Leave a review when prompted in the recipe card
✅Leave a comment on the post
Thank you! ❤️
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 pate brisee crust, since I didn’t have any lard and the butter would have been a more likely candidate than shortening.
If you don’t need step-by-step directions and just want the recipe, feel free to jump straight there.
How to Make Shoofly Pie
Ingredients and Substitutions
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: I use all-purpose flour. Since it doesn’t add much to the structure of the pie, you can also use cake flour. Bread flour might yield a chewy texture, so I’d stay away from that if you can
- brown sugar: dark or light–either will work. If you don’t have brown sugar, use granulated sugar evenly mixed together with a couple of teaspoons of molasses.
- butter: use salted or unsalted here
- molasses: You’ll need about 9 oz by weight or 3/4 cup. Use unsulfered and not blackstrap molasses. You could also substitute sorghum syrup if you have some.
- hot water: Heat it to help it mix together easily with the thick molasses
- egg: You just need one
- baking soda: neutralizes some of the bitterness of the molasses
- salt: also counteracts some bitterness and brings out all the flavor
Procedure
- Line your pie pan with dough, crimp, dock it (poke tiny holes in it with the tip of a knife, and freeze until you’re ready to bake.
- Rub the butter into flour, brown sugar, and salt to make a very sandy streusel. Set aside.
- Whisk together molasses and hot water.
- Whisk in the baking soda and salt. It will get a little foamy and will lighten in color.
- Whisk the egg and then whisk it into the filling.
- Mix half the streusel into the molasses mixture and pour into your prepared crust.
- Sprinkle the rest of the streusel evenly over the top of the filling.
- Bake at 400F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and continue baking for an additional 10-15 minutes until puffy and mostly firm on top.
Equipment Recommendations
As with most old-fashioned pie, it doesn’t take a lot of equipment to make shoofly pie.
You will definitely need a good balloon whisk–and if you don’t already have one, you should pick one up. More wires equal more effective mixing as well as better aeration.
With a rounded shape and a lot of tines (wires), this balloon whisk makes short work of whipping cream or combining ingredients in a bowl. I use OXO products and trust the name. This is a great buy--you will find yourself reaching for this whisk again and again.
And you will also need a standard pie pan. I recommend using an aluminum pan for maximum heat transfer to help ensure a crisp crust.
Aluminum for rapid heat transfer and steel for weight and durability, baking pies in a metal pan helps ensure a crisp crust. And USA Pans are fabulous. You really can't go wrong. I do recommend hand washing to make sure the pan's magic nonstick coating stays magic for years.
Visual How-To
Here are some video clips that help to illustrate a couple of the steps. I hope you find them helpful.
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Here is what your streusel should look like when you’re finished rubbing in the fat:
Whisking some of the streusel into the molasses mixture:
This is an optional step, but I find the crust gets better color on it if I egg wash before baking. Note I’ve already filled the pan with filling and streusel:
Here’s what the pie looks like when sliced and served. Note it was still barely warm when I cut this piece:
Wet Bottom vs Dry Bottom Shoofly Pie
There are two basic kinds of shoofly pie.
- one with crumbs mostly on top, like the one I made, and
- another with most of the crumbs/streusel thoroughly stirred in, yielding a more cakelike texture.
The version with the streusel on top and the molasses “gel” underneath is called “wet bottom,” and the more cake-like kind with the streusel stirred in is referred to as “dry bottom.”
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!
Pro Tip
For a crisper crust, blind bake the pie crust first by lining the crust with a large-sized coffee filter or with parchment or non-stick foil. Fill crust completely with beans, rice, or sugar, and bake at 400F for 12015 minutes.
Remove weights and filter or foil, brush the entire crust with egg wash and bake an additional 5 minutes to set the egg wash. Let the crust cool to warm before filling it with the molasses mixture.
You will have to cover the edges of the pie during baking to make sure the edges of the crust don’t get too dark.
Shoofly Pie Q & A
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. It foams up as the acid in the molasses interacts with the base of baking soda. This neutralizes most (not all) of the bitterness of the molasses.
The name shoo-fly pie suggests it is so sweet that, before you can eat it, you have to shoo away the flies that will come visiting.
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 bitterness. 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 crust.
Cover the pie and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Slice and plate 45 minutes or so before serving so it can come up to room temperature.
Other Desperation Pies
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 Which I sort of made up but it worthy of mention, especially if you love sorghum syrup. And cookies.
- This guy right here.
- Chocolate Chess Pie: which is sort of like a gooey brownie in a pie crust. Delicious.
- Indiana Sugar Cream Pie: Tastes like sweet, sliceable, nutmeg-scented cream. A cool, creamy, perfect dairy-based pie.
Questions?
If you have any questions about this post or recipe, I am happy to help.
Simply leave a comment here and I will get back to you soon. I also invite you to ask question in my Facebook group, Fearless Kitchen Fun.
If your question is more pressing, please feel free to email me. I should be back in touch ASAP, as long as I’m not asleep.
A Note About Measurements
My recipes are almost all written by weight, including liquids, unless otherwise specified.
For accuracy and consistency of results, I encourage you to buy–and use–a kitchen scale.
I promise that baking and cleanup will be so much quicker and easier.
This is the scale that I recommend for home use. I have owned and used one for years.
Don't let its small price and small size fool you. The Escali Primo is an accurate and easy-to-use food scale that I have used for years. It's easy to store, easy to use, has a tare function, and easily switches between grams and ounces/pounds for accurate measurements.
Love This Pie? Please Consider Rating and Reviewing
It will help me and other readers so much if you take a moment to rate and leave a review for this recipe.
You can use the stars to rate 1-5 (5 is best), and leave a review in the comments. It helps me make adjustments if any are needed, and comments help others decide whether the recipe is worth making.
Other ways to share include pinning, and/or sharing on your favorite social media platform.
Thank you so much for taking the time!
Wet Bottom Shoofly Pie
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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)
- ½ 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
- Mix about half the streusel into the molasses syrup and pour into the prepared pie crust.
- Sprinkle the rest of the streusel in an even layer over the top of the pie.
- 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 lightly sweetened (or even unsweetened) whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.
Did You Make Any Changes?
Notes
Storage
Store covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. Slice pieces about 45 minutes before serving so they can come up to room temperature.Nutrition
You can watch my classic shoofly pie web story here.
Hi, y’all! I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and hopefully also learned a thing or two.
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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 shoofly 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.
Take care, y’all.
Join in Today!
Hi! I want to try this recipe for Thanksgiving. Apologies, but I cannot find where the instructions say for how long to freeze the crust. Thank you for your time.
Hi, Michele. No need to apologize. If you can’t find the instruction, it’s on me to make it more clear. Freeze it for about an hour. If you want to make the crust a day or two before, it will wait for you in the freezer with no problem. I hope you and your family enjoy the pie!
Many thanks!
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
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-! 🙂
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.
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.
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.
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.
Gooey on the bottom,thin cakey layer on on top with a bit of sand on top is exactly how I love my shoofly pies. I have been searching for a great recipe ever since making a beautiful but inedible shoo fly years ago using Bre’r Rabbit molasses. It was so bitter. I have learned from those around me in true PA Dutch country that King brand syrup is the way to go. Not bitter but still carries off the molasses bit. I plan to use this recipe and sub in the King Syrup.
I hope my version lives up to your expectations, Deb! Can’t wait to hear what you think. 🙂 Enjoy!
Ok, stupid question; do I leave the pie crust frozen or thaw it out first?
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!
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!
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! =)
How I love the name of this pie and it’s so great to be able to make something from the pantry!
I rarely have fresh fruit, so I’m usually desperate and All In for some sort of cream pie!
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!
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!
OMG this pie looks amazing Jenni! Love the name.
Thanks! For a pie that is mostly molasses, it is really delicious, and I love the crumbly topping, Sandi!
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.
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
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
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 =)
Oh my gosh, read my comment below! Another Grandma Nana with a Shoo Fly Pie recipe! Lucky you!
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!
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
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!!
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!
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
Oh, Sissy! If you love molasses, you will be All Over This pie! #nomnomthepie! <3
How fun! The song is fun to listen to while reading your post. It had me tapping my feet 🙂 Pinning!
It is a very snazzy song, isn’t it?! Glad you like it, Renee! Those Pennsylvania Dutch folks know what they’re doing!