Shoo-Fly Pie
Made with molasses, the Shoo-Fly Pie is a sweet and unique dessert. Learn more about one family’s Shoo-Fly Pie holiday tradition.
By Marie Adele Ware|Dec 19 2016|
Processed with VSCOcam with g3 preset
Credit: Marie Adele Schultz
Bring a Shoo-Fly Pie to your next holiday event. Quick, easy to make, and always a crowd pleaser.
Credit: Marie Adele SchultzCredit: Marie Adele Schultz While not considered a New England dish, shoo-fly pie is a dessert I’ve enjoyed for as long as I can remember. But growing up I often heard, “Shoo-fly pie? What on earth is that?” It doesn’t help that the pie – though delicious – looks, well, not that appetizing, thanks to its dark, molasses-infused filling. My advice? “Don’t judge the pie. Try the pie.” Nine times out of 10, people end up asking for the recipe. But just how did my family stumble upon this tradition in the first place? As my mother remembers, it all started in a little town near the White Mountains…
Shoo-Fly Pie has simple ingredients which are easy to cut in half if you would only like to make two pies. Pictured here is a copy of the original recipe.
Credit: Marie Adele SchultzCredit: Marie Adele Schultz “After a day of skiing at Wildcat Mountain in Jackson, New Hampshire, your father and I stopped into Wal-Rico’s Restaurant in Glen for dinner. We asked for a recommendation for dessert, and the owner, Rico, recommended his wife’s shoo-fly pie topped with whipped cream. It was the first time I had ever tasted shoo-fly pie, and it was so delicious I decided to ask Rico for the recipe. He explained that he could not give me the recipe, so I began searching for shoo-fly pie recipes and found that it was of Pennsylvania Dutch origin and there are several varieties. “We would still stop in occasionally [to Wal-Rico’s] just for shoo-fly pie. One day, Rico told us that his wife’s recipe was going to be published in Gourmet magazine. At last, I would be able to obtain the recipe! I contacted Gourmet magazine and asked when it would be published. They told me they would send me a copy of the recipe, which was a photocopy of the original handwritten recipe, copied on Gourmet magazine letterhead. I was so excited! The recipe yields four pies; I usually adjust the recipe to make two pies. It has now become a family favorite.”
I improvised mixing the molasses with a hand mixer rather than the blender, and came out with very similar results.
Credit: Marie Adele SchultzCredit: Marie Adele Schultz
Feel free to use your hands to make the crumbs for the pie. Play with the mixture until you have pea sized crumb toppings.
Credit: Marie Adele Schultz
My favorite pie! I hope folks give it a try. Serve it warm or cold, with whipped cream or ice cream????
I would have liked to see a cut piece of the pie. I’ve had shoo-fly pie from Amish country in Pennsylvania. It was a light brown and had more goop than the cakey part. My mom makes a Molasses Crumb Pie. We only use Grandma’s Molasses and the pie is dark and has a thin wet bottom. Hers is the best, hands down.
Oh wow! Rico’s wife is my husband’s grandmother. If there is anyway I can get a copy of that recipe in the picture above I would be very grateful.