Shoofly Pie
If you are browsing through any old church cookbook, you’ll probably see a recipe for Shoofly Pie. It’s a Pennsylvania Dutch dessert recipe from the 1800s. Typically, it’s made with molasses, but this recipe I found uses brown sugar instead. It was my first experience with Shoofly Pie, but it won’t be my last!
I remember reading my Nancy Drew books when I was a kid and the author referencing Shoofly Pie. Nancy was investigating a mystery in the Pennsylvania Dutch region and someone there had set a Shoofly Pie on their window ledge to cool. I thought it would be a lot sweeter than it actually was! I was thinking it was so sweet you’d have to “shoo” the flies away from it (haha).
Shoofly Pie
A popular Pennsylvania Dutch pie recipe from the 1800s.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp shortening
- 1 cup table syrup
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 9″ frozen pie shell
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Stir together flour, brown sugar and shortening to make crumbs. Set aside 1/2 cup.
- In another bowl, stir together egg and table syrup. Dissolve baking soda in hot water and then add to syrup mixture and stir. Add remaining crumbs to mixture and stir. Pour into pie shell.
- Sprinkle reserved crumbs on top. Bake for 40 minutes. Let cool before serving.
It pairs deliciously with a mug of hot coffee or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you love old fashioned desserts, give this one a try.
I’d love to hear about the other variations of Shoofly Pie. How do you make yours?
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I love old vintage recipes! I can’t wait to try Shoo Fly Pie. I have seen it so many times in my vintage cook book collection but have never made it. This looks perfect for Easter dessert!
I made the Shoofly pie with Prickly Pear Cactus Syrup from Ariz, which was a gift, OMG this pie was amazing, dont know if was the syrup but I use to think Chess Pie was my fave, this is just awesome! Thanks Stacie for sharing this receipe.
We here in Dutch country use black strap molasses
I’ve honestly never had this pie, but it sounds amazing!! 🙂
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
I don’t think I’ve ever had ShooFly pie before. I’d love to know where it got it’s name from. It looks and sounds delicious, especially with a big dollop of ice cream on top
I first tasted shoo-fly pie on a vacation through Amish country in Pennsylvania. It was so good I was hooked.
I had to laugh when I was reading about your Shoofly Pie! I also always thought that you had to shoo away the flies because of the sweetness!! This looks like a great pie, and I can’t wait to try it! Thank you so much for sharing at Celebrate It!
Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday. Hope you have a great St. Patrick’s Day and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Hi Stacie
Just shared on my FB page/notatrophywife
Thanks for joining the Merry Monday Link Party! laura
I’ve never heard of shoofly pie but I wouldn’t shoo it off my plate, lol. Looks yummy!
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Thank you for sharing your recipe at Snickerdoodle. I am featuring your Shoofly Pie recipe at the party this week.