5 from 2 votes

Shoofly Pie

Shoofly Pie is a rich and decadent vintage dessert everyone loves! This sticky sweet pie is perfect for holiday dinners and easy to make with just 7 ingredients.

I learned how to bake with my grandmother, and she was the queen of vintage desserts. One of the first recipes I learned from her was this Shoofly Pie because it’s so easy but fun to make with little hands!

This molasses pie is a little fluffy, a little sticky, and completely delicious. Just mix everything together and pour it into your pie crust for a sweet treat everyone will love. I always make them around the holidays because it’s got that pecan pie flavor with none of the nuts, and it’s easy to make in advance!

Shoofly Pie - A popular Pennsylvania Dutch pie recipe from the 1800s. Great with coffee or a scoop of ice cream! A vintage dessert perfect for parties.


What Is Shoofly Pie Made Of?

  • Flour: Even if you’re not making the crust from scratch, you’ll need some flour to fluff up the pie filling. This pie actually started as a crustless dessert, so the flour was also used to give it some shape when sliced.
  • Brown sugar: I love the combination of molasses and sugar so much more than plain sugar! It’s so much richer and has that perfect dessert sticky sweet flavor.
  • Shortening: This is a vintage dessert staple. Shortening was a cheaper way to get fat into desserts instead of butter. It’s great for pie crusts and shoofly pie filling!
  • Table syrup: Most Shoofly Pie recipes call for molasses, but I use a combination of brown sugar and table syrup, instead. It adds a little maple flavor and so much moistness.
  • Baking soda: Be sure to mix the baking soda into hot water until it dissolves completely for the perfect texture. No one wants a clump of baking soda in their bite!
  • Egg: You just need 1 large egg for this whole pie! Let it come up to room temperature while you prep the other ingredients. 
  • Frozen pie shell: I love my shortcuts, and frozen pie crusts are a personal fav. You’re welcome to make your own crust if you’d rather, but most frozen pie shells are close to perfect.
Ingredients to make shoofly pie.
Steps to make shoofly pie.
Steps to make shoofly pie.
Steps to make shoofly pie.
Shoofly Pie - A popular Pennsylvania Dutch pie recipe from the 1800s. Great with coffee or a scoop of ice cream! A vintage dessert perfect for parties.

What I Used For This Recipe

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  • Mixing bowls: You’ll need 2 mixing bowls for this recipe. Be sure you use one like these with an easy pour spout to get all the filling into your pie crust with no spillage!
  • Baking sheets: I always put a baking sheet under my pies when they’re baking. That way, it can catch any filling that spills over instead of cleaning my entire oven. 
  • Measuring spoons and cups: My grandmother barely measured, even when she was baking. I don’t trust my eyeballs all the time, and these measuring cups are my favorite in the kitchen.

How To Make It

  1. First, mix together the flour, brown sugar, and shortening until it’s crumbly. I use my fingers! Set aside some of the crumbly mixture for later.
  2. In a second mixing bowl, mix together the egg and table syrup.
  3. Now, dissolve the baking soda in hot water, and add it to the syrup mixture. Add the bulk of the crumbly mixture to the syrup mixture, and stir. Pour it into the pie shell.
  4. Finally, sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top, and bake until mostly set. Let it cool completely before slicing!
Shoofly Pie - A popular Pennsylvania Dutch pie recipe from the 1800s. Great with coffee or a scoop of ice cream! A vintage dessert perfect for parties.

Why Do They Call It Shoofly Pie?

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    This Pennsylvania Dutch dessert sounds a bit buggy, but don’t worry — it’s a super sweet, chewy, delicious pie with no flies, I swear! 

    The wacky name comes from the pools of sticky sweet molasses that formed on top of the pie as it cooled. Flies love a puddle of sweetness, and the name was born.

    What’s the Difference Between Wet Bottom and Dry Bottom Shoo Fly Pie?

    When it comes to this classic vintage dessert, there’s 2 ways to make it.

    I prefer a wet-bottom shoofly pie, which has a thin layer of molasses under the fluffy filling. The dry-bottom version, however, is baked until it’s fully set for a cakier pie filling. 

    If you want a dry-bottom shoofly pie, bake it until there’s no wobble left in the center. If you want a gooier version, take it out when the edges are set but the center still jiggles slightly. 

    Shoofly Pie - A popular Pennsylvania Dutch pie recipe from the 1800s. Great with coffee or a scoop of ice cream! A vintage dessert perfect for parties.

    What To Serve With This

    I’ve made this pie more than once for dessert after this yummy Mexican Meatloaf. It’s packed with ground beef, melty cheese, spicy chiles, and of course salsa.

    If you love this easy dessert recipe, try my cake mix cobbler! You only need 3 ingredients, and it can’t get easier than this mixed berry cobbler recipe.

    This Hot Fudge Pudding Cake is so sinfully rich! A luscious chocolate cake bakes right with a creamy, chocolatey pudding sauce. Each bite is pure chocolate heaven.

    Shoofly Pie - A popular Pennsylvania Dutch pie recipe from the 1800s. Great with coffee or a scoop of ice cream! A vintage dessert perfect for parties.

    More Vintage Dessert Recipes You’ll Love

    You’ll also like this Chess Pie and Fudge Pie.

    Do you have any amazing vintage dessert recipes? I’m always looking for more recipes to try! Follow me on Instagram @simplystacieblog, on Facebook at Simply Stacie, and on Pinterest @SimplyStacie and let me know how you liked this and my other recipes!

    5 from 2 votes

    Shoofly Pie

    Created by Stacie Vaughan
    Servings 6
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 40 minutes
    Total Time 50 minutes
    A popular Pennsylvania Dutch pie recipe from the 1800s. Great with coffee or a scoop of ice cream! A vintage dessert perfect for parties.

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • ¾ cup brown sugar
    • 1 tbsp shortening
    • 1 cup table syrup
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 cup hot water
    • 1 large egg beaten
    • 1 9-inch frozen pie shell

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350°F.
    • Stir together flour, brown sugar and shortening to make crumbs. Set aside ½ 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.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1piece | Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 56.6g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10.7g | Saturated Fat: 3.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6.5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 381.6mg | Fiber: 1.3g | Sugar: 27.5g

    The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

    Course Desserts
    Cuisine American
    Keyword shoofly pie, vintage desserts, vintage pies

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    23 Comments

    1. 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

    2. Hi Stacie
      Just shared on my FB page/notatrophywife
      Thanks for joining the Merry Monday Link Party! laura

    3. Wanda Henley says:

      Thought table syrup was corn syrup. That is what people had on their table a long time ago.

    4. Sannah Sharp says:

      Can maple syrup be substituted for table/pancake syrup?

        1. I make sugar pies often but would like to try a shoo fly pie made with molasses , what are the actual proportions

    5. Jane Stolzfus says:

      This may be a good pie, but you cannot call it a “Pennsylvania Dutch Recipe” as you have changed some ingredients from the classic recipe. Also, authentic Pennsylvania Dutch Shoo-Fly pie, originated in Amish country of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, always has a wet bottom.

      1. Lee Nicholas says:

        Bingo. Im from Hellertown Penna a Penna Dutch town
        My grandmother had a farm there before the town grew around her she would always make 4 shofly pies at once and down to stone celar they went to cool. Wet bottom with molasses

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