Shoofly and Other Pies from Pennsylvania

By Mollie Cox Bryan
Published on March 1, 2008
1 / 4

The lemon flavor of Raisin Pie, forefront, is delicious, and the Shoofly Pie, behind, has a strong molasses taste.
The lemon flavor of Raisin Pie, forefront, is delicious, and the Shoofly Pie, behind, has a strong molasses taste.
2 / 4

The gooey goodness of a Shoofly Pie is evident after a slice is cut.
The gooey goodness of a Shoofly Pie is evident after a slice is cut.
3 / 4

Fingers, or an end of a spatula, work well to flute an unbaked pie shell.
Fingers, or an end of a spatula, work well to flute an unbaked pie shell.
4 / 4

While it takes practice to get the lattice-work right for a top crust, it’s well worth the effort.
While it takes practice to get the lattice-work right for a top crust, it’s well worth the effort.

Dark Bottom Shoofly Pie
Raisin Pie
Montgomery Pie
Amish Tears-On-Your-Pillow Pie
Amish Vanilla Pie

Shoofly pie, with its sticky warmth and goodness, is what a pie should be – sweet, spicy, filling, and an interesting combination of textures bobbing around in the mouth. Even if it’s not made in your own oven, you can imagine, as you bite into it, motherly hands covered in red-checked oven mitts pulling the finished pie fresh from the heat. This is not a pie for those who desire a delicate melt-in-your-mouth experience, or just a nip of sweetness, from a dessert.

Shoofly pie is made from molasses, brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter and salt, and sometimes nutmeg. Traditional shoofly pies are made with either a “wet bottom” (soft filling and crumb topping) or “dry bottom” (crumb topping mixed into the filling). Most of the ingredients will keep in the larder for the winter, even without today’s conveniences. Perhaps that’s why its history is such a long and fascinating one, and why folks who abstain from modern conveniences such as electricity – the Amish, for example – still make the pie.

It says something about the sturdy, historic pie that the Pennsylvania Dutch lay claim to it. (The term “Dutch” is actually a misnomer, a corruption of the word Deutsch, which means German.) Two religious sects often associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch are the Mennonites, followers of Menno Simons, and the Amish, followers of Swiss Mennonite bishop Jacob Amman. These people came to Pennsylvania Colony because of religious tolerance. William Penn (1644-1718), founder of the colony, put the word out that Pennsylvania welcomed all religions. The first sizeable group arrived around 1710 and settled near Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and they brought their love of pie with them.

Like the colonists already in America, these settlers ate pie at any time of day. Indeed, according to food historian and cookbook author William Woys Weaver, shoofly pie is still served for breakfast among today’s Pennsylvania Dutch.

Though some cookbook authors and historians say shoofly pie is unique to America, that claim is difficult to prove. Europeans were making pies for generations before they stepped foot in the New World – and treacle and molasses pies were well-documented delights in England. So, shoofly pie is probably a variation of the older English treacle tart. Molasses was often substituted for treacle in colonial American recipes. Even though the actual pie might not be unique to America, the name certainly is. According to the Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, the term “shoofly pie” was not recorded in print until 1926.

Online Store Logo
Need Help? Call 1-866-803-7096