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Recipes » Courses » Dessert » Homemade Shoofly Pie Recipe

Homemade Shoofly Pie Recipe

Posted on April 8, 2020 By Chef Billy Parisi

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This amazing old school shoofly pie with homemade crust, molasses filling, and buttery sweet topping is made with few ingredients that you will find already in your cupboard.

To this day my daughter’s favorite dessert is pie so it’s no surprise that we always have an apple pie or key lime pie on hand.  They’re easy to make and I can’t think of a more comforting dessert.

slice of shoofly pie on a plate

Shoofly Pie

This has a really interesting history.  First off, its sweet and it is said to have gotten its name during the cooling process because it would attract flies.  Obviously, people would come and shoo the flies away, hence shoofly pie.

The recipe was founded in Amish country in Pennsylvania during the late 19th century and was originally called Centennial cake.  Most folks think it was created in the wintertime since chickens do not like to lay as many eggs during those cold months and the original recipe has no eggs in it.

Shoofly pie became incredibly popular during the great depression because of its easy to gather ingredients.

What’s It Made Of

The ingredients for a shoofly pie are really simple and as I stated you most likely have them already in your pantry:

  • Homemade Pie Crust
  • Molasses
  • Water
  • Baking Soda
  • Flour
  • Brown Sugar
  • Cinnamon
  • Butter

There are some new variations of the recipe that include eggs to help stabilize the filling as well as adding chocolate for flavor.

How to Make Shoofly Pie

Make a simple streusel by cutting butter into some flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl until the butter is the size of rice.  Set aside.

making a streusel topping in a bowl with a pastry knife

Whisk together boiling water in a heat-safe bowl along with molasses, baking soda, and a beaten egg until combined.

whisking molasses in a large bowl

Pour the molasses mixture into the pie crust formed pan.

pouring a molasses filling into a pie crust

Generously sprinkle the streusel overtop completely covering it.

adding streusel to the top of the molasses filling in the pie

Bake it at 425° for 15 minutes and then turn the heat down to 350° and bake for a further 20-25 minutes or until the center has firmed up.

cooking a shoofly pie in the oven

Cool completely on a rack before slicing and serving.

cooling a shoofly pie on a resting rack

Recipe Chef Notes + Tips

Make-Ahead: You can make this pie up to 2 days before you slice it.

How to Store: Once the pie has cooled to room temperature, cover with plastic and keep in the refrigerator for 7 days.  Likewise, you can cover and freeze for up to 3 months.  Thaw for 1 day in the refrigerator before serving.

Most pie tins are 9” and this recipe will fill it all the way to the top.  If you are nervous that it will overflow outside of the pan, then reduce the recipe by 25%

I prefer to use light molasses because the flavor is not as intense and also has less bitterness.

You can make the streusel topping in a food processor instead of using a pastry knife.

shoofly pie on a rack and a slice of pie on a plate with milk

More Amazing Pie Recipes

  • French Silk
  • Pumpkin
  • Blueberry
  • Chess Pie
  • Pecan Pie

Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Pinterest, and if you’ve had a chance to make this, then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!

Video

slice of shoofly pie on a plate
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Homemade Shoofly Pie Recipe

This amazing shoofly pie with homemade crust, molasses filling, and buttery sweet topping is made with few ingredients and is so delicious.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time40 mins
Cooling Time1 hr 30 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12
Calories: 367kcal
Author: Chef Billy Parisi

Ingredients

  • 1 homemade pie crust recipe
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 ¼ cups light molasses
  • 1 ¼ cups hot boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 beaten egg

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425°.
  • Add the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and salt to a large bowl and cut in together using a pastry knife until the butter is about the size of rice. Set aside.
  • In a large heat-safe bowl add in the molasses, boiling water, baking soda, and beaten egg until completely combined.
  • Transfer the mixture and pour it into a pie crust molded pan.
  • Generously sprinkle on the streusel over the top until it is completely covered.
  • Bake in the oven at 425° for 15 minutes then at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until firm in the center.
  • Cool on a rack completely before slicing and serving.
  • You can add optional toppings such as whipped cream or ice cream.

Notes

Chef Notes:
  • Make-Ahead: You can make this pie up to 2 days before you slice it.
 
  • How to Store: Once the pie has cooled to room temperature, cover with plastic and keep in the refrigerator for 7 days. Likewise, you can cover and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw for 1 day in the refrigerator before serving.
 
  • Most pie tins are 9” and this recipe will fill it all the way to the top. If you are nervous that it will overflow outside of the pan, then reduce the recipe by 25%.
 
  • I prefer to use light molasses because the flavor is not as intense and also has less bitterness.
 
  • You can make the streusel topping in a food processor instead of using a pastry knife.

Nutrition

Calories: 367kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 221mg | Potassium: 567mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 311IU | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 3mg
Homemade Shoofly Pie Recipe was last modified: April 9th, 2020 by Chef Billy Parisi

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Comments

  1. Debbie says

    October 05, 2020 at 1:20 pm

    5 stars
    OMG, Billy! To see a chef have a recipe for this is awesome. I am totally making it this week. I would make it now, but have to do another grocery store run for molasses.

    I just made your cream puffs with Bavarian cream on Saturday and they were perfect! These were specially requested by my boyfriend and has a very acute sense of smell and taste and doesn’t like many foods as a result. He said they were prefect. Thanks Billy!

    I’m here again today looking for another dessert to make for a birthday tomorrow (my birthday!).

    Cheers,
    Debbie

    Reply

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ABOUT ME

I’m Billy Parisi and thanks for checking out my site! I’m a culinary school grad that spent 15 years in the restaurant industry as a line cook, sous chef and executive chef. Now I write recipes, take pictures of’em, shoot some video, occasionally hosting on TV, checking out the latest fashion, hangin with my wife and daughter and watching a whole bunch of college sports. Hope you enjoy my twists on classics as well as new innovations! Read More…

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