Shoo Fly. Its one of those pies you've always heard about, but never had? Well I decided to try it, and I'm really glad I did. This pie is like a nicely spiced and not too sweet molasses custard with wonderful little sweet crumbs giving it a somewhat cake like texture.
I served this pie at the pie party we recently had, and it did have mixed review though. I think this is one of those pies where you are either going to love it or hate it. I loved it. My fiancee, we'll call him Mr. Tau, loved it. But others didn't like the molasses-ness. The other great thing about his pie is that it is considered a breakfast pie. You can eat it for breakfast. Woot. Which I did, this morning. It went great with a banana. So what if I already ordered my wedding dress and need to not get a single millimeter bigger before then?
According to Sallie: "The Shoo Fly Pie was created when colonists in the early 18th century found their baking supplies running low late in the winter. The ingredients left in the pantry were usually flour, lard and molasses or refiner’s syrup. Many have presumed that the unusual name of the pie was due to it attracting flies as it cooled near an open window. However, the name “Shoo Fly Pie” did not appear in print until 1926. I agree with John Ayto in his An A-Z of Food and Drink when he states . . . “the fact that it originated as a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty suggests the possibility that shoofly is an alteration of an unidentified German word.” I totally agree with this conclusion because one of those antique recipe pamphlets that Harold Jamieson loaned to me mentioned that the pie had been associated with the name “Schuuflei Boi”."
Oh, and Happy Birthday Dad!
Shoo Fly Pie
Recipe by Sallie
Crumbs:
1 cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
2 TBsp butter
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
Liquid:
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
1/3 cup molasses
2 TBsp honey
¾ cup hot water
1 well beaten egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
To make the liquid part, mix the syrups, hot water and vanilla. Then mix in honey. Making sure your mixture isn't too hot (you'll cook the egg!), carefully add your egg while stirring. Then add baking soda. The mixture will thicken slightly, but it will be runny.
Next, make the crumbs by adding all the dry ingredients, and then I melted the butter and poured it in and stirred. Evidently I was supposed to cut it in, but it seemed to work just fine. I stirred until the crumbs were all even and very small in size.
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| Bzzzzz. |
According to Sallie: "The Shoo Fly Pie was created when colonists in the early 18th century found their baking supplies running low late in the winter. The ingredients left in the pantry were usually flour, lard and molasses or refiner’s syrup. Many have presumed that the unusual name of the pie was due to it attracting flies as it cooled near an open window. However, the name “Shoo Fly Pie” did not appear in print until 1926. I agree with John Ayto in his An A-Z of Food and Drink when he states . . . “the fact that it originated as a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty suggests the possibility that shoofly is an alteration of an unidentified German word.” I totally agree with this conclusion because one of those antique recipe pamphlets that Harold Jamieson loaned to me mentioned that the pie had been associated with the name “Schuuflei Boi”."
Oh, and Happy Birthday Dad!
Shoo Fly Pie
Recipe by Sallie
Crumbs:
1 cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
2 TBsp butter
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
Liquid:
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
1/3 cup molasses
2 TBsp honey
¾ cup hot water
1 well beaten egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
To make the liquid part, mix the syrups, hot water and vanilla. Then mix in honey. Making sure your mixture isn't too hot (you'll cook the egg!), carefully add your egg while stirring. Then add baking soda. The mixture will thicken slightly, but it will be runny.
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| Mmm, brown liquid. |
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| Melty butter. |
Next, make the crumbs by adding all the dry ingredients, and then I melted the butter and poured it in and stirred. Evidently I was supposed to cut it in, but it seemed to work just fine. I stirred until the crumbs were all even and very small in size.
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| Crumbs! |
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| The bottom layer. |
Next, in a nine inch pie crust, layer 1/3 of the crumb mixture on the bottom, followed by 1/2 the liquid mixture, following by 1/3 crumb mixture, followed by the rest of the liquid, followed by the rest of the crumbs. Layers!
Bake at 400° for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350° and bake for 20-25 more minutes. Remove pie from oven and let cool on rack.
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| The delicious Shoo Fly Pie |
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