Shoofly Pie
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 servings
- 1½cups flour
- ½cup dark brown sugar
- 1teaspoon cinnamon
- ½teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛teaspoon salt
- ¼pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
- ¾cup molasses
- ¾cup boiling water
- ½teaspoon baking soda
- 1single crust pie pastry (see recipe), rolled flat and placed in a 9-inch pie plate
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
440 calories; 19 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 65 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 32 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 249 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Step 2
Make the crumb topping: Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the consistency resembles cornmeal.
- Step 3
Combine molasses, water and baking soda and pour into pastry shell. Spoon the crumb mixture evenly over the top. Bake 15 minutes, lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake 20 minutes longer, or until set and firm.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Carole
Hey grandmothers recipe is a bit different...but I usually mix equal parts dark and light molasses...perfect combo for us...not overly bitter or too sweet.
LEL
Blackstrap molasses is too strong for most people's taste. I use product called Supreme Baking Molasses from Golden Barrel--a company based in heart of PA Amish territory. Other brands of medium to light molasses will work.
Tabitha
make sure to mix some of the topping with the molasses mixture to thicken it slightly - I didn't and followed the recipe to a T and now have a smoke filled apartment from molasses spilling into my hot oven.
Flossie G
Shoofly pie is a family favorite and I have my own recipe I've perfected over the years. I always use Grandma's Original Unsulphured Molasses; it can be purchased in a grocery store.
WMT
This is almost exactly the same recipe as passed down to me from my grandmother, who came from a German family in Central Pennsylvania. The main difference is that she sprinkled the spices over the molasses mixture in the pie shell before putting the crumb on top. With that method, you get a lighter crumb that contrasts more starkly with the molasses layer at the bottom. I use a mixture of light and dark molasses, but Nanny was less particular and used whatever was in the pantry.
zuzubird
Back in the 70s when I worked in restaurants, I made shoofly pies and variations several times a week for a stretch. Today, though, I had to check a recipe, and this is the one I made. I was a little generous with the molasses, boiling water, and baking soda, to make sure it filled my pie pan. I shouldn't have worried, bc the topping is generous. I like the way it came out! Good flavor, not bitter, and the filling's texture is nice and smooth. A keeper.
mike rowe
I have a Mennonite Cookbook with a very similar recipe. So I added an egg to the molasses mixture and then stirred in half of the crumb mixture as others have noted. Also, the boiling water melts the crust so I only used a small amt < 1/4 cup boiling water then added the remaining 3/4 cool water to that. It turned out very well!
Amy Reed, Cleveland Ohio
This recipe has been in my father's side of the family for decades - he hailed from Schuylkill Haven, PA. It's important to use dark molasses for a rich flavor. We favored Brer Rabbit brand, but any dark "strap" molasses will do. Thanks for featuring this recipe, NYT!
Sharon Maley( Daughter of Thomas (tp) Maley)
My Father and Mother were both born and raised upon Port Carbon, Pa. Sure is a small world
Elizabeth
So many mixed reviews! I just made it. It turned out just like the picture. No smoke, no overflowing—though I baked it on a tray because of comments about overflowing. Only change I made was that I left out the sugar in the pastry crust. It is not a very sweet dessert and very molasses forward. Lovely with a bit of whipped cream.
Amanda Kirby
We did not like this recipe at all. I followed the recipe exactly, it boiled over in the oven, and we ended up with a burnt molasses flavored crumb pie. There was no molasses layer like a regular shoofly pie has. Maybe I’ve been spoiled growing up in Pennsylvania visiting my family in Lancaster. But this was not a good shoofly pie.
Lynne G
I make this for Thanksgiving every year, and everyone asks for the recipe and I send them right here. It’s completely perfect just as is.
Janice
Excellent. Not too gooey like some can be. I wouldn’t change a thing on the recipe.
Barbara
I made it exactly like the recipe and it was perfect, easy to follow and delicious. Gone in a flash!
Crystal
We love molasses in my house. We used a nice dark and robust molasses. Came out wonderful!
philly joe
I learned a major lesson here. Read the comments before doing any recipe from here! The pie boiled over (as commented) and it was much too molasses flavored than any other shoo fly Ive had. I used Grandma’s molasses and I can see it would be better to use maybe 1/3 molasses and 2/3 dark karo syrup? The temp was too high for my oven but that’s just the way many recipes work with the GE Profile.
Nicole_Canada
Made as is. Really liked it. I’ve never tried anything like it before but I love molasses so wanted to give it a try. Glad I did! Super easy. Definitely follow the recommendations of others to put a tray underneath it because it does boil over s bit. That being said, the candied part that boils over is DEE-LISH!
Rosemary Dever
I must have missed a step. My pie was a disaster! It overflowed in the oven, and it never jelled. Was I supposed to boil the water and molasses longer? I boiled the water, then added the molasses and soda immediately.
Mare (Cville)
I tried to make a much-smaller version of this pie. Other than using a dish that was too shallow (which didn't get the middle cakey layer which is between the custardy bottom and the crumb topping), we liked this recipe very much. R. grew up in PA and was familiar with it--he thinks it's very much like what he remembers. Not too sweet, with that sugar and spice that one loves in gingerbread.
MaddieB
I’ve been making shoofly pie for years with my grandmother’s recipe as it was my favorite pie. One thing that differs is the layering of the dry and liquid blended ingredients (dry starting first & finishing last). I’ve never had an issue with it cooking over, but changing the oven temperature is key.
Emma
I made this recipe for my German boyfriend last night. I’m from NJ, but living in Switzerland and I wanted to show him some classics. As we have limited availability of ingredients, I used the only molasses we could find (dark) and needed to substitute the brown sugar with coconut sugar- it worked beautifully! We had no issues with spillage, but I made sure to well emulsify the water, molasses and baking soda- this helped it to set and it didn’t effect the pie crust at all. We ate half of it!
Elizabeth
So many mixed reviews! I just made it. It turned out just like the picture. No smoke, no overflowing—though I baked it on a tray because of comments about overflowing. Only change I made was that I left out the sugar in the pastry crust. It is not a very sweet dessert and very molasses forward. Lovely with a bit of whipped cream.
Lois
The first time I made this, I mixed some of the crumb mixture into the molasses and got a solid pie with no custardy part at all, BUT I think I forgot to turn down the heat after 15 minutes. The second time I made it, I didn't add the crumb mixture to the molasses, but I did remember to turn down the heat and HOORAY! I've got molasses custard! Also, I used a gluten free crust and crumb using Cup4Cup and didn't have any problems.
Rebecca
This turned into a mess for me. It boiled over and filled the house with smoke. The crust burned before the center was done. I followed the recipe exactly.
Rebecca
This made a mess. Smoke-filled house and burnt crust while the center hadn’t set. Even the separate crust recipe was a bit of a mess. 3 tablespoons of water for that much flour and I was dealing with a dough that completely crumbled when trying to roll it out. Back to Mom’s Fanny Farmer recipe.
Steph
Followed recipe as it’s written but I would make adjustments next time. The crumb is much too heavy and pushed all of the filling out of the pie as it baked. It was basically a crumb pie with filling on the edge of the crust. Next time I’d try 1/3 the amount of crumb on top.
Lynne G
I make this for Thanksgiving every year, and everyone asks for the recipe and I send them right here. It’s completely perfect just as is.
Sean
Like a few others have stated, this boiled over into my oven. Made exactly as directed and even made sure my crust was extra high.
John Oppenheim
Recipe is fine but reduced to half cup molasses and half cup water. Used quarter cup of crisco. pie shell are smaller these days Moms recipe called for Breir rabbit light molasses
Pamela
I do not like this recipe. It does not taste at all like the many good Shoofly pies that I have had.
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