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shoo fly pie
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Pennsylvania Dutch shoo fly pie

Shoo fly pie is a staple amongst the Pennsylvania Dutch community. My family and I used to buy these at our local farmer's market.
Prep Time25 mins
Cook Time45 mins
Chilling time5 hrs
Total Time6 hrs 10 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Pies
Author: Eva Bakes

Ingredients

Pie crust

  • 1 and ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter very cold and diced
  • ¼ cup ice water

Filling

  • 1 cup molasses
  • ⅔ cup boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Topping

  • 3 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup shortening softened
  • Pinch salt

Instructions

Make the crust

  • In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt together. Add in the butter until your mixture looks like wet sand. Slowly stream in the water until a loose dough forms (you may not need all of the water).
    Alternatively, you can do this by hand. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut in the butter until you get pea-sized clumps. Slowly add in the water and mix with your hands until a dough forms.
  • Shape the dough into a round disc and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill in your refrigerator for about 4 hours.
  • Once the dough has thoroughly chilled, roll it out into a circle. Place it into a pie pan and trim the edges. Flute/crimp them if desired. Then place the pie plate back into the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 additional hour.

Make the filling

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F.
  • In a large bowl, mix together the molasses, boiling water and baking soda. It will be slightly bubbly. Pour this into your prepared (unbaked) pie crust.

Make the topping

  • In a separate large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the shortening. Add this on top of the molasses mixture. The pie will be quite tall, and some of the topping will seem fairly loose. This is OK.
  • Place your pie plate on top of a baking sheet or baking pan and bake in your preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until the center is no longer jiggly.
  • Allow the pie to cool completely before serving. Otherwise, the molasses filling will ooze everywhere.

Notes

Leftover pie should be stored, covered, at room temperature and will last several days.
Sources: Pie crust from Allrecipes; Filling and topping from Amish 365