Amish Shoofly Pie

Shoofly pie that's been cut into slices in a pie plate.

A traditional Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch dessert, shoofly pie is incredibly unique! It has a distinct molasses flavor with a gooey filling and crumb topping. My version has a secret ingredient that makes it taste incredible!

Recipe includes a how-to video!

Course Dessert, pie

Cuisine American, Amish

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 343kcal

Author Sam Merritt

Equipment

9” pie plate
Food processor (recommended, see note)

Ingredients

1 9” pie crust unbaked
1 ½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
⅔ cup (133 g) dark brown sugar firmly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon table salt
6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter cold, cut into 6 pieces
¾ cup (175 ml) hot water
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup (175 ml) unsulphured molasses (do not use blackstrap molasses)
1 large egg yolk lightly beaten, room temperature preferred
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425F (220C). Roll out pie crust and arrange in a 9” pie plate, fluting, crimping, or folding the edges. Pierce the bottom all over with a fork and place in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare your filling.
1 9” pie crust
In the basin of a food processor (see note if you don’t have one), combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Pulse briefly to combine.
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ⅔ cup dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon table salt
Scatter butter evenly over the flour mixture and pulse again until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
In a separate bowl, stir together hot water and baking soda until baking soda is dissolved. Add molasses and whisk until completely combined.
¾ cup hot water, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ cup unsulphured molasses
Add egg yolk and vanilla (if using) and whisk to combine.
1 large egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Retrieve the pie crust from the refrigerator and pour half of the molasses mixture into your prepared pie crust. Top with half of the crumb mixture, then top with the rest of the molasses mixture, and finally top evenly with remaining crumbs (everything will seem very liquidy and the ingredients won’t hold neat layers!).
Place the pie on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes. Once 15 minutes has passed, reduce oven temperature to 350F (175C) and continue to bake for another 22-28 minutes until pie is set, center may still seem a little jiggly but should spring back to the touch.
Allow pie to cool completely before slicing and serving. It’s excellent topped with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!

Video

Notes

How to make without a food processor:

You can make this recipe without a food processor, it’s just a bit more work.
To do this, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, then either grate the butter into the flour mixture or cut it into cubes and use a pastry cutter to cut it into the dry ingredients. The mixture will be very dry, cut until the butter pieces are very small!

Storing

Cover tightly and store at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I recommend warming slightly before serving, that's my favorite way to enjoy it!

Nutrition