This shoofly pie has all the flavors of a molasses ginger cookie mixed with a buttery streusel in a flakey pastry crust. The rich, spicy, sweet filling just melts in your mouth bite after bite (slice after slice)
When Chef hints about his favorite kind of pie (hint, hint: it’s shoofly), you make a mental note to make it for him sometime.
Then, when Chef buys a shoofly pie at the farmer’s market and it is a huge letdown and then questions if you could do better, you start researching shoofly pie recipes to see what it’s all about because you know your pie crust is killer and you are pretty sure your crumble wouldn’t taste like raw flour (I mean how did they even do that?!).
When Chef starts asking “where’s the pie” after your day off, you bake the damn pie.
Even if it is 2:00AM after service.
And then you photograph it because it tastes like molasses heaven.
Shoofly pie is basically everything you love about a ginger cookie, molasses pecan pie filling and streusel all combined into one magical dessert.
Streusel in the pie; streusel on the pie. Because literally everything is better with a crumb topping.
Literally everything.
The recipes I found were divided into two camps: those who layered the molasses custard with the crumbs and those who just dumped the crumbs on top.
I am a huge fan of trying new things and I take a firm “the more the merrier” stance on streusel, so I chose the layered approach.
The spiced crumbs just seamlessly blended into the molasses custard, so that it was just a rich, creamy, spicy, sweet filling. Say what now? How have I never had this before?
This is what has been missing in my life.
Shoofly Pie
- Total Time: 50 minutes
Description
This shoofly pie has all the flavors of a molasses ginger cookie mixed with a buttery streusel in a flakey pastry crust. The rich, spicy, sweet filling just melts in your mouth bite after bite (slice after slice)
Ingredients
- For the Crumbs:
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoons grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 t cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup butter, cubed and cold
For the Filling:
- ½ t baking soda
- ¾ cup boiling water
- ½ cup unsulfured molasses
- 1 large egg yolk, well beaten
- Single Pie Crust
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a pie dish with the single crust pastry. Or you can use store bought, but isn’t there something lovely about rolling out the dough yourself? Therapeutic even? No?
- Combine all the ingredients for the crumbs in a bowl and cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or fork until it resembles coarse crumbs. You can also use a food processor but it hardly seems worth the cleanup effort.
- In a small bowl dissolve the baking soda into the boiling water then mix in the molasses and then the egg, whisking to combine completely.
- Layer the molasses filling and crumbs in alternating layers ending with the crumbs. I did three layers.
- Bake pie in preheated oven for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350°F and continue baking about 20 minutes or until the filling feels like jello when pressed. It should be firm but still have some give. Just remember it will get harder as it cools!
- Cool at room temperature. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Store room temperature. I brought my pie to work for the guys (and Chef, obviously) and the two slivers that were left the next day were even better. The spices and molasses flavors intensified overnight!
Recipe adapted from “One Big Table” by Molly O’Neil. Sidebar: this book is epic and everyone should have a copy.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
18 Comments
Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
November 26, 2016 at 10:10 amlolol chef is demanding! 😛 But totally fair–Shoofly pie IS pretty amazing when done right!!! Yours looks gorgeeeeous and perfect! (Also, note, 2 years ago today you were here and we were hanging!!!)
Lindsey
December 5, 2016 at 9:03 amThank you! We were but that was before I had to work on Tgiving!!! Miss you girly xox
Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
December 5, 2016 at 9:28 amI miss you too!!!! <3
Medha
November 27, 2016 at 9:56 amThis look sincredible and the crumbs take it to the next level!
Lindsey
December 5, 2016 at 9:03 amRight?!?! oh the crumbs! THanks for stopping by Medha!
Jeanne
November 27, 2016 at 6:16 pmOh, yum! This is going to be the next pie I bake! I can already taste it!
By the way, are you going to be able to indulge us in the 12 Days of Cookies of Christmas this year?
Jeanne
Lindsey
December 5, 2016 at 9:02 amHi Jeanne! I hope you do bake it! Plus it’s an easy addition to the holiday baking frenzy. And, as you can see, I am carrying on with the madness that is my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. I basically get no sleep but I am loving every second of it! I hope you can follow along and even bake a few! Happy holidays, Jeanne!
Miss Kim @ behgopa
November 29, 2016 at 4:45 pmSo nice to be reading one of your posts again. Seems like it’s been forever! I need to try a shoofly pie. Is it going to be on your menu at the restaurant? The few recipes that I’ve tried from your blog have all been delish, btw…so I confident that this one will be great too.
Lindsey
December 5, 2016 at 9:00 amAww thanks, Girl! It has been forever – I just can’t quite keep up right now but it should slow in January. xoxoxxo
Mary
December 5, 2016 at 11:15 amThis looks delicious! I also love the plates you have and your photography! I love a melt in your mouth pie!
Lindsey
December 6, 2016 at 12:38 amThanks, Mary! It’s been a while!
Bhavik
December 22, 2016 at 4:57 amThey are sooo delicious!
Diana Jerzak
September 30, 2017 at 6:19 pmJust made two shoo fly pies for world communion day tomorrow. Pies are just now ready to take out of the oven and the smell is incredible!
Lindsey
October 6, 2017 at 9:44 pmHooray!!!
wrinks
November 5, 2018 at 5:48 pmmade pie today turned out great’I used les molasses and used dark corn surp for one third but it was great anyway
Lindsey
November 11, 2018 at 6:15 pmSounds delicious!
Susan
February 9, 2019 at 7:37 amOh my goodness how I miss Shoo-fly pie. I haven’t had one since moving away from the Pennsylvania area to Florida. I just might have to try this. Thank you for the recipe.
Lindsey
February 9, 2019 at 11:51 amI’m so glad, Susan!!