Stupendous Shoo-fly Pie

I was dessert man for Thanksgiving. We always have two dinners - one with my mom's side of the family, and one with my dad's. For my mom's side, I just made a Pumpkin Roll and my uncle made pies. For my dad's, I made another Pumpkin Roll, a Caramel Apple Pie, and a Shoo-fly Pie (wet-bottom, of course). While my Caramel Apple Pie was freakin' delicious, I didn't have enough apples so it looked a little empty and sad. My Shoo-fly Pie, however, was perfect (if I do say so myself)!

I'm not really sure where this recipe came from. I'm thinking it's out of one of my great grandmother's cookbooks, but I'm not positive. Shoo-fly Pies are very PA Dutch. I love going to a new area of the world and having people ask me if there are actual flies in it. There are not, by the way. "Shoo-fly" comes from the pie being so sweet from the molasses and people having to shoo the flies away.

Anyway, here's my secret family recipe... possibly.... It might be from the internet somewhere... or a cookbook.... Dunno, but it's my recipe now!



Shoo-fly Pie

Ingredients:
9" pie crust
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 C. warm water
1/2 C. molasses
1 C. flour
1/4 C. sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

Method:
- Chill crust for about an hour before use. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

-Stir together the 1/2 tsp. baking soda and the warm water. Add the molasses and stir until the mixture is slightly foamy. Pour molasses mixture into the pie crust.

-Mix together the flour, sugar, and 1/4 tsp. baking soda. With a pasty blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until very fine crumbs form. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the wet mixture in the crust. (The idea is that some of the liquid is soaked up, but the bottom will still be wetter than the top - "wet-bottom".)

-Immediately place in the oven and bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and continue baking for about 40 minutes, or until the pie is set and crust is browned.





Enjoy!