Shoo fly pie

Growing up in northern Delaware usually resulted in many weird looks when I told people where I was from. "Dela-WHERE?" "Isn't that part of New Jersey?" "Is that in Germany?" What actually put us on the map, however, was the movie, Wayne's World.  "Hi... we're in... Delaware." Word on the street was that the people in the theaters would burst into applause after that line. I unfortunately, only saw the movie on VHS.

A great part about living in northern Delaware was that we were so close to the Pennsylvania border. The Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish population was only a hop, skip and a jump away. In fact, our local farm market that we attended on the weekends showcased tons of Amish vendors. All the meats and baked goods that we bought were from the Amish.

One of my absolute favorite pies that we bought from the Amish bakers was Shoo Fly pie. It supposedly got its name from bakers having to shoo away the flies after this pie was cooling. The filling is made of molasses, which makes it nice, thick and sticky, and it is finally topped with a crumb mixture.

I found this recipe on the Stoltzfus Farm Restaurant website, and it looked and sounded pretty authentic. I do remember that the meat vendor at the farm market we attended was owned by the Stoltzfus family, so this could be their family recipe, but I don't know for sure. 

Enjoy this taste from my hometown area!

Bottom Part

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup molasses
• 1/2 tsp. soda
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 2/3 cup cold water  

Crumbs

• 2 cups flour
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup shortening or lard 

Directions

Bottom Part: Stir the egg into 1 cup of brown sugar. Add the molasses. Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water. Add the cold water; then combine with the sugar and egg mixture. Pour into an unbaked 9 inch pie shell.

Crumbs: Cut the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and shortening together until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of the Bottom Part.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake 50 minutes longer or until done.

Source: Stoltzfus Farm Restaurant