Origin of a Classic: Shoofly Pie

Find the recipe for Brett Braley‘s Shoofly Pie, here

Traditionally consisting of a basic piecrust with a cake-like molasses-flavored filling and a crumbled flour, sugar, and butter topping, this humble pie has a winding history. Though closely associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch community, shoofly pie’s popularity has extended well beyond the farm since its first appearance in the late 1800s. According to William Woys Weaver, director of the Keystone Center for the Study of Regional Foods and Food Tourism, the pie was first introduced as a coffee cake in 1876 at the U.S. Centennial in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “Between 1876 and the early 1880s, the cake migrated to a pie shell,” he says. “It was easier to eat as a hand-held slice of pie, so it appealed to farmhouse cooks.”

Since this original version called for pantry staples like butter, flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, coffee, and plenty of molasses, shoofly pie was inherently inexpensive to make, which made it popular among home bakers. Though it is now often eaten as dessert, this hearty treat was once—and in some areas of Pennsylvania still is—a breakfast staple, dipped in a mug of coffee and usually eaten by hand. “I’d eat a piece of Shoofly Pie just as soon as I’d eat a pastry or piece of coffee cake in the morning,” says John E. Smucker III, owner of Bird-in-Hand Bakery and Café in the small village of Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. 

But why would a pie be called shoofly? According to some, the name of this popular molasses-flavored treat comes from the days of old when bakers would have to “shoo” flies away from their pies cooling on the windowsill. Similarly, others speculate that the name is a reference to the old song from the 1800s that sang, “Shoo-fly, don’t bother me.” William, though, asserts that  neither of those stories is correct, though the latter does come close. “The pie takes its name from Shoofly the Boxing Mule, who was part of a popular traveling circus act in the Dutch Country,” he says. “The mule took his name from the popular song.” In true celebrity fashion, the famous mule’s name was branded onto a number of products, such as Shoofly Flour, Shoofly Horse Powder, Shoofly Molasses, and, of course, Shoofly Pie. 

1
2
Previous articlePeach and Blueberry Buckwheat Sonker
Next articlePlum Icebox Cake

3 COMMENTS

  1. Timeless recipe so flavorful and one piece ain’t enough. Like the history behind the boxing mule who was branded on different products. I like this cpage talk about some traditional things as the original Norse wassel drink.for those who enjoy a warming alcohol drink during. The holidays..there is a traditional type ham the Norse celebrated during yule..

  2. I grew up with shoofly pie for breakfast. We baked our own. Dark Kari syrup was used.
    Traditionally, wet bottom pie was found more in Lancaster and dry was from other counties such as Lehigh County north of Philadelphia.

    I taught about the PA Dutch in my Philly 4th grade classroom. Some of my research found a discussion that the name may have come from French for “Chou fleur”….cauliflower. (The thinking that the crumb topping resembles a head of cauliflower.

    There were French Huguenot immigrants to PA who intermixed with the PA Germans. As they came well before the late 1800’s, my feeling is that the pie was in existence before that as well. It’s a handy pie to be carried to the fields. So the farm was it’s origin

Leave a Reply to The best and most famous pies in US - TravelAdvicor Cancel reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.