Tonight I tried my hand at Shoo-Fly pie. A colleague from work recommended (or dared) me to make it. I had never heard of it:)

It’s signature (heh) ingredient is molasses. I always thought molasses was thicker. Like honey. I was surprised that the consistency was more liquid. When I poured the filling into the pie shell, It was like  a soup. The recipe describes it as a layer to the crumble. It didn’t strike me as a very clearly defined layer.

When the pies were baking, the molasses aroma coming from the oven wasn’t pleasant. I thought something was burning. When I checked on the pies, a lot of the filling had bubbled over. The heat pushed a lot of the filling over the top, into the pan, with the crumble  “layer.” making a gooey looking mess in the pan underneath. From a presentation perspective this one didn’t come out well at all. And that’s mild. But I was really surprised by the taste. It was addicting. I chowed.

The crust!:

1 (9 inch) pie shell

The filling!:

1 cup molasses

3/4 cup hot water

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup shortening

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. To make the bottom layer: In a medium bowl combine molasses, hot water, and baking soda. Stir well. Whisk in beaten egg. Pour liquid mixture into pie shell.  It should come up about 3/4 of the way in the pie shell.

To make crumb topping: In a medium bowl combine flour and brown sugar. Mix well, then cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on top of molasses layer. Sprinkle would be the operative word. I think I put too much on the top. Way too much.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake an additional 30 minutes.

I wanted to bring one in to work. Not gonna happen. They look bad. And taste really good when warm. Not so much when cooled.