Today I made a Shoofly Pie, from the Northeast section on page 142.
The story that came with this pie was interesting. This pie comes from the Pennsylvania Dutch Country and it’s an early American example of what is now known as fusion cuisine. The molasses filling is borne from traditional English style and its streusel topping has distinctly German roots.
I’ll be honest and let you know that I had never heard of a Shoofly pie before I saw it in Martha’s book, and I didn’t think I’d like it very much because I thought it would be too sweet for my taste. Still, I always enjoy the adventure of trying something new and different.
To my surprise and delight, I really loved this pie! The buttery streusel topping compliments the molasses filling and creates a very unique flavor profile. If this pie didn’t have the streusel topping, I don’t think I would like the molasses filling on its own. The reason why is that molasses isn’t merely a liquid sugar, it goes through a complex chemical process that leaves it with a slightly bitter and harsh aftertaste, however it works in this pie because the streusel elevates the taste to a different level, and the hard edge of the molasses brings something new to the streusel that it doesn’t have when sitting atop an ordinary coffee cake. I made only two changes to the recipe: I added a shot of bourbon to the filling, because it just felt like the right thing to do. I also added some toasted pecans to the streusel topping, which gave it a terrific crunch.
The picture in Martha’s book has an adorable little boy excitedly clutching the pie…sadly, I didn’t have a little boy around to pose with my pie, so I got Jeff to do it, which is fine because he’s just a big kid at heart! And I happen to think he’s adorable too!
