Pennsylvania Dutch Shoofly Pie (Lancaster County) - Golden Barrel (2024)

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Pennsylvania Dutch Shoofly Pie (Lancaster County) - Golden Barrel? ›

According to historian William Woys Weaver, the molasses had been named after an iconic circus animal (Shoofly the Boxing Mule), who had been named after a popular song written during the Civil War (“Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me”). The hearty pie-cake fusion remains popular in Pennsylvania's Amish country.

According to historian William Woys Weaver, the molasses had been named after an iconic circus animal (Shoofly the Boxing Mule), who had been named after a popular song written during the Civil War (“Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me”). The hearty pie-cake fusion remains popular in Pennsylvania's Amish country.

Today, shoofly pie remains a beloved dessert in Lancaster County and throughout Pennsylvania. In fact, it has even become something of a cultural icon, with many tourists flocking to the region specifically to sample the dessert.

The difference is that dry-bottom is more cake-like throughout whereas wet-bottom has a cake-like top, finished with a syrupy bottom layer. If you're a fan of molasses-type desserts, you're gonna love shoofly pie.

What is in shoofly pie? The star of the show is molasses, but shoofly pie is also typically composed of flour, brown sugar, water, spices, and sometimes egg. The pie is topped with a crumb mixture and served in a flaky pie crust. Shoofly pie is similar to a coffee cake but with a gooey molasses bottom.

In times of emergencies, wives turned to the ingredient known as rosine in their native German. They whipped up raisin pies, which traveled well and required no peeling or pitting, on various occasions, but their consistent presence at funerals led to the nickname “funeral pie.”

Because of its ingredients, a shoofly pie will keep nicely on your countertop for a few days. Simply ensure that it's completely covered to keep it fresh. You can refrigerate if you wish, but traditionally it's eaten warm.

The clear winner for the United States as a whole was (not surprisingly) apple pie with more than 27% of sales going to the traditional flavor.

The pie for PA is a Shoofly Pie! The shoofly pie was invented by the Pennsylvania Dutch in the 1880's. It all started as molasses cake called centennial cake in 1876 made to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

The Pennsylvania Amish claim to have whoopie pie recipes passed down through families from generation to generation. More commonly known by the name of "gobs" in this region, whoopie pies are a regular sight at roadside farm stands and local bakeries.

How to eat shoofly pie? ›

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.

Visit the Lancaster area of Pennsylvania and indulge in a Pennsylvania Dutch original, the Shoofly Pie. Also know as Shoo-Fly Pie, and Shoo Fly Pie. Most of the area restaurants and bakeries sell this favorite pie. The pie is more like a coffee cake, with a gooey molasses bottom.

Its name came about this way: in the 19th century, “shoo-fly” was a common American interjection that entered the vocabulary from a popular minstrel song. Just as it implies, it was used to scare away pests, often accompanied with the flapping of hands.

While baking, fresh butter is used generously to achieve that ideal, moist consistency. From pie crusts to cakes, Amish baking never tastes dry or crumbles apart thanks to its addition. The butter is the key to holding everything together and making it extra savory.

The most popular theory is when the early settlers came to North America, they brought with them such staples as flour, brown sugar, molasses, salt, shortening, and spices—a limited selection of items to create a shoofly pie.

An anonymously written 1895 New York Herald article on the history of minstrel show dancing gave this history: 'Shoo-Fly' is said to have come originally from the Isthmus of Panama, where the black people sang 'Shoo Fly' and 'Don't Bodder Me' antiphonally while at their work.

shoo·​fly ˈshü-ˌflī 1. : a child's rocker having the seat built on or usually between supports representing an animal figure. 2. : any of several plants held to repel flies.

Cobbler is sometimes described as a kind of fruit pie, but strictly speaking, the two are different. Pies are made from pastry, rather than biscuit batter, and they are fully encased, with a crust at the top and the bottom, while cobblers typically only have a topping.

Amanda: Here's how the legend goes: pâté chinois was created during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Chinese Canadian railway workers made the dish during construction. White Canadian workers adopted the recipe, and named it after them.