Wet Bottom Shoo-Fly Pie

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Today, the universe cruelly conspired to remind me that I am no longer young.  The first revelation was an  obituary for a star whose name I'd never before heard. The second, and far more unkind, was the discovery that my favorite perfume, Shalimar, is no longer being made. I was also reminded, by a child who shall remain nameless, that I have cracks in my face. He refused to buy my smile line gambit and went on to count my cracks. Fortunately, he can't yet count past ten, so we were able to part amicably. All in all, it turned out to be a great day to bake another of those old-fashioned desserts that are going the way of the dinosaurs. The Silver Fox wanted something really sweet and shoo-fly pie came to mind. This is a Pennsylvania Dutch dessert that has tap roots linking it to German settlers in Lancaster country. The name has intrigued folks for years, and while it is a very sweet pie, it's named after a molasses company rather than the flies that may be drawn to its treacly sweetness. A wet bottomed shoo-fly pie has a gooey bottom, cake-like middle, and crumb topping. If you prefer a dry bottomed pie, simply cook it for a longer period of time. The pie is surprisingly good to eat when warm and it is painlessly easy to make. Here is how it is done.

Wet Bottom Shoo-Fly Pie...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Maple Springs Farm

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup brown Sugar
1 heaping tablespoon shortening
1 cup molasses or King Syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup boiling water
1 beaten egg
Unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2) Mix flour, brown sugar and shortening into crumbs. Divide crumb mixture into two approximately equal portions. Save one portion to top pie. Pour molasses into other half of crumb mixture.
3) Mix baking soda in boiling water. If mixture does not fizz your water is not hot enough or your baking soda is bad. Dump out water and try again. Pie won't rise if it doesn't fizz. When mixture fizzes, pour on top of molasses crumb mixture. Add 1 beaten egg. Mix with fork.
4) Pour into unbaked pie shell. Top with reserved crumbs.
5) Transfer pie to oven and bake for 10 minutes. Without opening oven door, reduce temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes. The pie is done when crust is golden and center is still a bit jiggly. Yield: 8 servings.

                    

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