Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Shoo-Shoofly Pie....

Recently, I've been getting a lot of requests for Shoofly Pie and I gotta say that there have been some varying opinions as to what the darned-tasty stuff really is.  "It's got molasses in it, right?" Yes. Yes it does.  It also has flour, brown sugar, egg, soda, water and shortening. A very simple, down-home recipe.  Just a handful of simple ingredients, really.  
However, a good Shoofly is more than just throwing any kind of ingredients in there that you have on hand.  It takes careful consideration.  Trust me on this- it's easy to mess it up.  If you use dark brown sugar AND full flavor molasses, your pie is gonna be really muddy, kinda tar-like.  I like to use a good balance of light brown sugar (Domino is the best because it's always nice and moist and doesn't clump up) and a combination of mild and full flavor syrups (try Brer Rabbit brand- best flavor I've found plus there's a really good molasses cookie recipe printed on the side of the bottles).
So now I come to the great Shoofly controversy!  
Wet Bottom vs. Dry Bottom
A thick sticky bottom with a cake-like                  A moist cake-like consistency           middle and crumb top.                                  throughout with a crumb top.

Clearly, the wet bottom wins. When I think of Shoofly pie, I think of a slice of sticky, sweet, gooey goodness.  And anyway, you can have cake anytime.... 
If you don't believe me, ask Dinah Shore.  


2 comments:

  1. I'm sorry, but "wet bottom" vs. "dry bottom" might be one of the best (and most awkward) controversies known to man.

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  2. Yes, it most certainly is. Wet bottom's so much better though! Haha.

    ReplyDelete