Shoofly pie is a fluffy molasses

Molasses

Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...

 pie

Pie

A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients....

 considered traditional among the Pennsylvania Dutch

Pennsylvania Dutch

Pennsylvania Dutch refers to immigrants and their descendants from southwestern Germany and Switzerland who settled in Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries...

 and also known in Southern cooking

Cuisine of the Southern United States

The cuisine of the Southern United States is defined as the historical regional culinary form of states generally south of the Mason Dixon Line dividing Pennsylvania from Maryland and Delaware as well as along the Ohio River, and extending west to Southern Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.The most...

.

The term "shoo-fly pie" first appeared in print in 1926. The pie may get its name because the molasses attracts flies

Housefly

The housefly , Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha...

 that must be "shooed" away.

The shoofly pie's origins may come from the treacle tart

Treacle tart

Treacle tart is a traditional English dessert. It is made using shortcrust pastry, with a thick filling made of golden syrup, also known as light treacle, breadcrumbs, and lemon juice. The tart is normally served hot or warm with a scoop of clotted cream, ordinary cream, ice cream or custard...

 with the primary difference being the use of molasses rather than golden syrup

Golden syrup

Golden syrup is a pale treacle. It is a thick, amber-colored form of inverted sugar syrup, made in the process of refining sugar cane juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance similar to honey, and...

.http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/PieHistory/ShooflyPie.htm A Montgomery pie is similar to a shoofly pie, except lemon juice

Lemon juice

The lemon fruit, from a citrus plant, provides a useful liquid when squeezed. Lemon juice, either in natural strength or concentrated, is sold as a bottled product, usually with the addition of preservatives and a small amount of lemon oil.-Uses:...

 is usually added to the bottom layer and buttermilk

Buttermilk

Buttermilk refers to a number of dairy drinks. Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. It also refers to a range of fermented milk drinks, common in warm climates where unrefrigerated fresh milk otherwise sours quickly...

 to the topping. A chess pie

Chess pie

Chess pie is a particularly sugary dessert characteristic of Southern U.S. cuisine. According to James Beard's American Cookery chess pie was brought from England originally, and was found in New England as well as Virginia...

 is also similar, but it is unlayered and made with corn syrup

Corn syrup

Corn syrup is a food syrup, which is made from the starch of maize and contains varying amounts of maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften texture, add volume, prevent crystallization of sugar, and enhance flavor...

.

External links

• "Pebble-Dash" or Shoo-Fly Pie, a page from a 1915 cookbook (Mary At The Farm And Book Of Recipes Compiled During Her Visit Among The "Pennsylvania Germans") at the website of the Michigan State University
  Michigan State University
  Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
  
   Library
• Shoo-fly, don't Amish me, a March 2006 Yale Daily News
  Yale Daily News
  The Yale Daily News is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878...
  
  article on the pie which includes a recipe