Recipe Index

Ingredients

• 1 disk Easy All-Butter Pie Crust or thawed packaged store-bought pie crust
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• ¾ cup (packed; 5¼ oz) dark brown sugar
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1¾ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided
• ½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into very small pieces
• ¾ cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (for serving)

Method

1. Roll the pie crust disk into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface, fold it in quarters, set the point in the center of a 9-inch glass pie dish, unfold it, and ease the dough into the corners without stretching it.
2. Trim the dough to about a 1-inch overhang, fold the overhang under itself so it sits flush with the rim, crimp the edge, set the dish on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, prick the bottom and sides with a fork, and freeze the crust for at least 15 and up to 30 minutes.
3. Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the lower third, line the frozen crust with two sheets of parchment, fill it with pie weights or dried beans, and bake for 13 to 16 minutes until the edges look set and dry; remove the parchment and weights and bake 13 to 16 minutes more until the bottom is dry and golden, then let the crust cool and leave the oven on.
4. Whisk the all-purpose flour, dark brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and three quarters of a teaspoon of Diamond Crystal salt in a medium bowl, then work in the chilled butter pieces by pinching and smashing with your hands until the crumb is sandy with almost no visible butter left.
5. Move a quarter cup of the crumb mixture to another medium bowl and whisk it with the molasses, baking soda and the remaining teaspoon of Diamond Crystal salt, then whisk in a half cup of room-temperature water until the filling turns foamy and light brown.
6. Pour the molasses filling into the cooled crust at once, then scatter the remaining crumb over the top in two thin passes, starting at the edges and working toward the center each time so the topping floats instead of sinking.
7. Bake the pie on its sheet for 15 minutes, tenting the crust with foil if it browns too fast, then reduce the oven to 350°F and bake 20 to 28 minutes more until the filling is set but still jiggles very slightly in the middle when the dish is gently shaken.
8. Cool the shoofly pie on a wire rack for about 2 hours before slicing, and serve each wedge with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Cook: 40 minutes · Total: 1 hour 45 minutes (plus cooling)

Nutrition (per serving, where published)

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data