This is the best shoofly pie I’ve eaten, and believe me, I’ve tried many. Some versions are dry and soft; others are quite gooey and moist. This one falls somewhere in between, and is thick and unabashedly pleasing. Shoofly is authentic American pie that comes to us from the Pennsylvania Amish and Mennonites and the Pennsylvania Dutch; we should be grateful to them forever.
This blue ribbon recipe comes from 82 year-old Jean Podell who won Moraga, California's pear recipe contest. The town, which was built in the last hundred years on Bartlett orchards, still has many producing trees along its bike trail and open spaces. In 1999, Moraga organized a community harvest and its first annual Moraga Pear Festival to celebrate its history.
This pie includes a new trick from baking expert Rose Levy Beranbaum.