Gluten-Free Pies

Every two weeks I put money into an envelope for purchasing groceries over the next two weeks. There is a good amount of satisfaction to be had in making that money stretch as far as possible. And in the few days before it’s time for the envelope to be “paid” I’m my most creative. Making meals from what is left in the house.

Today was one of those days. I had a hankering for pie but we had no fruit, no lemons… nothing that I would typically use for a pie. After searching my pantry I came up with molasses and coconut. A coconut cream pie (made with meringue as I didn’t have any cream) was my immediate first choice and since my pie crust recipe makes 2 shells, I could either freeze the second one or make a second pie. The molasses kept coming to mind… a pie made with molasses. Shoo Fly Pie!

I’ve never had a Shoo Fly Pie but after looking at a few recipes, I found that I could make it. My afternoon was spent rolling pie crust and creating two delicious pies for my hungry family. My cousin and his girlfriend have been here for the summer and were happy to come and partake of pies, meatloaf, corn bread, and broccoli casserole.

I used a recipe from the food network website for the coconut cream pie. Minimal number of ingredients and a meringue topping. Perfect.

The Shoo Fly pie was a major hit. We’d never had this type of pie before and were pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Similar to a pecan pie, but without the nuts (perfect for those of us who despise nuts). Rich, dark, moist, a definite southern type pie. It is a very easy pie to assemble and would be delicious with fresh whipped cream or a touch of vanilla ice cream on top.

Shoo Fly Pie
makes 1 deep-dish pie

1 baked/cooled pie crust (recipe found here)

Crumb Topping
1 1/4 cups Tom Sawyer gluten-free flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 Tbl softened butter

Filling
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 Tbl Tom Sawyer gluten-free flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 350F.

Combine crumb topping ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Mix hot water, molasses, brown sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add remaining filling ingredients and whisk vigorously for 1 minute.

Pour 1/2 of the filling into the cooled pie shell and sprinkle 1/2 of the crumb topping over the top. Layer remaining filling and topping.

Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Enjoy!