“Pebble Dash” or Shoo-Fly Pie

Method

1. 1

   Line three small pie tins with pie crust.

2. 2

   Rub the flour, brown sugar, butter and lard together by hand into small, uneven crumbs. Do not work them smooth.

3. 3

   Dissolve the baking soda in a few drops of vinegar and stir it into the molasses and hot water.

4. 4

   Divide the molasses liquid evenly among the three lined tins.

5. 5

   Scatter the crumbs over the liquid in each tin.

6. 6

   Bake for half an hour in a moderate oven. The pies come out looking like molasses cakes.

• The source gives no crust recipe; it asks only for “rich pie crust,” and none is supplied here.
• The source gives no oven temperature; it says only “a moderate oven.”
• The book does not divide the butter and lard; it gives ¾ cup of the two together.
• The source calls these pies cakes in all but name, since they have a crust.
• The recipe has no egg. The modern version described by America’s Test Kitchen includes one.