shoofly pie a very sweet pie (in the American sense—it would be a tart in Britain) with a filling of molasses and/or brown sugar. Mariani (1994) states that this was not recorded in print in the USA until 1926, and that it is believed to be of pennsylvania Dutch origin. Some have thought that the name is a corruption of some German word, but the more likely explanation is simply that the exposed surface of the pie is so sweet that flies have to be shooed away from it.
The equivalent confection in Britain is treacle tart, which has a much longer history.
