There will be pie

Two culture-war posts in a row, so perhaps it’s time for a nice refuge thread for those fleeing more contentious conversations. Let us therefore discuss pie.

David R. Swartz’s Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism is receiving widespread acclaim for his revealing and insightful look at the progressive evangelical movement of the 1970s and 1980s. I tend to think of it as That New Book About Everyone I Used to Work For. Here’s Molly Worthen’s review in The New York Times. And here’s the first part of Scot McKnight’s review at Jesus Creed.

So with Swartz’s history of that movement in mind, I thought perhaps a pie from Doris Janzen Longacre’s classic More-with-Less Cookbook — the book that fed the evangelical left.

Here is a recipe for Shoofly pie, contributed by Elta Miller of Lititz, Pa.

Shoofly Pie

Serves 6, 375°, 35 min.

Preheat oven to 375°
Prepare 1 unbaked 9″ pie shell
Cut together with pastry blender:

1 c. flour
½ c. brown sugar
2 T. shortening or margarine

Reserve ½ c. crumbs for topping.
Combine in mixing bowl:

1 c. molasses
1 egg, slightly beaten
¾ c. cold water
1 t. soda in
¼ c. hot water

Add crumb mixture and beat together.
Pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle reserved ½ c. crumbs on top. Bake 35 minutes.