The reason it's called shoofly or shoofly pie is because the sweet, sticky molasses that is used in the shoofly pie would attract flies while it cooled on windowsills.
So bakers and families would have to continually "shoo" the flies away from the shoofly pie.
Another theory of why it's called shoofly pie is due to the boxing mule theory.
Food historians such as William Woys Weaver point out that it may be named after Shoofly, a famous traveling circus boxing mule from the late 19th century.
That mule was named after a popular Civil War-era song ("Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me"), and a popular brand of molasses at the time (as well as flour and horse powder) adopted the name.
Because molasses is the main ingredient in shoofly pie, the shoofly pie took on the brand's name.
Shoofly pie is healthy to eat in moderation, although shoofly pie is not a healthy food itself.
While shoofly pie is healthy to eat in moderation, shoofly pie is a traditional pie dessert that is packed with refined carbohydrates, butter and also heavy amounts of molasses and sugar.
A standard slice of shoofly pie contains around 60g to 90g of carbohydrates as well as over 60g of sugar, which comes mainly from the brown sugar and unsulfured or blackstrap molasses.
A typical serving of shoofly pie also contains between 450 calories to 483 calories per slice.
Shoofly pie also contains between 11g to 19g of total fat, with around 5g to 7g of saturated fat, which is due to the pastry crust and butter crumb topping of the shoofly pie.
Shoofly pie is also very low in protein, with only 3g to 6g of protein per slice and the fiber in shoofly pie is also minimal at around 1g.
However there are some health benefits of shoofly pie as shoofly pie contains iron and minerals.
The molasses used in shoofly pie, especially dark or blackstrap varieties of molasses contain trace amounts of iron, potassium and calcium.
Although, the high sugar content of shoofly pie far outweighs the small mineral content of the shoofly pie.
You can also find modified, lower sugar or even grain free shoofly pie recipes online that also use sugar free syrups, alternative flours such as rye flour or oat flour, and reduced sweeteners, although traditional shoofly pie still remains a high calorie treat that is meant to be eaten in moderation.
As long as you eat the shoofly pie in moderation and are eating a healthy and balanced diet the shoofly pie is perfectly healthy to eat.