Bird-in-Hand Bakery, part of the Bird-in-Hand Corporation, has built a devoted following for its old-fashioned treats.
Owner John Smucker said the recipe for their signature pie has been passed down through generations.
"The original recipe for the shoofly pie came from my great grandmother and my grandmother. They were both excellent pie bakers. They they began to work with the ingredients for the shoofly pie, which had been in existence before. They were there, but they perfected it," he said.
Smucker, a fourth-generation member of the family business, said the pie's ingredients are simple.
"And those ingredients are the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, lard, and the brown sugar," he said.
The bakery's staff says there is no secret technique behind the dessert.
"You just have to combine them according to a recipe in just the right way. And you have to pick just the right pastry," one employee said.
Shoofly pie, a molasses crumb pie that does not require refrigeration, has long been a favorite in Amish and Mennonite communities.
As for the name, one baker explained, "There's a theory and there's an old saying, so to speak, that when the cooks, the early cooks, the bakers, were putting shoo fly pies together - it's such a sweet pie - and so when you put it out there, it just attracts flies. And they were always shooing the flies off the pies as they were cooling."
The Bird-in-Hand Corporation began in agriculture before expanding into lodging, restaurants and baking.
The hospitality side of the business has operated for 55 years. Six bakers, along with seasonal help, produce a variety of sweets.
"We have the capacity in our large ovens to bake a couple of hundred pies at a time," an employee said.
While whoopie pies are another top seller, it is the shoofly pie that keeps customers returning.
"It was it was a staple in the Amish Mennonite community for many, many years when the county became popular as a tourist destination. Then the out-of-town guests began to buy this pie and they also really liked the pie, the sweetness of it, and it became very popular across the country," a staff member said.
The bakery even ships pies as far as Hong Kong.
Smucker said the dessert represents more than a recipe.
"We have a pie that's really indicative of the culture. And it's been that way for a long, long time. It comes out of the culture. And so we can share that cultural aspect with out-of-town guests," he said.