The secret to winning a Wet Bottom Shoofly Pie contest is the molasses, according to  Dawn Bowman, mother of winner Samantha Bowman.

Wednesday night a Pennsylvania Dutch style cook-off took place on the front stairs of the Pfc. Houser Building on Third Street. For the 150th celebration residents prepared chicken potpie and shoofly pie for the evening event.“My daughter baked the pie,” Bowman said. “It was made this afternoon with Brer Rabbit Molasses. It has the better flavor.”Bowman bakes molasses crumb cupcakes for the Carbon County Fair and has several wins under her belt that she credits to the molasses.“My cupcakes have won first place at the fair because of the molasses.”Bowman took first place out of nine different entries.Judges in the competition were Judge Joseph Matika, Public Works Supervisor Kris Kunkle and Public Works Assistant Jeff Smith, who according to event organizer Brenda Koons are a trio of shoofly pie connoisseurs.“When they were asked to judge they jumped at the chance,” she said.“We have a lot of good cooks and amazing bakers in this town so we couldn’t pass up this event,” Koons said of organizing the event.Judge Matika said the layers held the key to winning the first-place bragging rights.“There were a number of categories, taste, the ratio of cake, crust and crumb layers,” he said.Matika said it was the molasses in Bowman’s baked good that won her the first-place prize.“I love food, especially shoofly pie,” he said.Joe Flickinger won second place, while Michele Lobien took home third.Four residents entered their chicken potpie dishes, carryingslow cookers full of the hot Pennsylvania Dutch dinner in hopes of winning the first place medal. Barbra Dellecker took the top prize with her family recipe.“It’s old-fashioned,” said Dellecker.“It was handed down through my mother’s side of the family. I made it with love,” she said.Michael Mriss took second place in the contest with Vern Hunsicker rounding out the top three.The top three winners of each contest will contribute their recipes to the sesquicentennial time capsule that will be buried on Saturday and the 150th celebration website Lehightonborough.com.