I can’t say that Whoopie Pies were commonplace in our household when I was growing up, but I do remember my mom making them on occasion. What I remember most is that she made them in the summer and froze them. They would then become a nice, cool treat for me and my brother. They’d last a long time as they were rock solid, when frozen, and we’d have to kind of scrape away at them with our molars until they thawed enough to really bite into.

For those of you unfamiliar with whoopie pies, they are a snack consisting of 2 very large, cake-like, chocolate “cookies” with a sweet, white filling sandwiched in between. They were, originally, a treat of the Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch but in the early part of the 20th century they found their way to New England where they have also become very popular, especially in Maine. While chocolate is the traditional flavor for the “cookies,” bakeries are now producing whoopie pies in all manner of flavors, of which pumpkin is probably the most favored seasonal rendition, after chocolate.

Whoopie Pies are not your “dainty” little snack, nor are they for the weak of heart, considering the hefty amount of vegetable shortening in the filling. It is said that a whoopie pie should be approximately the size of a hamburger, bun and all. Enough to feed 3 women or 1 growing boy.

I was thrilled the other day, when my wife said she wanted to make whoopie pies. Visions of my childhood flooded back and I couldn’t wait for them to get done. Neither could our daughter, who quickly swiped the paddle from the stand mixer and claimed it for herself.

I even promised my wife that I would give her full credit, here on Onceachef, for doing all the work, so way to go honey! You rock!!!!

One quick note before I start on the recipe. This recipe like most traditional recipes call for shortening in the filling. You can substitute butter, if you prefer, but I happen to like the shortening in this instance. It may just be nostalgia but I really do prefer them that way. There are also recipes that call for making a marshmallow type filling and while good this didn’t come about until the early 1900s. Again I prefer the shortening based filling.

Whoopie Pies
Adapted from An Amish Table by Phyllis Pellman Good

COOKIES
2 cups Sugar 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 cup Shortening 1 tsp. Salt
2 each Eggs 1 cup Sour Milk**
4 cups Flour 2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 cup Cocoa Powder 1 cup Hot Water

FILLING
2 each Egg Whites 4 cups Powdered Sugar
4 Tbsp. Milk 1 1/2 cups Shortening
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 400F. Cream together the sugar and shortening, then add the eggs and mix until well combined. Meanwhile, combine all the dry ingredients, except the baking soda, in another bowl. Add half the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture then add half the milk mixing the whole time. Then add the remain dry ingredients and milk and mix until well combined. Add the vanilla. Finally dissolve the baking soda in the hot water and add the the batter, mixing to combine.

Drop just less than 1/4 cup of the batter, into mounds, onto a cookie sheet, keeping at least 2 inches between the cookies.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely before filling.

Mix together the whites, vanilla, milk, and 2 cups of the powdered sugar. Beat in the shortening, then add the remaining sugar. Beat a couple of minutes longer to make filling somewhat fluffy. Divide the filling between half the cookies, spreading it over the flat sides. Top with the remaining cookies. They are good to go, but for an extra special treat do as my mom did and freeze them.

**Note: Chances are you don’t have sour milk around. You can sour it by adding 2 tsp. of white vinegar to fresh milk. Use quickly or it will curdle on you.

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