(photo by: Mary Ellen Bartley)
 Whoopie Pies, aren’t pies at all.  They sometimes can be described to be similar to a cake-like sandwich, or perhaps a sandwich-like.  For generations, they were found in parts of Maine and Pennsylvania’s restaurants and convenience shops, and almost all gas stations.  They were a part of Amish tradition.  They were also found in other parts of the country, from New England to Ohio.

Now, the little treats are migrating across the country, often appearing in the same specialty shops and grocery aisles that recently made room for cupcakes.  “Under the name “sweetie pies,” heart-shaped whoopie pies showed up in the February catalog from Williams-Sonoma.”

A whoopie pie is like a sandwich, but made with two soft cookies with a fluffy white filling. Although the cake itself is not entirely sweet, and sometimes dry, they make up for it with the inside frosting. The thick sweet tasting frosting is made up of two different ways: Crisco shortening combined with confectioners’ sugar, or, more conveniently, a dollop of Marshmallow Fluff.  Traditional whoopies pies are made with vegetable shortening, not butter. The original and most commonly made whoopie pie is chocolate.

Here is a a recipe that i wanted to share with you all.

Whoopie Pies

(Recipe from Epicurious.com)

For cakes

    * 2 cups all-purpose flour

    * 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

    * 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

    * 1 teaspoon salt

    * 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

    * 1 teaspoon vanilla

    * 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

    * 1 cup packed brown sugar

    * 1 large egg

For filling

    * 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

    * 1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar

    * 2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff

    * 1 teaspoon vanilla

 Make cakes:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.

Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.

Make filling:

Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Assemble pies:

Spread a rounded tablespoon filling on flat sides of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes.

Cooks’ notes: • Cakes can be made 3 days ahead and kept, layered between sheets of wax paper, in an airtight container at room temperature.

• Filling can be made 4 hours ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature. 

Enjoy!