Whoopie! Pie!
August 16, 2010 11:44 PM   Subscribe

What is your favorite, actually tried and tasted, whoopie pie recipe? Any tips for a first time whoopie pie baker?
posted by nadawi to Food & Drink (12 answers total) 19 users marked this as a favorite
 
These ones I made were really delicious. I made mini ones though and I've never really eaten them although the friend I made them with claimed they tasted pretty authentic.

I used a combination of two different recipes:

For the cookie/cake: here

For the salted caramel buttercream filling: here

We probably should have made more buttercream for the amount of cookie/cake because we made mini ones, so if you follow the same plan deffo make at least half more.
posted by gomichild at 2:38 AM on August 17, 2010


We make these yearly.

I made the cakes from scratch for years, but I think the cake mix is tastier.
posted by dzaz at 3:47 AM on August 17, 2010


I use the chocolate whoopie pie recipe that appears in Phyllis Pellman Good's and Rachel Thomas Pellman's "From Amish and Mennonite Kitchens." Makes (usually slightly less than) 4 dozen sandwich pies.

2 c sugar
1 c shortening
2 eggs
4 c flour
1 c baking cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 c sour milk
2 tsp baking soda
1 c hot water

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs.

Sift together flour, cocoa and salt. Add alternately w/ sour milk. Add vanilla. Dissolve soda in hot water and add last. Mix well.

Drop by rounded teaspoon onto cookie sheet. (I use Silpats.) Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes.

Spread filling between halves.



The filling:

2 egg whites, beaten
4 TBS milk
2 tsp vanilla
4 c 10x sugar (pour into two 2-c portions)
1 and 1/2 c shortening

Mix egg whites, milk, vanilla and 2 c of 10x sugar. Then add remaining 10x and shortening. Spread on cookie half and top with another cookie.


In general, any time I need an Amish/Mennonite food, I go to the Pellman or to the Mennonite Community Cookbook: Favorite Family Recipes.

(Do have a look at the King Arthur Flour blog's photo essay on making whoopies!)
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:18 AM on August 17, 2010


I don't have the recipe in front of me, but I'll see if I can dig it up when I get home--it was in a Penzey catalog earlier this year, and it's amazing. The thing you can do to most improve the cake portion of them is to use the highest-quality, highest-fat cocoa powder you can find. This typically means paying a bit more for it (compared to the Hershey stuff, anyway--not more than a few bucks for the cup or so you'll need), but it is very, very worth it.

I grew up using vegetable shortening and marshmallow for the filling, but am now a convert to all-butter. You end up using about half as much of it because the butter flavor is so rich, but it pairs better with the richer and denser cake bit you get from using higher-fat cocoa.

I've never tried filling made with egg whites or salted caramel--I'd be interested to see how it turns out, but I'll vouch for butter any day of the week :-)
posted by Mayor West at 5:44 AM on August 17, 2010


I once made some using this recipe (The filling recipe link on that page is broken - try here) and they were quite good.
posted by usonian at 6:09 AM on August 17, 2010


just wanted to point out that not everyone knows these things as whoopie pies.
Here in PA, they are properly known as Gobs. (and there is no better Gob than the Yost Dutch Maid Bakery Gob)
posted by namewithoutwords at 6:35 AM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]


One tip is to lay them out smaller on the pan than you think they need to be, because they turn out bigger than you expect. I made gigantic ones by accident, one time. Also, don't overcook the cakes or they will be dry.

I use a butter roux frosting for the filling and I really like it because it wasn't too sweet.
posted by cabingirl at 6:36 AM on August 17, 2010


I've never had a 'real' whoopie pie, but I made these ( http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/05/my-kingdom-for-a-glass-of-milk/ ) last year, and people were getting all sorts of swoony over them.
posted by frankdrebin at 8:52 AM on August 17, 2010


My background is Amish/Mennonite, so I grew up with these things. I haven't made the whoopie pies, but whenever anybody asks me about this kind of cooking I point them at "Cooking from Quilt Country" by Marcia Adams (which I know has a whoopie pie recipe). I've had fantastic results with everything I've tried from there, including big white soft sugar cookies which have some similar trickiness in the baking. I might also have a family recipe for this, but I'll have to see if I can dig it up.
posted by madmethods at 10:45 AM on August 17, 2010


madmethods, please consider this a request to post your family recipe if (when!) you find it. I promise to make it and report back. All in the interest of research, of course. I have never smuggled a few whoopie pies outside before others in my family ATE THE REST OF THEM.

Also, before my Central Pa. experience, I always thought that whoopie pies were a New England thing, thanks to the granny who made them for my dad's scout troop in the 1950s. Gobs? Pah. Whoopie pies they are, and whoopie pies they shall remain, despite the perversions of pumpkin, mint and peanut butter.
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:41 PM on August 17, 2010


Sorry, MonkeyToes, but I checked and I don't have the family recipe for these on-hand. I did look over the "Cooking from Quilt Country" recipe and it looks dead-on to me. Filling looks similar to the butter roux frosting posted above (which has rave reviews). Instructions are very detailed, and I've made a bunch of other recipes from that book with excellent results. Key thing I would say for these is don't overbake -- as with big white soft sugar cookies, you're really making a little cake and you don't want to mess up the texture.
posted by madmethods at 7:52 PM on August 17, 2010


And yes, these were an Amish/Mennonite thing before they were a New England thing. In particular, using Marshmallow fluff is an abomination. That said, I've had the authentic version many times, so the next batch I make will probably be salted caramel (inspired by the post above) because that just sounds freaking awesome.
posted by madmethods at 8:00 PM on August 17, 2010


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