In Real Life—Whoopie Pies

Taking a break from all things NaNoWriMo to instead share a tried and true, authentic Maine treat: the whoopie pie! As I recall, it's been a subject of some debate as to whether the Pennsylvania Dutch or those of us here in Maine are the true creators of the whoopie pie, but there's only one thing that matters in the end: it's a delicious, delicious treat.

Read below for the recipe and our own tips!

The recipe is by Marjorie Standish, and she calls them "Whoopsie Pies"!

YOU WILL NEED:*

1/2 cup shortening (such as Crisco)
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks (egg separators are your friend and you can get them at any supermarket if you don't already own one!)
5 tablespoons cocoa (we use Hershey's brand baking cocoa)
2 cups sifted flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

*The ingredients for the filling were written into the directions for the pies themselves!

The sugar and shortening are creamed together, the beaten egg yolks added. The dry ingredients are sifted together and added alternately with the milk and vanilla.** The filling was made of 1/2 cup shortening, 2 cups confectioners sugar, 2 egg whites, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Spoon the cookie batter, sized to your liking, on a greased baking sheet. Preheat your oven to 375F, and bake the cookies for 7-10 mins (depending on the size; we baked tablespoon sized daubs for 7 mins). Allow to cool while making the filling, and then daub the filling onto one half of every pair of cookies. Wrap in wax or parchment paper when done.

**We creamed the sugar and shortening for the cookies in one bowl, and sifted the other dry ingredients into another. The beaten egg yolks were mixed in only after the sugar/shortening was beaten to fluffiness. We added the vanilla to the milk in the same measuring cup, and added a couple of tablespoons of each (we eyed it, didn't actually measure) to the sugar/shortening/egg mixture as we beat it in. Start beating on low, but work your way up to high, and maintain that speed while you add!

This'll be a two person job, trust me. Someone'll need to hold the bowl(s) while someone else mixes, unless you have a power mixer with an attached bowl, not the portable one that we used. In that case, your job just got a whole lot easier. We also used the Crisco/shortening used in the recipe to grease the baking pans, but that's your call! The cookies are done baking when you can take a paring knife (or something similar, something without serrated edges) and poke it into the middle of one in the center of the pan without anything sticking to it. Just a gentle dip of the tip of the blade into the top of the cookie for a quick second, straight up and down. It's the best way to tell!