recipe: whoopie pies (of the authentic variety)
Now I’m going to tell you: my mother’s whoopie pie recipe is SO GOOD that I will often tell people that I don’t like whoopie pies at all, because I have yet to find another recipe that I actually like. Other people’s whoopie pies are too cakey, or too cookie-like, or (as is usually the case) the filling is pure frosting, which is WAY too sweet and totally the wrong texture altogether. My mom’s whoopie pies were famous in our circles, and she generously provided them whenever demanded, particularly when visiting my Uncle and Aunt in Maine for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I ate more whoopie pies in my childhood than cupcakes, brownies or cookies combined; they were a true and strong family tradition.
Antonia, a faithful reader, pointed to a NYTimes article about the Whoopie Pie and well hey, I’m not usually up to snuff on anything topical, and since I have an authentic family recipe on hand, I am suddenly compelled to showcase my (rather specialized) expertise!
A proper whoopie pie is not merely some cloying abomination of sugar and fat. No no, it is delicate in its way, the sweetness ever-present and yet subdued. Please do not compare them to a Devil Dog or Moon Pie. Please do not make them with cake mix and tub frosting. A whoopie pie is a very specific delicacy and there are rules.
A proper whoopie pie “cookie” is a medium-brown shade, fairly dry (not all oily and moist like a Little Debbie’s snack), but still somewhat densely cakelike, maybe a vein or two where the scoop let go of the batter. They crack ever so slightly, but sometimes they don’t and maybe that has something to do with the barometric pressure. I dunno, they still taste right and seem to have the right texture, so aesthetics aside, it’s fine either way.
The proper whoopie pie filling is made with Crisco (which, apparently, no longer contains trans fats), butter, whole milk, sugar, a tiny smidge of flour and a regular portion of vanilla. Did you notice that it has no Fluff in it? That’s because Fluff is for fluffernutters, not whoopie pies. You will also notice that the filling is not a frosting, but a creme. While eating, one will lose all the filling out the sides and must open the pie, collect up the creme that has splooshed out back onto the bottom piece, then recreate the sandwich, only to do it all again in the next bite or two. This is the proper way to eat a whoopie pie.
This process presented many lovely photo ops. Let’s take a look!
This one reminds me of a dusty construction site.
The cookies can be removed from the cookie sheet almost immediately, but you really need to use a metal spatula and carefully scrap them off. I like the texture underneath, it gets a little crispy as it cools and it is so so satisfying to snack on the odd unmatched whoopie pie cookie before they’re frosted.
The creme takes a convenient 10 minutes to make, which you can most likely complete between the time the first batch of cookies goes into and comes out of the oven. I’ve found it nearly impossible to make the creme without an electric mixer (stand or hand, your choice), and sometimes it takes longer than others. For the first several minutes of mixing, your creme will look like this: kinda gross.
And then you’ll hear a cherub giggle, and an angel wing will brush against your shoulder as suddenly the creme whips up into this glorious appearance. The texture is extremely creamy, but still looks like this.
After a little assembly . . .
Since I started making my own food, I’ve lived on these for days at a time. Not particularly healthy nor affluent days, but certainly enjoyable ones.
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Mom’s Famous Whoopie Pies
makes about 14 after batter & cookie sampling
brought to you by very fortunate family ties.
| Blend | Add |
| 1/4 c Crisco | 2 c flour |
| 1 c milk | 1/4 c + 1 tbsp cocoa |
| 1 c sugar | 1.5 tsp baking soda |
| 1 egg | 1 tsp salt |
| 1 tsp vanilla | Â |
Drop by the small tablespoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet—a tablespoon-sized bakery scoop works best. Bake exactly 8 minutes at 375o, see if a toothpick comes out clean, and if it doesn’t, bake another 2 minutes (10 total). Upon extraction from the oven, remove from pan immediately to wire rack to cool.
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And now the creme filling (reminder: it’s not frosting, guys)
1/2 c margarine or butter (room temp is best)
1/2 c Crisco (my mother is insistent that this MUST be Crisco and CANNOT be generic shortening, nor substituted in any way . . . but if you do get it to work with a substitution, please let me know!)
1 c sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c warm whole milk (20 seconds in the microwave should do it)
Beat with a mixer (stand or hand, your choice) for-freakin-ever. It will start out just like, well, lumps of Crisco floating in milk, then bits will get smaller and smaller, then it’ll slosh around for a little bit, and, much like the butter making process, you’ll be wondering if this will ever become anything or if you maybe messed it up somehow. Suddenly, about five minutes later, your mix will look weird for a second, and within moments your slushy mess will turn into a glorious white creme, smooth and perfect in a way rarely seen outside the confines of uber-processed food with chemicals you can’t pronounce that are not even available to the consumer in their pure form.
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Assembly
As soon as the whoopie cookies are cool, match each whoopie with its closest brother in size—even if yours didn’t all come out the same size, evenly matched whoopies will look much much nicer. Spread some filling on the flat side of one, then place the second on top. Repeat. This does not need to be done immediately before serving, as the filling tends to maintain its consistency surprisingly well, and some (like my mom) would argue that a day-old whoopie pie is even better than fresh. I like them all.
No need to refrigerate, sealed plastic or plastic wrap will keep them fresh.
. . . and that’s it. Congratulations! You just made the best whoopie pies known to man.
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Not like it’s diet food or anything, but these are not quite as totally terrible as I thought they’d be!
Nutrition Summary (for 1 whoopie pie of yield 15): 330 calories, 17g fat, 1g fiber; 8 Weight Watchers Points
This brings many a nostalgic tear to my eye ;o)
YUM!!!!
That’s all I can say… really…
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I have never ever had a whoopie pie. I’ve actually never heard of it! So how lucky am I to get access to such a great recipe on my first exposure to it? 🙂
Wait, is your mother my best friend from grade school’s mother? Because she made the best whoopie pies ever… Okay, I guess not! I’ve seen these made from the bakery department of a local grocery store, and now they are calling them “gobs”…..They also make them with pumpkin cakes instead of chocolate. I think the chocolate cakes would be great with peanut butter filling.
Ok.. now if that didn’t convince me right now to make whoopie pies then I don’t know what will. For the frosting, is the sugar granulated or powdered…sorry if that’s a dumb question
I’m a Lancaster County girl, so I know Whoopie Pies, and these look spot on!
Those look freakin’ delicious. I’ve never even heard of Whoopie Pies before today. Maybe they aren’t a southern thing. I will definitely be trying this recipe!
I really like your website!
It makes me hungry!!
I may be the only person in all of the world who doesn’t have an electric mixer, but I think that I may have to purchase one right away, since you have not figured out how to make the pies in your photos immediately available for my eating pleasure! Those pies look delish!
I’ve been wanting to make whoopie pies even before I saw that NYT article. Yours look fabulous, can’t wait to try making them!
*noms*
Are whoopie pies the American south version of macarons? Hee!
Well, they certainly DO look proper to me.
In fact, they look fantastic.
Made them tonight. They came out so yummy. My husband said they tasted perfect. Thank you for another great recipe Aleta. Best part was I had all the ingredients in my pantry. Got to love that. Oh, mine were a bit bigger and I ate 2 in a row. They are very filling.
I like to make Whoopee the old fashion way… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANRPmTZRqkg
Love your traditional version 🙂 AND they look beautiful!
[…] Whoopie Pies are the new Cupcake! Whoopee! I think Omnomicon is just about the best food blog there is. I only wish she updated more frequently. […]
I’m obsessed with whoopie pies! Yours look much better and more authentic than ones I’ve made. I still need to get the filling right!
These are fabulous! I had never had, let alone made a whoopie pie before, but decided that I had to try them. I waited till I found a recipe that I thought would be the best and decided to try this one out.
It was great. I brought them into work this morning and everyone drooled until after lunch. They were a hit! Not too sweet, nice and cakey and seriously filling!
You were totally right about mixing them forever. I thought it was about as good as it would get, then suddenly this magic creme formed!
Thanks for sharing the secret family recipe!
I have been looking for a whoopie pie recipe since my sophmore year of college! Then I stumbled upon this site! I had a room-mate who’s sister, or maybe it was her mom, any way someone made her some home made whoopie pies and sent them to her, and she was sooo nice to share, mmmmmmmmmmmm….they were sooo good! Now I can try and make my own! She had different flavored ones like chocolate, and pumpkin, is there a way to alter the recipie to get different flavors? (the cake was what changed, not the filling) Thanks!
I… I kind of want to bathe in that creme filling. It’s too delicious to not stare at.
Mmm, these look so delicious. I`ve only ever heard of whoopie pies, but have never tried one (not even the commercially produced ones). I can see that has to change!
Smurf, in total agreement with you. Oh lord these look yummy! I will try this!! =)
Nice tutorial on whoopie making. I’m looking forward to making a batch!
I just finished making these…. I made 2 batches, one using only margarine instead of crisco, and another using waht you may call a generic shortening (I live in Mexico, so we don’t have crisco. I used a brand called inca) and you can guess the second batch was waaaaay better, so listen to your mom and use crisco always
Thanks for this oh so yummy recipe 🙂
oh my! these look insanely good! ive bookmarked your recipe, im defenitely trying this!
I am pretty stoked to whip up a batch of these to take to a party. Many of my youth-times were spent in Maine and I know the whoopie well. The pies will be brought to a California surfer town, yet somehow I think they will still get down.
Anyway, thanks for the recipe! Now I just need to figure out how to wrap them up for tidy transportation.
These look tasty, but I just cannot in good conscience use Crisco in cooking. I just can’t. Is there any possible substitute for it in this recipe?
Hi! I’m from Brazil and I feel in love with this recipe, because it looks so delicious! But I have a real problem! I don’t know what Crisco is! Can you explain? Or there is any substitute ingredient? Can you help me!?
I love your blog! In fact I’m at work right now, and I had a little time to read the paper or check my personal emails, and I ended up in your blog! Like always!!!
Sorry for the bad english!!!
Thanks!!! Kisses!!
It is SO nice to see that other people recognize the imposter whoopies for what they are. Your recipe is very similar to my mother/grandmother’s, and she makes the best in the world, too. 😉 I saw that NYTimes article and was appalled by the inaccuracies! I even saw something tonight that said, “What do you get when you cross a macaroon and a cupcake? A whoopie pie!” And, oh, how that is not the case!
OMG! my mum makes these too! they are amazing
This is my sister & mom’s recipe!!! We’re from New Hampshire, born in Maine. You’re right – they are the best. I taste whoopie pies whenever I see them being sold, and I agree, there are NONE as great as these. And your mom is right – you have to use Crisco. I cracked up like crazy at your description with the frosting. LOL. Hilarious. Beat with a mixer for freakin-ever. haha.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe without the stupid Fluff. I have been looking for an authentic whoopie pie recipe – our school lunch ladies used to make the most delicious home made whoopie pies and I have found nothing in comparison until this recipe. It looks so good that I am going to try it right now!
I had my doubts! I have been searching for the perfect Whoopie Pie recipe for 2 weeks. Of course every one I found was touted as being ” the best,” or “traditional,” or “my grandmother’s secret recipe!” PLEASE! Some secrets should remain secret! I have tried 3 recipes and the results ranged from horrible (and I do mean HORRIBLE…that batch went into the trash can) to good, but none really hit the spot as anything special. That is until now! I hesitated a bit, but oh my….these are fantastic! I did have to make one substitution. Not because I found any ingredient objectionable, but just from plain old laziness. I was in one of those I DON’T WANT TO GET OUT OF MY PAJAMAS AND I WANT TO EAT ALL THE FAT AND SUGAR MY STOMACH CAN HANDLE moods. I only had about 1/4 cup of milk in the house so I substituted buttermilk which I happened to buy the day before. It worked great. Oh by the way, I did use store brand shortening and it worked fine (I guess that makes two substitutions). The filling came together after about 4 minutes and I continued to beat for an additional 6. That’s 10 minutes to perfect filling! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!!!
I’ve been looking for an excuse to make these for forever, and I finally found one! I’ve never had a whoopie pie before, but these were so good! I agree with your mom, though. They tasted even more fantastic the second day. Actually, so fantastic that if I make them again, I’m not even eating ONE ’till the next day!
did you use sweetened or unsweetened cocoa? dutch or regular?
from what I learned from other sources, when using baking powder you are supposed to use dutch cocoa…and when using baking soda you are supposed to use regular cocoa powder…
this is all news to me…
i used regular cocoa powder and baking powder and i’m afraid i did it wrong.
I have not made these yet (but I will!!) but I wanted to add that there is an alternative to Crisco. It’s Spectrum Organic Shortening–no hydrogenated oils! And that’s what I’ll be using when I make these. Thanks for the beautiful tutorial!
aleta adds: yes, there’s another, even more natural alternative: lard.
Worked great with the Spectrum Organic Shortening! Thanks for the recipe!
thank you for this recipe!! i lost mine years ago. nice to have one that doesn’t have frosting in the middle or some other imitation filling with marshmallow!
Thank you for the authentic recipe! When will people realize that when they use marshmallow fluff in the filling, they’re making a MOON PIE, not a Whoopie?
I have been wanting to try these for awhile. Made them this morning and they came out flat. Like cookies. They look nothing like your photo. I wonder what could have gone wrong. Maybe the high humidity today?
I made these and the filling tended to taste like butter/shortening…. i have made whoopie pies before and bought them at an amish/mennonite bake shop and the creme didnt’ taste like that. did i do something wrong or is it the recipe??
Apparently, “authentic” and the use of shortening is a misnomer?
http://www.katyelliott.com/blog/2009/07/real-maine-whoopie-pies.html
I’m feeling a bit like a traitor to my own family recipe for Whoopie Pies (I’m a Maine native and we know whoopie pies!), but this recipe looks really good! We put Fluff in ours, and use confectioner’s sugar, and an egg white. I commend you for your comments about the filling NOT being simply yucky frosting. That definitely would not be a Whoopie Pie! I’m going to try it, and not tell my family!
I used Earth Balance’s natural non-hydrogenated shortening. It worked for me, but I’ve never them with Crisco, so I have nothing to compare with. Just thought I’d mention.
Oh my I used to have these when I was a kid, my best friends mom used to make them but she would not share the recipe. I have often thought of them and could never find a good substitute or recipe. These are PERFECT they went together in no time and I had a the ingredients on hand. Fabulous. The filling is great. I agree with earlier comments frosting is not a true woopie pie…i can see these being a regular item out of my kitchen. thank you SO much for sharing this recipe.
These are the EXACT whoopie pies that my Grandmother taught me how to make. Nothing like good ol’ crisso sugar…yum yum!
Has anyone made these coloured? As there is cocoa in the recipe… what could I substitute in order to make them lighter and easier to colour?
Are you supposed to use regular sugar or confectionary sugar?
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