Whoopie Pies
Sunday, November 8, 2009 by Edie
About five years ago, when we were back in Indiana visiting my folks, I had the opportunity to drive up to Amish country. I went to their weekly auction, flea market and then stopped by an Amish restaurant for dinner. The food, good old-fashioned home-cooking, was served family-style. Each table got a loaf of bread, peanut butter spread, apple butter, large bowls of vegetables and a choice of meat. I wasn't quite sure what to expect since I was dining alone but I still got a loaf of bread, bowls of veggies and a large plate of fried chicken. I hate to admit it but I ate the whole loaf of bread myself...it was hot, fresh from the oven and topped with the peanut butter spread and apple butter, it was delectable. I could hardly eat anything else I ordered.
At the back of the restaurant was a large bakery and gift shop. The line at the bakery was incredibly long and I couldn't imagine what could be in those cases that would be worth the wait. Until I took a little look in the case. Two chocolate puffed cookies stuffed full with cream...the whoopie pie! In every Amish cookbook I had there was a recipe for whoopie pies. I couldn't imagine what one would taste like so, despite being incredibly full, I stood in that long line to buy a few to take home with me. That's when my obsession with the whoopie pie began.
Since then, I've made and eaten a lot of whoopie pies. Pretty much, the whoopie pie has become my signature cookie to take to potlucks. Though time-consuming, whoopie pies are fairly easy to make and most recipes make a ton of little sandwich cookies. Lately, I've been obsessed with making different versions of the whoopie pie.
A couple of weeks ago, I combined a few recipes to come up with a simple cake mix version for the pumpkin spice whoopie pie. They were good but not great. Everyone else really liked them but they weren't quite up to my whoopie pie standards. Today, I decided to try the recipe again to see if I could tweak it just a little more. The recipe's still not exactly perfect but, this time, I think the cookies taste pretty good. When I look in my fridge and see them all individually wrapped ready to give away or put into lunches, I'm transported back to that day in Amish country. Aren't they pretty?
If you're like me, crazy for whoopie pies, let me know and I'll post the recipe. I, personally, think they'd make a lovely addition to any Thanksgiving dinner.


