I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to make whoopie pies! They are so easy to make and absolutely devine! I think I actually melted when I took my first bite of these old-fashioned New England chocolate cakes with a creamy white frosting filling. There isn’t much more of an introduction that I can give you. These pies speak for themselves!
So it turns out there are so many ways to make whoopie pies. In fact, there are cookbooks devoted just to whoopie pie recipes. The recipe that I decided to make is the Old-Fashioned Chocolate Whoopie Pie, which calls for shortening (really, lard) instead of oil or butter. I have never baked with shortening before, although I have seen my mom use it many times, and it has always scared me. So what better than to use shortening in one of my test kitchen recipes!
Old-Fashioned Whoopie Pie Ingredients:
based on a recipe from ehow.com
1 1/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk (I used soy milk so the pies would be parve)
White Frosting Filling:
1 cup milk (again, I used soy milk)
5 tbsp flour
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp vanilla
First of all, I think shortening is fantastic! I already bought more for future baking expeditions. I am actually going to search more recipes that call for shortening. Got any for me?
Now, we can start baking…I creamed the sugar and shortening together in a mixer. Since the shortening doesn’t need to be refrigerated, it is very soft and easy to work with. It also adds great flavor and texture. I then added the eggs to the creamed sugar and shortening and mixed again. In a separate bowl, I whisked all of the dry ingredients and the vanilla together. I slowly added the dry ingredients and the milk to the creamed mixture , alternating between the two. Â
Using a teaspoon, I took heaping spoonfuls of the mixture and dropped them on an un-greased cookie sheet. I was able to fit 12 cookies on each sheet and made 36 cookies, which is 18 whoopie pies. You can make the  cookies smaller or larger according to your taste. I think I might make them a bit smaller next time, just so I could eat more of them. Yum! Anyways, I baked the cookies at 350 degrees for 10 minutes then moved them to a cooling rack.
Now on to the creamy white filling!
I combined the milk and flour in a saucepan on medium heat until thick. A little tip: whisk the mixture while it is heating up since it can clump up very quickly. If it does get lumpy, you can still use it but the frosting will not be perfectly smooth. Once the mixture was thick, I took it off the stove and let it cool. I then added the shortening, sugar and vanilla and beat the mixture until creamy and fluffy.
I smeared half of the cookies with the frosting and sandwiched them with the other cookies. Yum! Can you believe these whoopie pies are so easy to make?!? I seriously encourage you to try them.
The whoopie pies are best fresh, but you can store them for a few days in an air-tight container. I suggest leaving them in the fridge with parchment paper between each layer of pies.
Enjoy!
