Al Dente: Are Whoopie Pies the Next Cupcake?

Are Whoopie Pies the Next Cupcake?

Back in November, Epicurious predicted the top food trends for 2010. Among them was the whoopie pie, two rounds of cake with a creamy, gooey or fluffy filling. Will it be the next cupcake?

Whoopie pies appear to have originated in Pennsylvania as an Amish delicacy, but have spread slowly across the country, making major gains only recently. I checked them out at the Lancaster County Farmers Market over the summer, then came back to Seattle to find my neighborhood grocery store selling them as well.

Just a few days ago, I noticed them for sale at Trader Joe's, and in the next few months, not one, but two new books will be published, both devoted entirely to this once regional delicacy: Whoopie Pies: Dozens of Mix'em Match'em Eat'em Up Recipes and Making Whoopies: The Official Whoopie Pie Cookbook.

I have downed both chocolate and pumpkin whoopie pies, but just like cupcakes, gourmet versions have begun to appear. You can buy pistachio orange whoopie pies from New York's Dean & Deluca. Last October, chocolate covered carrot cake versions from San Francisco's Recchiuti were available for a limited time. And the two new whoopie pie cookbooks promise recipes for many more variations, from red velvet to green tea.

Do you see yourself buying or baking whoopie pies? Could they be next cupcake?

--Tracy Schneider

Al Dente's flickr Pool

Topics

June 2012

Comments

John Fahy on March 18, 2010 at 04:02 AM

When made by my wife's Western Pa. family they're known as Gobs. Usually a Christmas treat.

Tracy Schneider on March 18, 2010 at 08:23 AM

What a great Christmas treat, John! I have never made them myself and bet homemade Gobs are best. Do you have the recipe and continue the tradition?

John Fahy on March 18, 2010 at 12:18 PM

Hi Tracy.

In my house, I do savory and my daughters do sweet. So I am reconstructing this from my late wife's notes and the girls are away at college so I'm flying solo with this.
Cream 1/2 cup oleo
2 cups sugar
add 2 eggs beaten well
Mix 1/2 cup baking coco
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 cups flour
Make sour milk with 1 cup milk + 1 tsp vanilla

Mix dry ingredients alternating with wet then add 1 cup boiling
water
Bake tablespoon size drops, or small ice cream scoop size, about
10 mins, altering racks top and bottom.

Frosting

Mix 1 cup milk + 5 tsp flour heat until thick and let cool

Mix 1/2 cup oleo
1/2 cup crisco
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
Combine and assemble the gobs, bottom filling top.

A nice touch is to divide the filling and use red and green food coloring for some so you have red, white and green gobs.
Wrapped in wax paper and in a zip lock bag they freeze well and are tasty right out of the freezer. You can tell this is an old recipe by the use of oleo and if it were me, I'd substitute butter, but that's just me. I know you'll have fun with this as your skills probably way outshine mine.

John

Tracy Schneider on March 18, 2010 at 09:41 PM

Thank you, John, for sharing this special recipe with us. I'm a sucker for those older recipes that call for oleo, and I substitute butter, just as you suggest. I can't wait to give this a try!

Dan on March 19, 2010 at 06:12 AM

I love whoopie pies, so I'm happy to see this. Still, I don't know about "slowly spreading" across the country. I lived for awhile in Seattle, and a number of local grocery stores carried them. And that was back in the early 80s. Then I lived for a bit in northern New England. They were pretty common there, as well. I made them all the time, and got my recipe from an aunt in Kansas. This was all twenty years ago.

Still, it's good to see a resurgence. But the best is still the classic chocolate with sugar cream.

rob sama on March 19, 2010 at 06:14 AM

What about Wicked Whoopies?

http://www.wickedwhoopies.com/

Been around forever.

Robbins Mitchell on March 19, 2010 at 06:42 AM

Well,that looks very much like something I ate voraciously as a kid....made by Mickey's Cook Book Cake Treats...it was called a Devil's Delight....Mickey's also made the Banana Flip and Jim-Jam...all excellent,but the Devil's Delight was especially good after school with a cold glass of milk and watching the 3 Stooges on TV.

Lord Whorfin on March 19, 2010 at 10:19 AM

You haven't had a Whoopi Pie until you've had a Maple one. BTW these have been on my favorite list for at least ten years.

Tracy Schneider on March 19, 2010 at 10:20 AM

I love hearing so many fond memories of whoopie pies.

Dan, it looks like whoopie pies have been on the radar for a long time. I wonder if this is their year to be the "hot" item? Do you still make them?

Rob, Wicked Whoopies out of Maine look delicious. I understand that that neck of the woods is very fond of their whoopie pies.

Robbins, love that name, "Devil's Delight." I want one with a big glass of cold milk right now!

Tracy Schneider on March 19, 2010 at 10:24 AM

Lord Whorfin, I am brand new to the maple whoopie pie. Do you have a recipe?

Don Rodrigo on March 19, 2010 at 10:42 AM

Ya'll do know that "Woopie Pie" is more than vaguely suggestive?

GerSan on March 19, 2010 at 02:06 PM

By far, the best Whoopies are made by Steve's Snacks in Skowhegan, Maine. Perfect cakes, perfect texture whipped creme, large sized. About 10 different flavors and combinations, every one is phenomenally delicious. I found them in several stores in the Boston area, and you can order over the internet: http://stevessnacks.com/

Jakey Lapp on March 19, 2010 at 05:26 PM

Tracy,

You do realize that the "Lancaster County Farmers Market" you link to is nowhere near Lancaster County, right? The market you link to is in Delaware county, two counties over from Lancaster County.

Next time your in the area try Central Market http://www.centralmarketlancaster.com/. I highly recommend the fresh made scrapple sold by several of the stands.

It's a lovely drive up from Delaware County, and if you take Rte 30 or one of the back roads you can stop at almost any one of the roadside stands offering baked goods. This is also one of the best ways to see the Amish and Mennonites up close. Just look for stands that have "No Sunday Sales" signs and you will probably get something better than those Phillified whoppie pies you tried.

Juliann Mathews on March 20, 2010 at 12:00 PM

I began introducing my fellow Wichitans to my gourmet New England whoopie pies nearly two years ago. At that time, I predicted that they would be the next "in" dessert after cupcakes and guess what? I was right! I make and sell about 8 different kinds from my home and have even shared them with Paul Deen and her film crew down in Savannah. This past December, my recipe for Peppermint Crunch Whoopie pies was featured on Paula's website under the "Bake Sale" heading. Here is the link: http://www.pauladeen.com/index.php/food_section_articles/view2/whoopie_pies/. There is a wonderful comment from Paul at the end of the article. Evidently, my chocolate peanut butter whoopie pies are her favorite!

สถานที่ท่องเที่ยว on November 08, 2010 at 10:09 PM

Thank you.
I have never made them myself and bet homemade Gobs are best.
Do you have the recipe and continue the tradition?

SEO on December 01, 2010 at 11:49 AM

SEO on December 14, 2010 at 12:44 PM

Hi, this is a nice information for me. Your post has a good quality.

สินเชื่อ on January 13, 2011 at 02:07 AM

Nice way of explaining this subject, this line of content is very interesting.

wholesaler on February 17, 2011 at 09:07 PM

It looks delicious. I really like it.

nose trimmer reviews on February 19, 2011 at 06:33 PM

Dessert is often a popular food already.

Logistics and Supply Chain Management on February 26, 2011 at 09:24 PM