Classic chocolate whoopie pies with vanilla cream filling, a New England favorite for generations. For a delicious variation, try our recipe for pumpkin
whoopie pies with sweet maple filling, available at: YankeeMagazine.com/Whoopie.
Looking for a traditional whoopie pie recipe (meaning a whoopie pie filling without Fluff)? You’ve come to the right place.
Rich chocolate cakes filled with a homemade cream filling, these old-fashioned whoopie pies are a favorite for generations of one New England family.
Alice’s Old-Fashioned Whoopie Pies | Recipe With a History
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
Preheat your oven to 350° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla extract; then add the milk and the dry ingredients, alternating, and mix until just combined.
Spoon heaping tablespoons of batter, roughly 3 inches apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the cakes are set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Combine the flour and milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens, like pudding, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and press through a fine-mesh strainer into a mixing bowl. Cool to room temperature.
Once the mixture has cooled, add the remaining ingredients and beat until fluffy and creamy, about 10 minutes.
Spread filling onto the flat bottom of one cake; then top with another. Repeat with the remaining filling and cakes. For a nicer presentation, put the filling into a large zip-top bag, snip off one corner, and pipe a thick spiral onto the flat bottom of one cake, then top with another. Repeat with the remaining filling and cakes.
Aimee Tucker is Yankee Magazine’s Home Editor and the Senior Digital Editor of NewEngland.com. A lifelong New Englander and Yankee contributor since 2010, Aimee has written columns devoted to history, foliage, retro food, and architecture, and regularly shares her experiences in New England travel, home, and gardening. Her most memorable Yankee experiences to date include meeting Stephen King, singing along to a James Taylor Fourth of July concert at Tanglewood, and taking to the skies in the Hood blimp for an open-air tour of the Massachusetts coastline.
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