For a famous New England treat without the shortening, this whoopie pie recipe contains a delicious marshmallow filling sandwiched between rich chocolate cake. In less than 30 minutes, this dish is ready to serve with a cool glass of milk, a White Chocolate Mocha, or a Honey Vanilla Latte.

Whoopie pies are a New England specialty, particularly in Maine. Yet it’s one of those treats that can be found at any café in the Northeast.

Think of whoopie pies as little chocolate cake hamburgers if you’ve never tried one. Who’s with me on starting a petition to rename them as such?

Is it just me? Alright, good. Now, let’s go on.

The whoopie pie controversy

Yes, I said “controversy.” During a dessert.

Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia all claim to have invented the whoopie pie! Each state claims that they were the first to start creating them in the 1920s, but the paper trail on any of that is thin to none, thus there is no conclusive answer.

There was a cookbook produced in the 1930s by the firm that invented Marshmallow Fluff that included Fluff in the recipe, so it’s a very good case for Massachusetts as the origin (since its a company in Lynn, MA).

The components of a whoopie pie

The name is not only amusing, but also deceptive. They’re not pies at all; they’re cakes with marshmallow crème icing in the middle. Just saying. Another reason to nickname them Little Chocolate Cake Hamburgers.

Shortening is also used historically (and famously) in whoopie pie filling. I’m not a big fan of using shortening in general, and because I know there are others who are, I decided to produce a shortening-free version!

Tips for making whoopie pies

I was so anxious to shoot (and eat) this dish that I completely forgot to take process pictures. I believe I remembered just about the time I dug into my second whoopie pie (you know, for taste testing purposes).

[facepalm] I vow I’ll build them again soon and get them updated here for you.

Until then, the procedure is luckily rather simple.

Making the chocolate cakes

• The batter must be solid enough to scoop since a liquidy batter will not keep its structure during baking or supporting the filling.
• Speaking of scoops, a medium cookie scoop (aff link) is ideal for portioning dough onto a baking sheet.
• The cakes should be thin enough to bite through even when piled two high, but yet have a wonderful progressive mound in the middle.
• During baking, be sure to leave enough space between each cake for it to spread. To be safe, I wouldn’t put more than 5 on a baking sheet at a time.
• Let the cakes to cool fully before sandwiching them with the filling; otherwise, they will be sticky and difficult to deal with.

Making the marshmallow filling

• The filling should be thick enough to sustain being sandwiched between two cakes, but not so thick that it cannot be piped with a pastry bag.
• Before you call it a day, give it a taste test. If you find it too sweet, add a bit of salt, but bear in mind that it will be complimented by less-sweet cake in the end.

Assembling your whoopie pies

• I begin by turning half of the cakes over and matching their sizes with the other half that will be placed on top. These should all be around the same size, although there may be some variation worth matching up with a partner for.
• 4 along the border so that the filling has space to expand when you place the second cake half on top. I prefer to pipe it onto each cake half in a spiral form using a pastry bag with the tip cut off. Let approximately 1

What do whoopie pies taste like?

To be honest, I have trouble describing the taste of whoopie pies. I like to compare it to an inside-out chocolate cake with marshmallow fluff. Similar like Ding Dongs, if you’ve ever eaten them.

When tasting the chocolate cakes on their own, they may seem lackluster.

If you only taste the filling, you may believe it’s excessively sweet (or not sweet enough, depending on your tastes).

Yet when you combine the two, you get some kind of sweet magic.

They are really rich and satisfying, so don’t worry about consuming the whole batch in one session. If you performed well, I’d want to meet you and shake your hand when you’ve had a chance to recover.

How to store whoopie pies

Wrap each one in plastic wrap and place it in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a week. The plastic wrap preserves them separately packaged, making them simple to grab and go, but also preventing them from adhering together.

I also find that putting these in the refrigerator makes them simpler to consume since the filling does not ooze out the edges as much as it would at room temperature.

Let them to sit out on the counter for approximately 15 minutes before eating, and then go to town.

A word of advice: If you’re going to eat them, make sure you have a mirror, a napkin, and a toothbrush on hand.

If you don’t, everyone will notice the chocolate cake in your teeth and the marshmallow cream on your face, but it’ll be worth it.