Whoopie

Whoopie for Whoopie Pies, that is! If you follow my blog then you saw that my parents enjoy sending little gifts for Valentine's Day. In addition to my lovely earrings that my dad sent me, my mom sent me a beautiful calendar that contains Maine recipes. One of the teachers at the school where she works collected all of the recipes and illustrated each one. The recipe for February was for Whoopie Pies, a Maine tradition. After staring at it for half of the month, I could not wait to try it out, so this past week I hosted a get-together with friends and whipped up a batch. They were D E L I C I O U S!

The fun thing about Whoopie Pies is that Maine and Pennsylvania both claim to have invented them. For this reason, Cameron and I are very likely going to have Whoopie Pies in place of cake at our wedding. But, back to the history lesson. There's no argument that these tasty treasures came to be when resourceful women decided not to waste leftover cake batter. Instead they spooned it onto cookie sheets, baked it up, then put two rounds together with leftover frosting - YUM!

Pennsylvanians claim that Amish women were the first to start baking Whoopie Pies while Maine claims that Labadie's Bakery in Lewiston, ME was first when it started baking these treats in 1925. Unfortunately a fire in the 1960's burned down Labadie's Bakery and any Whoopie Pie evidence. In 2011 Maine tried to end the ongoing debate by floating a piece of legislature that would designate the Whoopie Pie as Maine's official dessert. The Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureaus kiboshed the attempt and Maine settled for calling it the official State Treat. The official dessert of Maine is Wild Maine Blueberry Pie, of course. Ironically, the only state that can produce any evidence of inventing the Whoopie Pie is Massachusetts. The Berwick Cake Company, based out of Boston, has recipes that date back to 1926.

Cameron and I like to tease each other about the origins of the Whoopie Pie, but one thing that cannot be argued is the name. If you've ever enjoyed one then you know that the mere sight of these delicious treats makes you exclaim, Whoopie!