Pie | Jill's Cooking

Whoopie Pies are a New England classic. Their origin is a controversy though as both Labadie’s Bakery in Lewiston, Maine and Berwick Cake Company in Roxbury, Massachusetts both started making them in the early 1920s claiming them as their own.

Whoopie Pies are two pieces of cake filled with marshmallow fluff frosting in the middle. The good news is that the cakes and filling can both be made ahead a stored at room temperature in airtight containers until you’re ready to assemble them. Assembled Whoopie Pies can be stored at room temperature 1 day.

I learned to make these while I lived in New England. The first I made was a Pumpkin Whoopie Pie at Halloween. Since, then I’ve graduated to my favorite flavor — Chocolate — which I’m sharing!

Chocolate Whoopie Pie

Cake Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg, room temperature

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder such as Hershey’s

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup milk, room temperature

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup vegetable shortening such as Crisco

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 1/3 cups (1 jar) Marshmallow Fluff

1/4 tsp kosher salt dissolved in 1 TBSP water

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees positioning the rack in the middle of your oven. Line two large, rimmed cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl with a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, or a large bowl using a hand-mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla on medium-high until smooth. Scrap down the sides of the bowl continually. Add the egg and beat until smooth.
Add the cocoa powder on low speed until combined.
Gradually, add the flour to the batter, alternating with the milk beating on low until you’ve used both. Scape down the sides and combined until smooth.
Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets using a 2″ pastry scoop. Leave a few inches between each since they will expand while baking. I add about 9 to 10 per sheet.
Bake 11 to 12 minutes until they are set and firm to touch. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pans. Then, add them to a baking rack to continue cooling completely before adding the filling.
While they are cakes are cooling, beat the shortening, confectioner’s sugar and Marshmallow fluff in a standing mixer or with a hand-mixer. Start on low and then increase to medium.
Add the salted water to the mixture and then the vanilla. Mix until completely smooth.
Spread the flat side of half the cakes with the filling mixture. I use a piping bag with a star tip to add the filling.
Top each frosted cake with the remaining cakes, flat side toward the filling. Wrap each individually until you’re ready to serve.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional).

Enjoy! XOXO Jill

If we did a survey of the most popular pies at Thanksgiving, I’m confident it would be Pumpkin, Apple and Pecan. I write this because I have lived in several regions around the U.S. — the West, the South and New England — and found that these are the traditional choices and favorites. (Although, if you add in a Boston Creme or Chocolate Creme Pie not many will complain.)

Pecan Pie is extra special to me because it was my children’s paternal grandmother’s favorite and it became mine too. It is super sweet with a rich pecan flavor and buttery crust. It reminds me of New Orleans.

Recently, my daughter who is having her Thanksgiving feast on the East Coast asked if I had a Pecan Pie recipe I could share. Hmmm…let me think!

The following is an easy choice if you want to make a Southern favorite to sweeten things up for your Thanksgiving!

Bourbon-Pecan Pie

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 tsp. sea salt

1 stick plus 7 TBSP unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Filling:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 cups dark corn syrup

2 TBSP Bourbon (or Bourbon extract)

1 1/2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups unsalted pecan halves (1/2 lbs)

Directions:

In a bowl, whisk the flour with brown sugar and salt. Stir in the butter until the dough comes together into a ball. Transfer the dough to a 9″ glass or ceramic pie plate. Using your fingers, press the dough over the bottom and up the sides of the plate to the rim. Crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes up to 3 days.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk both sugars, flour, salt and eggs until smooth, then mix in the syrup. Add the bourbon, butter and vanilla. Then, fold in the pecans.
Pour the filling into the chilled crust. Place pie plate on a baking sheet. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 1 hour, until the filling is almost set (not jiggly). Remove from the oven and place pie plate on a wire rack to cool completely up to 4 hours.

Serve with home-made or store bought whipped cream.

Note: You can use a store bought pie crust if you want to eliminate that step. We won’t tell!

Enjoy! XOXO Jill

Chocolate Whoopie Pie!

Bourbon-Pecan Pie