Old-Fashioned Amish Whoopie Pies

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I feel like there’s not a whole lot I can say about Old-Fashioned Amish whoopie pies that I haven’t already said over the years.  I mean, this dessert has, accurately or not, become synonymous with Amish culinary culture.

There’s some good-natured controversy over where this dessert has its origins: the rocky coast of Maine, or Pennsylvania Dutch country. Or both. I’ve had some super Whoopie Pies in some small Maine towns. They’re also superb Whoopie Pies in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. But probably the best pies, personally, I’ve ever had, are the peanut butter cookie and peanut butter filling whoopie pies at the Country Crust Mennonite bakery in Bainbridge Ohio. Those, to me, these are the gold standard of whoopie pies. 

Amish country celebrates Whoopie Pies with Whoopie Pie Festivals and almost every Amish bakery or Mennonite bakery makes them from scratch and sells them. You can so many different versions of these treats too, from pumpkin whoopies to apple bread whoopies. They are all good, but Ithink I just like the old-fashioned chocolate.

My 17-year-old niece and I do a “bake off “every year at our family reunion, where we each bring an item and have family members vote.  I thought I could put up some stiff competition this year with homemade whoopie pies. I’ve never tried making them myself before. My wife had made them. But I had never tried. So, I decided to use Gloria‘s recipe for homemade chocolate whoopie pies. And, man, it is a really good recipe. 

The recipe made a really fluffy cookie that was more like cake than cookie, it’s just what you think of when you think of the classic old-fashioned New England Whoopie pie.I probably made a tactical error when I decided to use peanut butter filling as opposed to traditional marshmallow fluff filling. I might have won the bake off if I done that. But I just chose an easier route and did peanut butter.

I also probably made the whoopie pies too big. Now, mind you, when you buy them commercially they often are huge. But that may not work so well for a family picnic. I used an ice cream scoop for each cookie and they spread out wonderfully. But in retrospect maybe I would’ve made smaller whoopie pies and just used a tablespoon of batter per cookie. That said, I’m a glutton, so I like large whoopie pies.

Okay, so let's take a look at this recipe for Old-Fashioned Amish Whoopie Pies:

Basic ingredients are the hallmark of these whoopie pies.

I'd advise not making these with 4 and 7-year-olds, the house looked like a cocoa explosion happened by the time we were done.

The girls did enjoy helping assemble the whoopie pies.

I think part of the reason I lost the bake-off to my niece, who brought some splendid "Buckeye Cupcakes" was on presentation. I should have put them on a pretty plate, perhaps individually wrapped them...These just lacked "curb appeal" compared to her cupcakes, but I thought - and most others thought - they tasted quite good.

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• 🥧 Old-Fashioned Amish Whoopie Pies
• 📋 Instructions
• More Amish Whoopie Pie Recipes
• 🖨️ Full Recipe
• 🥧 Old-Fashioned Amish Whoopie Pies
• 📋 Instructions
• 🥧 More Amish Whoopie Pie Recipes
• 🖨️ Full Recipe

🥧 Old-Fashioned Amish Whoopie Pies

• 3 cups of sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups sour cream
• 6 cups flour
• 1 ½ cup cocoa
• 4 ½ teaspoon soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

PEANUT BUTTER FILLING

• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 2 cups peanut butter
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• teaspoon of vanilla
• cornstarch to thicken if needed

📋 Instructions

1. Mix first three ingredients and beat well.
2. Add milk, vanilla, and sour cream to egg mixture and beat again.
3. Combine flour, cocoa, soda, and baking powder and add to moist mixture. Mix only until just combined and then scoop onto a greased cookie sheet.
4. Bake at 400 for 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Cool.
6. FILLING: Mix all of the filling ingredients together. Add cornstarch if needed to thicken up. Also, adjust powdered sugar amounts according to your taste.

More Amish Whoopie Pie Recipes

Oatmeal Whoopie Pies: Delicious, if you like oatmeal, this recipe is superb.

Cream-Filled Molasses Cookies: not technically a whoopie pie, but two cookies with filling sandwiched between, so, works for me.

Cream-Filled Coffeecake: This is like a breakfast whoopie pie!

🖨️ Full Recipe

INGREDIENTS  

• 1 ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups sour cream
• 6 cups flour
• 1 ½ cup cocoa
• 4 teaspoon soda
• 1 baking powder teaspoon baking powder

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Cookies
• Mix first three ingredients and beat well.
• Add milk, vanilla, and sour cream to egg mixture and beat again.
• Combine flour, cocoa, soda, and baking powder and add to moist mixture.
• Mix only until just combined and then scoop onto a greased cookie sheet.
• Bake at 400 for 8 to 10 minutes.Cool.

Filling

• Mix all of the filling ingredients together until well blended.
• Add cornstarch if needed to thicken up. Also, adjust powdered sugar amounts according to your taste.
• Using an ice cream scoop, put filling on each cookie and press together.

🥧 Old-Fashioned Amish Whoopie Pies

• 3 cups of sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups sour cream
• 6 cups flour
• 1 ½ cup cocoa
• 4 ½ teaspoon soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

PEANUT BUTTER FILLING

• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 2 cups peanut butter
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• squirt of two of vanilla
• cornstarch to thicken if needed

📋 Instructions

1. Mix first three ingredients and beat well.
2. Add milk, vanilla, and sour cream to egg mixture and beat again.
3. Combine flour, cocoa, soda, and baking powder and add to moist mixture. Mix only until just combined and then scoop onto a greased cookie sheet.
4. Bake at 400 for 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Cool.
6. FILLING: Mix all of the filling ingredients together. Add cornstarch if needed to thicken up. Also, adjust powdered sugar amounts according to your taste.

🥧 More Amish Whoopie Pie Recipes

Oatmeal Whoopie Pies: Delicious, if you like oatmeal, this recipe is superb.

Cream-Filled Molasses Cookies: not technically a whoopie pie, but two cookies with filling sandwiched between, so, works for me.

Cream-Filled Coffeecake: This is like a breakfast whoopie pie!

🖨️ Full Recipe