The story behind whoopie pies goes something like this:
Amish and Mennonite women would take their cake batter and bake it in cookie form and put the frosting in between instead of on top because it was easier for them to take these treats to their husbands in the field than it was to take individual pieces of cake.
The husbands would cheer WHOOOOPIE when they would find these delicious cake type of cookies.
Now I don’t know how true that story is but the Mennonite women in my family have been getting together to make 100s of whoopie pies in all different flavors for generations now. They would spend the day baking and chattering and taking care of babies, everyone pitching in to share the work. They would all go home with a healthy share of whoopie pies for their freezers! These delicious cookies can be found inside the lunch boxes of Amish and Mennonite children in one room school houses across the nation, In the lunches of the hard working men folks of the plain communities too.
Every Fund raiser, family reunion and picnic usually sports these delicious treats as well and the women proudly boast about their secret recipes and every one knows who makes the best whoopie pies!!
Any Mennonite cookbook holds close to dozen or more different whoopie pie recipes but this one, the one I’ve shared with you… I’ve not seen this one in even one cookbook, its been shared between family members and apparently never been submitted to a cookbook!!
Printing the recipe below in the recipe card is an option, or I have included my favorite way to write out recipes in a PDF, feel free to download using the button below!

Ingredients
- 1 cup oil or 1 1/8 cup melted lard
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 egg yolks save whites for filling
- 1 cup cocoa
- 1 1/4 cup hot water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbs vanilla
- 1 1/2 cup clabbered milk or cultured buttermilk
- 1 tbs baking soda
- 5 cups all purpose flour see note at bottom
- 1 1/4 cup shortening or room temp butter
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 whipped egg whites from your cookie batter
Method
- Cream together the oil (or lard), sugar, and yolks.
- Mix cocoa in the hot water until dissolved, then add to creamed mixture.
- Add salt and vanilla.
- Stir together clabbered milk (or cultured buttermilk) and baking soda until foamy, then add to batter mixture.
- Add flour, see notes at bottom regarding flour.
- Batter will be a little thicker than cake batter. Drop by spoonful onto parchment paper and bake at 350℉ until cookies spring back when touched.
- Set cookies to side to cool while you make the filling.
- Whip together all ingredients until light and fluffy.



One Response
I love your youtube channel!!! These pies look delicious and i plan on making these! Would you have an idea on how to turn the chocolate whoopie pie recipe into banana pies?