 |
| With my parents, May 1967 |
Back
in 1967, my first year at the University of Idaho – yes, it’s really been that
long ago – my roommate came back after a weekend at home with two cans full of
what she called Whoopie Pies. One was chocolate with a white marshmallow filling.
The other was a nutmeg-flavored buttermilk cookie with fluffy filling, which I
thought was “to die for.” My roommate generously wrote out the recipes and I
made sure my mother had a set, too.
I
was taken aback when Mother said she didn’t think those recipes were worth
keeping. We would never use them, she said. Now, Mother had a drawerful of
recipes that she was never going to use, so that she would actually toss those recipes
spoke volumes. And it wasn’t just that she didn’t want the recipes, but she was
calling on me to agree with her. Fortunately, I had my own cards, but it was a
problem for me that Mother had judged them unworthy of being kept.
 |
| Kathy, 1967 |
I
made Whoopie Pies once after I was married, I think, and my new husband was likewise
unimpressed. “These aren’t cookies,” he said. Well, I guess they aren’t, but somehow
they don’t quite qualify as dessert either. And they don’t keep forever. So, I
never made them again and I must have tossed the recipe cards because I can’t
find them.
Still,
I feel exonerated by those experts at Cook’s Country who included Whoopie Pies in
America’s Best Lost Recipes. Whoopie Pies are good! I didn’t post the
recipe, but if you’re interested, many variations appear online. Just “google”
it. KW
3 comments:
I believe Whoopie Pies are a Pennsylvania Dutch treat - at least the Amish sell them at the local farmers' markets here. They were always a favorite of Doug's. I'm surprised they didn't appeal to Dad or Dorothy.
Don't believe I've ever eeaten a Whoopie Pie, but I love the pictures!
Hi Murray! So nice to hear from you! According to "America's Best Lost Recipes," both Maine and Pennsylvania lay claim to these cookie sandwiches.
I think both my mother and Mike saw these cookies as too "foodie" to be a good snack on the average day. Your dad can probably eat six cookies in a day and not think much of it, but give him two cookies with frosting between, and he'll think twice. Besides, he's not a big frosting fan. (I think the frosting is the best part.)
Thanks, Chris. The old slides are losing some definition, I think, but the images are still there.
Post a Comment