There’s a lot of controversy surrounding which state is the originator of the whoopie pie, but when you read the following story, I think you’ll totally agree that its origin is in Pennsylvania.
The story goes that Amish women who had left over cake batter and icing would make these sort of cake-type cookies filled with a creamy center. They would put them in their husbands’ lunch pails, and when the husbands took a break from tending to the fields or animals and would have lunch, they’d open their pails and see that these tasty treats were inside, and much to their excitement, they’d squee “whoopie!” Thus, the whoopie pie was born.
Now, I don’t know if that’s a legit story or not, but it sounds pretty adorable and believable.
In any case, whoopie pies are my treat-of-choice when I return to Pennsylvania. I always know I’m back home when I find whoopie pies in convenience stores, and so, when I entered whoopie pie land on my road trip home, I was thrilled, to say the least.
Whoopie pies come in a variety of flavors: traditional, which is chocolate with a white cream; chocolate with peanut butter, which is my absolute favorite and the one featured in this post; red velvet; pumpkin with a sort of cream cheese filling; maple syrup with cream cheese; and more!
If you ever find yourself in Pennsylvania, be sure to pick one up for yourself! Oh, and if you’re in Western Pennsylvania, just be aware that they’re called “gobs” there.
