How to Make Old-Fashioned Whoopie Pies

Whoopie pies are to New England what the black and white cookie is to New York City and this down eastern creation is a tasty little treat for chocolate and cookie lovers alike. Traditional to the Pennsylvania Dutch culture, a whoopie pie is a baked creation made of creamy white frosting stuffed between two small chocolate cakes. You can get whoopie pies at just about any convenient store on the east coast; but here's how to make whoopie pies the old fashioned way.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 1/4 cups of sugar
• 2/3 cup shortening (lard is best, but crisco will suffice)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup milk

1. Cream sugar and shortening together. In the old days lard was used in lieu of butter. It's not very good for you, but it tastes great. If you want a true blue old fashioned whoopie pie the way grandma used to make them, live a little and use lard.

2. Add the eggs to creamed sugar and lard mixture and mix.

3. In a separate bowl sift all the dry ingredients together.

4. Slowly add the milk and dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating between the two.

5. Using a teaspoon, drop the cookies onto an un-greased cookie sheet. You'll want to eyeball the size of each cookie; they should be between 1 1/2 to 2 tsp. Press them gently to flatten.

6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.

7. Combine 1 cup of milk with 5 tbsp. flour and cook on medium heat until the mixture thickens. Let cool.

8. Add a cup of lard, 1 cup of sugar and 3 tbsp. of vanilla to milk mixture ad beat until fluffy and creamy.

9. Smear a cookie with filling and sandwich it with another cookie. Enjoy!