Beige Unisex Cotton Canvas Jacket with Wool Blend Lining
Moist, spiced and irresistibly soft, these pumpkin whoopie pies with cream cheese filling bring a little taste of autumn in Maine straight to your kitchen.
Q&A Interview with Michelle Morey
Written by Patrick F. Albertson
For the unfamiliar, the humble whoopie pie is essentially a layer of vanilla or cream filling sandwiched between two chocolate cake bookends. Its exact origin is still debated, but its roots are undeniably New England, and for our purposes here, distinctly Maine. You’ll find them everywhere: in bakeries, gas stations, and school bake sales. They’re a true staple in Maine’s food vocabulary. In fact, the state went so far as to name the whoopie pie the Official State Treat of Maine. Seriously, there’s even a Maine Whoopie Pie Festival held every June. To explore this local icon, we turned to Michelle Morey, a Maine-born baker and chef, who shares her love for classic New England dishes made with fresh, local ingredients on her site barefootinthepines.com. She spoke with Sebago about her take on the classic and delicious Maine Whoopie Pie.
The atmosphere of Maine is just as important as its traditions. Food here is deeply tied to place and memory – you can remember fish and chips at Ken’s Seafood or a lobster roll by Portland Head Light. When I create recipes, I draw on that same sense of seasonality and nostalgia: the kind of food you can only get during a Maine summer, or what you cook when the gardens are gone, or to warm up after shoveling snow.
Maine’s agriculture is simple and consistent to everyone across the state – wild blueberries, potatoes, seafood, and hearty cold-weather produce. It’s amazing how, no matter which part of the state you’re from, you can find the same ingredients and recipes from Southern Maine to Downeast. The food here is like an invisible thread that connects us all.
I’ve always been around whoopie pies! I can’t remember a time when they weren’t in a convenience store, at a pizza place, or brought into the office at some point. It wasn’t until I started talking to people outside of New England that I realized whoopie pies weren’t everywhere. And when Maine officially named them the “State Dessert,” that’s when it really clicked for me just how regional they are – and how proud we are of that. But my most memorable experience was trying my husband’s grandmother’s recipe. I made them for his birthday – it was my first time making whoopie pies from scratch – and they were so good. That’s the batch that hooked me for good.
Never. I'll be buried with a jar of pumpkin spice. I like the idea of a pumpkin whoopie pie for fall – they are much more fun to make than a traditional pumpkin pie during the holidays. I love making them around Thanksgiving. They’re much easier than baking a pumpkin pie and add a fun twist to the dessert table. If your guests don’t want a whole one, they slice in half easily, and they travel well, too! They do get a little sticky as they sit, so if you need to stack them, add a layer of parchment paper in between. And since the filling is cream cheese–based, be sure to store them in the fridge.
