Makin' Whoopie

We were up early this morning, out for a bike ride as the sun came up. It was a frosty 38 degrees. You can be sure that we were layered with enough warmth to keep us toasty. When it gets chilly, we often start feeling the urge to turn on the oven, mix up a batch of cookies and fill the house with the aroma of warm, homemade goodness. I thought I'd share two recipes today. One for traditional Maine whoopie pies; another for a pumpkin version that is filled with a creamy, spiced, maple confection. Both versions can be made as tiny or gigantic sandwich cakes OR bake the batter in a cake pan and frost with the filling for an Inside-Out Whoopie Pie. Either way they are Oh So Delicious.
Savor. Linger. Enjoy!
-Cynthia

Whoopie Pies
Woopie Pies are a Maine tradition. They are a combination of fluffy frosting sandwiched between two cake-like cookies. The originals were chocolate on the outside and vanilla on the inside. Most folks agree that the cakey cookie should be moist, yet sturdy enough to hold on to. The filling however is subject to much controversy. There are many secret recipes for creating the luscious, creamy, fluffy white stuff that acts as cookie glue. Some like the kind made with marshmallow fluff, some a buttery frosting and others a tooth-achingly sweet shortening confection. Recipes have sprung up over the years to satisfy the palates of gourmets and gourmands alike. Here are a few suggestions for my favorite versions of insides and outsides. Use your imagination to create the combinations your family will love.
Traditional Chocolate Whoopie Pies
For the cakey-cookie part:
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
3 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups cocoa
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup hot water
Preheat oven to 350. In the bowl of an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time and beat until combined. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa. In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk and sour cream. Add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add the hot water slowly and mix until incorporated.
Use an ice-cream scoop if you have one handy or a tablespoon, to drop the batter 2” apart on a parchment/silicone sheet lined or greased baking sheet. My favorite scoop size for whoopee pies is 2 oz. That's about 3 heaping Tablespoons of batter. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until tops are springy. Remove from the pan on the sheets of parchment to a rack. Cool completely.

Vanilla Cream Filling
12 Tbsp. Unsalted butter
2 1/2 c. confectioners sugar-sifted
Pinch salt
4 tsp. pure vanilla
2 egg whites
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter with the confectioners sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and lemon juice and mix until combined.
Add the egg whites one at a time, beating thoroughly after each one. The filling will seem to break but just keep going and whisk away. It will come right back together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue beating until very light and fluffy- as long as 5 minutes.
Assembly;
Take one chocolate piece. Using the same size ice cream scoop that you used to make the cookies, place a heaping scoop of filling on one flat side. Top with another chocolate piece. Continue putting the Whoopie Pies together until all are assembled. Hopefully you have made an odd number of chocolate pieces- then you get to top the last one with filling and pop it into your mouth. Ah the sweet rewards.

Peanut Butter Filling
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
Place all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat together until creamy. Scrape down the bowl. Beat the filling for 4 minutes on high until the mixture is fluffy and light.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Spice Filling
1 cup sugar
1 cup maple sugar
1 cup melted butter
3 eggs
2 cups cooked pureed pumpkin
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Stir together sugars, butter and eggs. Add pumpkin. In a separate bowl, sift together the remaining ingredients. Add to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl well and stir again to be sure the ingredients are evenly distributed. Use an ice-cream scoop if you have one handy, to drop the batter 2” apart on a parchment/silicone sheet lined or greased baking sheet. My favorite scoop size for whoopee pies is 2 oz. That's about 3 heaping Tablespoons of batter. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until tops are springy and light brown. Remove from the pan on the sheets of parchment to a rack. Cool completely. These cakes are very moist.

Maple Spice Filling
12 Tbsp. Butter
2 1/2c. Confectioners sugar-sifted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch salt
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla
2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 egg whites
2 tsp. Fresh lemon juice
In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter with the confectioners sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, maple syrup and lemon juice and mix until combined. Add the egg whites one at a time, beating thoroughly after each one. The filling will seem to break but just keep going and whisk away. It will come right back together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue beating until very light and fluffy- as long as 5 minutes.
Assemble the same as Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Pear Bisque- Looking Toward Fall and the Harvest

Down East blog4
Apples and Pears are ripe and delicious. It's time to go picking. I've had a hankerin' for this pear soup. Its thicker than most bisques with the pulp of the fruit left in the soup. You could use apples instead if you've got them on hand. We talked about apples, squash and poultry at the last Aspiring Locavore class at the Morris Farm. A gal from Alna brought some honey crisps and mccouns from her trees. They were sweet and sour in turn. Apple crisp is definitely on the menu at home this week. Next month- the fourth Tuesday- the Aspiring Locavore will be talking about potatoes, turkey and oysters. Hope you can join us at the Morris Farm.

Pear Bisque
Serves 6
For an elegant first course, serve this bisque with a medallion of Appleton Creamery chèvre (goat cheese) and a sprinkle of pecans. Preferred wine is the Demi-Pear Wine from Winterport Winery.

3 T unsalted butter
1⁄2 c minced onion
1 T freshly grated ginger
1 small turnip, peeled and finely diced
2 T finely minced crystallized ginger
4 c chicken or vegetable stock
21⁄2 lb firm but ripe pears, peeled and cut into 1⁄2-inch cubes
1⁄4 lb dried pears, coarsely chopped
11⁄2 c heavy cream
1⁄3 c pear wine
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T lemon zest
3 T Maine maple syrup
1⁄2 t nutmeg
1⁄8 t allspice
1⁄8 t freshly ground white pepper, or to taste
extra cream for thinning
Garnish (optional):
1⁄4 c finely chopped pecans
6- 1⁄2-inch slices from a log of chèvre
Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onion and turnip about 8 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.
Stir in the fresh and crystallized ginger and sauté another 2 minutes. Pour in the stock and bring the ingredients to a boil. Add the fresh and dried pears. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the pan from the heat. Use an immersion blender to purée the soup in the pan or, working in batches, purée the soup in a blender until smooth. Return the mixture to the saucepan. With heat on low, stir in the remaining ingredients and season to taste. Simmer about 30 minutes, stirring often. Thin with additional cream if desired.
Serve in pretty bowls, with a slice of chèvre and a sprinkle of chopped pecans.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Boil your Dinner and Serve it with Remoulade Sauce

Elizabeth loves to bake. She is an excellent little chef. I made the traditional boiled dinner tonight to celebrate St. Patty's Day. No green beer-- but yummy corned beef, cabbage for the grownups and boiled potatoes for all of us. I've taken to peeling a few long carrots before dinner and have them out for the inevitable, "Mom, what can I have to eat...?" They have loved crunching the carrots while I'm putting the finishing touches on dinner. The house smells so good right now! We'll have a remoulade sauce with the corned beef. It's great with ham too.
Once my little peanut has cleaned her room we are baking a cake- she says she wants carrot or applesauce cake. We'll let you know which one we make and give you the recipe tomorrow. Happy St Patrick's Day!
Remoulade Sauce with Variations
This can be as simple as mixing the first two ingredients. Add additional ingredients as you like and taste as you go. Stop when you love it! I am usually making this on the fly with the ingredients I've got on hand.
1 c mayonnaise- I use hellmanns
1/4 c Dijon or honey mustard
5 twists fresh ground black pepper
1 T horseradish
2-4 T chili sauce
2 T (sweet, dill or mustard pickle) relish
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t garlic, finely minced
1 T vinegar- red wine/balsamic/rosemary as you like
2 T parsley, chopped
1 t Tabasco sauce - more or less if you like it spicy
1 t maple sugar
Mix all together and use as a sauce for meat or fish. A little goes a long way.

Pork Roast and Apple Sauce

The recipe for today is Pork Roast with Maple Glaze. Our dear friends the Olivers had a house fire last night. We've all been working together to find ways to help them get back on their feet. Tonight's meal was quick and easy.
Pork Loin with Maple Glaze: use the kind or pork loin/roast you like- I just got what was on sale today. Rinse it. Pat it dry. Season with salt, pepper and some minced garlic. Rub a Tablespoon or two of dijon or honey mustard over the top. Place it in a roasting pan and drizzle with pure maple syrup. Roast it at 350 degrees 20 minutes per pound. When it's done, remove it from the oven, cover with foil and let it sit 10 to 15 minutes. Swing dance around the kitchen to some Louis Armstrong while you wait. Slice it across the grain and serve with rice pilaf and sweet baby peas. A dollop of chunky applesauce on the side completes your meal. Drizzle some of the pan juices over the top of the sliced meat just before you serve. Yum!
Remember to count your blessings before you go to sleep tonight. I hope you are safe, warm, fed, content and grateful. We are all so lucky- there are always blessings to count. I'm so glad that Ernie, Molly, Sean, Gavin and Sawyer are alright. A fire can take belongings. People are the magic that make a house a home. Thank goodness we've still got the magic. We'll help them work out the rest.

Fat Tuesday Pancakes are Soooo Good! Happy Mardi Gras!!

Tradition stacks up again this year with a tower of pancakes dripping with Maine maple syrup. We made the ever so wonderful breakfast for dinner celebration tonight. There is something fun about eating your day backwards. The pancakes came out fluffy and hearty with the perfect absorbability for all the melted butter and syrup. Elizabeth macerated some strawberries for the top of her stack. I sliced two bananas and a fuji apple, juiced a lemon and tossed them with a quarter cup of light brown sugar. They were the perfect compliment to the pancakes.
We still have quite a bit of pork left in the freezer from the pig we purchased with Mike, Paula and Brad last fall. I defrosted two packages of sausage that Curtis Meats had made up- one hot, one sweet. They browned up nicely with a couple of cloves of garlic and a splash of maple syrup.
This pancake recipe is one I've used dozens of times.
Stir together: 4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 cup wheat germ and 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
In a separate bowl combine: 4 eggs, 6 oz greek or regular plain yogurt, 3 1/2 cups buttermilk, 2 Tablespoons maple syrup, 1/4 cup melted butter or oil
Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.
Cook on a hot griddle.
Serve immediately with butter, maple syrup, fruit or yogurt.
Mmm.
Now we really have to get out and swing dance this weekend! I can't wait to try out a couple of new moves we saw Kevin and Carla, Skye and Sarah doing on a youtube video from the Montpillier Swing Dance Festival. See the video here:
MSDF 2003 - social: Kevin, Carla, Skye, Sarah