The Sugar Train: Next Stop?

I've been thinking about what I'll do for my next baking adventure. I've been browsing through my dessert magazine collection and see that even they've picked up on the new whoopie pie trend that's erupted lately. There the new "cupcake craze" so to speak.

I am starting to see whoppie pies show up in all sorts of place. They tend to range from 3-5 dollars in commercial bakeries. Not exactly cheap, so even more of an incentive to make them at home.

What are whoopie pies? Well, they aren't pies technically nor are they cakes or cookies, really. They are their own breed of dessert that borrows from each category. They kind of look like little pies from the top, the two halves look like fluffy cookies but have a flat cake texture. Whoopie pies are soft cookie/cake-like sandwiches filled with icing or marshmallow cream.

You can be as creative as you want with whatever you want to sandwich the two "soft cookie" halves with, but traditionally they are filled with some sort of cream or frosting and the most common batter flavor used is chocolate. I've even read that another traditional flavor for the cookies is pumpkin (now that sounds heavenly!).

It's a New England dessert that's been around for some time and has Amish roots. The legend is that Amish women/wives/mothers would bake these desserts from scratch and place these treats in their children's and husbands' lunchboxes as surprises and when were discovered, the child or husband would shout out loud, "Whoopie!!"

Is this true? I have no idea, but it's a playful, lighthearted story with a few versions floating around. Plus, it kind of makes sense. I know if I frequently found surprise treats in a lunchbox on my way to work, I'd shout out in joy, too. LOL

Why did I mention whoopie pies? Well, because they are one of several desserts I am considering making for my next baking adventure. Here's a tentative list of dessert ideas I have so far:

• Whoopie pies (with marshmallow cream made from scratch)
• Fruit parfaits or trifles (I've made these before but I'd like to experiment further)
• Mint chocolate cake
• Some kind of cold or frozen treat (sorbet, gelato, ice cream)
• Sticky buns (a yeast dough recipe: LOVE these, have only made them in a workshop but would love to try my hand at them at home)
• Ice cream cupcakes