Amish Whoopie Pie Recipe
What is an Amish Oatmeal whoopie pie? Or maybe the simpler question is, What is a whoopie pie? A whoopie pie is simply two cookies with frosting sandwiched between them. Some people also call them gobs.
But I grew up in Lancaster County, and we always knew these sandwich cookies as whoopie pies. The most common whoopie pie is probably the chocolate whoopie pie, but we used to make different variations, such as oatmeal whoopie pies, pumpkin, and chocolate chip.
The Amish oatmeal whoopie pie is similar to the Little Debbie Oatmeal cream pies. But, of course, the homemade whoopie pies taste better!
Pennsylvania Dutch Whoopie Pies
I have no way of knowing for sure where the Amish whoopie pie recipe originated or where its name comes from? But some seem to think that they originated with the Pennsylvania Amish housewives. One theory for the origin of the name goes like this: An Amish housewife invented the whoopie pie with remnants of cake batter and frosting. And when her kids found it in their lunch box, they exclaimed “Whoopie!”
That’s a humorous theory 🙂 and I don’t suppose that we will ever know for sure where the name came from. But one thing I do know is that whoopie pies are amazing, and they are a well-loved treat among the Amish and my family as well.
My mom-in-law used to can and sell gourmet pickles. And in the fall we took the pickles to numerous craft shows to sell. So for a few years, I also baked several trays of Amish whoopie pies to take along and sell. There were some interesting reactions when people walked by our table and saw my sign for whoopie pies. But they were a great seller, and I never had enough.
Oatmeal Cookie Whoopie Pie Recipe
How to make oatmeal whoopie pies: You start by mixing the cookie dough. It’s pretty much a regular oatmeal cookie recipe. Mix your ingredients and drop by scoopfuls onto your cookie sheets. Bake and cool.
My cookies never seem to all turn out exactly the same size, shape, etc. So I pair up my cookies with one that’s closest to the same.
Now you need to whip up a batch of the Amish whoopie pie filling recipe. Spread a layer of filling on one cookie and top with its partner.
This Amish whoopie pie filling recipe has raw egg whites. It makes a very light and fluffy frosting. But if you don’t feel comfortable eating raw egg white then simply omit the egg white. Your frosting should still turn out ok. Whenever I made them to sell, I used a whipped buttercream frosting recipe instead. Because I did not want to sell anything with raw egg whites in. But when I make them for us, I use this recipe.
Wrap each individual whoopie pie in plastic wrap to store. And honestly, if you can keep everybody from eating all of them the first day, they are moister and taste even better the next day. You may want to make a double batch of these cookies because they disappear fast.
Oatmeal Whoopie Pie Recipe
My family is always delighted when I make these Amish oatmeal whoopie pies. They also love when I make chocolate or pumpkin whoopie pies. But, these oatmeal whoopie pies are a favorite, especially with my husband.
A cookie scoop is nice for making these. It’s less messy than using a spoon and it’s easier to get uniform-sized cookies.
This whoopie pie recipe only makes about ten giant whoopie pies, but you could use a small scoop and make mini whoopie pies.
AMAZON DISCLOSURE: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. If you click on the link to make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you.
More Amish dessert recipes:
Amish Dutch Apple Pie with Crumb Topping
Soft and Chewy Amish Gingersnap Cookies
Amish Oatmeal Whoopie Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 3/4 c. brown sugar
- 3/4 c. butter, softened 1 1/2 sticks
- 2 large eggs
- 2 c. flour
- 2 c. quick oats
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. baking soda mixed with 3 Tbs. boiling water
Filling:
- 2 egg whites
- 1 1/2 Tbs. vanilla
- 2 Tbs. milk
- 4 c. confectioners sugar
- 1 c. crisco shortening
- 2 Tbs. flour
- 1/8 tsp. salt
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Cream butter, brown sugar, and eggs.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add this to your creamed egg mixture.
- Add cinnamon and quick oats. Mix well.
- Add baking soda to boiling water and add this mixture to the batter. Beat until well combined.
- Scoop batter onto greased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes, until slightly browned.
- Cool cookies on a rack.
For the Filling:
- Beat egg whites, vanilla, and milk, with the whisk attachment. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and cream well.
- Add remaining ingredients and beat to combine. Scrape the sides and bottom and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, at least one minute.
- Sandwich the filling between two cookies to form a whoopie pie.
- Wrap each whoopie pie with plastic wrap to store.
Is that salted or unsalted butter?
I always use salted.
Why baking soda AND baking powder?
Baking POWDER gives a bit of an instant boost to any batter – baking SODA gives move of a sustained boost to a baked product!!! It’s quite common to see the two combined: give something of a 1-2 punch effect to the list and rise of a baked product!! 🙂 Best of luck – these were DELICIOUS – my first batch, I just served as cookies and there were ZERO leftovers!!!
Mine went flat like a cookie also! Super annoyed! I followed it all correctly also as I’m an experienced baker. 🤷♂️ I’ll try again using more flour or oats and chilling the dough prior to baking and see if that makes a difference.🙏🤞
I’m sorry that you were disappointed! They are supposed to be like a cookie. But I’ve used this recipe many times and mine are never very flat. I’m not sure what makes the difference, but yes, you can add more oats if you want them thicker.
I ran into a problem cooking them today. Thinking maybe I put too much baking soda by measuring tbsp instead of tsp but I really don’t know. They ended up flattening like a tortilla. When I’ve made them in the past, they’ve never really stayed plump and I’m curious why. Thanks!
Hmm..I’m sorry that happened for you. Did you follow all the instructions? I’m at loss as to what would have made this happen if you followed instructions. Was your batter very runny?? Did you melt the butter or just use softened? Not sure that it should actually make much difference though. Usually if cookies get too thin they need more flour or in this case adding more oatmeal. Sometimes a different brand might make a slight difference. But I’ve never had these go flat on me.? I prefer flatter cookies versus really fat ones, and sometimes when I try recipes I seem to have the problem of cookies getting too fat for me. lol
When I bake, I always use HALF butter, HALF shortening – my Dad was always the baker in the family, and that was his “secret.” Shortening has a higher melt temperature than butter – a straight butter recipe will melt the butter faster, causing the cookie to melt and flatten. Straight-up shortening, results in puffier, softer cookies (which some people love!!!). But splitting the difference, means you still get a bit of chew, a bit of softness, but not a 100% crispy cookie like all all-butter cookie can produce… It’s our family’s experience, but try it once with the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip cookie recipe, and I swear you’ll be a convert!!! <3
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
I am so glad you liked it! Thank you.
I made these and we loved them! I like my cookies soft, so I didn’t let them get very brown – they were just barely brown when I pulled them from the oven, but I let them partially cool on the trays, then put them on a rack to finish cooling. They were nice and chewy, just how I like them! I used my own buttercream frosting to fill them.
Thank you, Kay!
These look great! I love cookies made with oatmeal. Even better with a filling.