Did This Maryland Restaurant Rip Off the Maine Whoopie Pie?
Maine TikTok Accounts
While looking for content to write about, I tend to hit the socials first to search for anything Maine-related. And while most are aware, Maine has plenty of popular TikTok accounts, like Box of Maine and also Maine Gang. But while cruising through, I saw something that reeked of Maine.
Whoopie Pies are Maine's official state treat
Back in 2011, the Maine State Legislature officially designated the Whoopie Pie as Maine's official state treat. And while the video above shared by Kristen Kelly isn't of your typical whoopie pie and the treats aren't even made in Maine, the inspiration is pretty apparent.
In talking to Kristen, she mentioned that the treats being showcased in her TikTok video are some of the more popular dessert items on the menu at the restaurant she works for, P.I.G.S. BBQ in Frederick, Maryland. Branded as their "chocolate cream homemade hand pies," Kristen said the chocolate cream pies essentially taste like two fudge chocolate chip cookies sandwiched around a thick, sweet cream.
Sounds pretty familiar, right?
What's in a Maine whoopie pie?
According to a recipe published by Maine Magazine that's found inside the Maine Bicentennial Community Cookbook, the cookie portion of Maine whoopie pies are made with flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, sugar, and more -- a lot of the same ingredients found in the cookies of the chocolate cream homemade hand pies.
And when it comes to the "thick, sweet cream" that Kristen said is included in those hand pies? A pretty similar makeup to the cream found in Maine whoopie pies.
So, while Kristen said that owner and head chef of P.I.G.S. BBQ is a local-to-Maryland five-star chef and she wasn't sure if it was a self-made recipe or an inspired one -- it's tough not to see the similarities between the two.