At the beginning of the summer, I told my husband that I needed a vacation. I didn’t care where we went, as long as it would get me out of the Mississippi heat and humidity.

Little did I know, that request would mean we ended up in Bangor, Maine. My husband planned the whole trip — the flights, the cabin we stayed in, the hotel in the city, and our trip to Acadia National Park. We were gone for about six days in August.

It was one of my favorite trips I’ve ever been on. We were constantly so relaxed, even when we were climbing a mountain or paddling across the lake we were staying on.

While we were in Maine, I knew I was getting another once in a lifetime chance to try the food in that area. Of course, we ate a few forms of lobster, including lobster rolls. We also tried popovers and all kinds of varieties of blueberry flavored jams and syrups. It was a delicious trip.

But we did miss out on one thing — whoopie pies.

As my husband and I were walking through Bar Harbor, we saw a little shop where you could buy whoopie pies, and I immediately asked if we could buy one to split. But when we got inside, we ran into an unfortunate sign on the register: CASH ONLY.

As young 20-something year olds, I only had cards on me, and my husband wasn’t even carrying his wallet. So we had no way to try these delicious-looking whoopie pies.

After we got back home, I was still craving them. But instead of just finding a way to buy them, I thought I’d try my hand at making them for the first time.

I found this Chocolate Whoopie Pies recipe on Cooking Classy and thought it would be a kind of gateway into the sweet treats. I’ve gotten a lot better at cooking and baking over the past year, so I thought I’d be able to pull it off.

And I guess I did. My husband liked them, my friends liked them, and I even got to introduce someone to whoopie pies for the first time because I had baked them. But as a perpetual perfectionist, I know I still need to work on a few things.

First, the ratio of cookie to cream. No one gets upset because a whoopie pie has too much filling, but it can be a disappointment when it’s not filled enough.

I also think I could work on getting my cookie shape smoother and flatter, along with making the pies all the same size.

Either way, I had a good time baking them, and I also had a good time eating them. But I really can’t say if they were good enough to replace those Maine whoopie pies.

I may have to fly back so I can compare the two. Agh. I guess I HAVE to take another vacation soon.

CHOCOLATE WHOOPIE PIES

(Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy)

Ingredients
Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup hot water

Filling
8 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 ounces marshmallow fluff (crème)

Directions
■ Set oven racks in upper and lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 18-by-13-inch baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
■ In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
■ In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix together brown sugar, buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg and vanilla extract until well blended.
■ Add flour mixture and mix just until combined, then pour in hot water and mix just until combined.
■ Scoop batter out using a medium cookie scoop or 1 1/2 tablespoon at a time, and drop onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2-inches apart.
■ Bake first two sheets at a once, rotating sheets halfway through baking, until cookies spring back when touched or toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 8-10 minutes total.
■ Let cool about 5 minutes then use a spatula to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Bake remaining last sheet of cookies in center of the oven, about 8-10 minutes.
■ For the filling
■ In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer) cream together salted butter, unsalted butter and powdered sugar on low speed until well combined.
■ Increase mixer speed to high and whip until until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Blend in vanilla.
■ Remove bowl from stand mixer, add marshmallow fluff and fold together using a rubber spatula just until combined.
■ Chill mixture about 20 minutes to thicken up then fold again. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe over half of the cookies, sandwich a second cookie over the top.
■ Store cookies in an airtight container set on parchment paper, in a single layer in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Let rest at room temperature about 30 minutes before serving.