Dear Sun Spots: Quite some time ago you printed a few recipes for Whoopie Pies. I cut the column out but have misplaced it. I am looking for a good chocolate whoopie pie recipe. Your help will be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance. – No Name, Lewiston.

Answer: In addition to responses from readers, who will hopefully be willing to share some of their favorites with you, Sun Spots offers a recipe provided years ago by business reporter Carol Coultas. It is always a favorite at the Sun Journal:

Nana Skeff’s whoopie pies – Cake ingredients: 6 tablespoons of Crisco, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 cups flour, 1¼ teaspoons baking soda, 5 tablespoons cocoa, 1 teaspoon salt. Method: Cream the first five ingredients together, then blend in the flour, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 to 10 minutes.

Filling ingredients: 2½ tablespoons flour, ½ cup milk, 1 stick butter, ½ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Method: In a small saucepan, whisk the flour and milk together and heat until just boiling and thickened. Cool. Place in a bowl with the butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth and fill the cakes. Recipe makes 18.

Sun Spots located a low-fat, Weight Watchers version on line at www.phentermine.com and hopefully you and other readers would like to try those:

Whoopie Pies (Weight Watchers) 18 servings. Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup solid vegetable shortening, 1 egg white, ½ cup low fat 1% milk, ¾ cup marshmallow spread. Method: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the sugar, shortening and egg white in a medium bowl until fluffy and well blended, about 2 minutes. Stir in the flour mixture, then the milk, until just blended. Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto large, ungreased baking sheets, making 36 cookies. Bake until top springs back when lightly touched, 5-7 minutes. Cool completely on the sheets on a rack. Spoon 2 teaspoons marshmallow spread on the bottoms of half the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They are about 119 calories each.

Dear Sun Spots: Emily’s Wish Charity is now holding its second annual toy drive.

Emily started the charity when she was 6 years old. She saw a picture on the front page of the Sun Journal of a house burning. It broke her heart that the kids lost all of their toys and belongings in that fire. So she decided to do something to help. Last year, during her first toy drive, she gave up her birthday and asked for help raising toys. With the help of Lewiston-Auburn residents, she raised 362 toys.

This year Emily is 7 and she has set her goal at 500 toys. Starting on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 12, Shaw’s in Lewiston and Auburn will have a box on display for people to drop off toys to help kids that are victims of fires. The boxes will be on display for a month.

Emily will also go to local schools and day-care programs, requesting that they put up penny jars to raise as much money as possible to purchase toys. She feels that it is so important to teach children that one person, one child, can make a difference. Emily has a scrapbook full of memories made since she started this adventure a year ago that she shares with kids to show how a kid can make a difference.

If your day care or school would like to get involved in the penny drive, please e-mail us at emilyswishes@wmconnect.com or you can call at 713-6114. Thank you. – Lisa Beaulieu, No Town.



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