Whippet cookie

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A Whippet cut to show the internal structure

Whippet cookies are a popular type of chocolate cookie, produced in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They consist of biscuit base topped with marshmallow and then coated in a hard shell of pure chocolate. Whippet cookies first came to the market in 1927, although they had been produced and distributed by Viau under the name "Empire" as early as 1901. Today, the cookies are still produced in Montreal at the east end of the Viau factory, which is now owned by Culinar Inc.

The cookies are similar to Mallomars of New York City, except that Whippets can be produced throughout the year because Montreal and its surrounding areas have a lower average temperature than New York. They also bear a striking resemblance to Tunnock's Tea Cakes as well as Krembos, a traditional European Jewish confection by way of Denmark. However, the Tunnock tea cake does not have the same kind of chocolate and the Krembo has a different type of filling.

The Whippet cookie is a distinct part of Quebec culture because it does not travel well outside its area of production. This is partly because the pure chocolate melts very easily (compared with a chocolate mixture) and therefore they require refrigerated transport in summer. Furthermore, the combination of the hard chocolate shell and the air-filled inner marshmallow make them self-destruct when placed in the unpressurized or semi-pressurized cargo section of an airplane.