Sunday, September 26, 2010

Making whoopie.

Whoopie 1

I've been wanting to make these ever since I first heard the name: whoopie pies. Fun, right?

I've actually been eating these tasty cookie sandwiches for years. My mom made them all the time, only we didn't call them by their rightful name (which I gather is an American thing). They were just chocolate cookie sandwiches. She'd make a big batch and freeze a bunch for later consumption: I always enjoyed them most after they had been out of the freezer a bit, but weren't yet completely thawed.
Fast forward a few dozen years and I've been seeing them crop up in magazines, food blogs and bake shop display cases. Now that we have a functioning oven, it seemed like a good time to give it a go. I dug out the recipe from an old Martha Stewart Living holiday baking issue and cut the ingredients in half. I should have also cut the serving sizes down too: these things turned out huge, like miniature cakes. So be warned, unless you happen to like eating cookies with a fork and knife.

Finally, I was planning on making them with vanilla buttercream filling, but I forgot to buy whipped cream and so I ended up trying to evoke Reese's Peanut Butter Cups with a rich, creamy peanut butter filling.

Whoopie Pies (adapted from Martha Stewart Living)
  • 1 ¾Cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ Tablespoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 Cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 Cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift together flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. Line two baking pans parchment paper.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat until well combined. 
  3. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix until combined.
  4. Using a tablespoon (or something smaller), drop mix onto the pan, leaving about two inches between cookies. Bake until tops are soft, but not wet, approximately 8 to 12 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.
Salty Peanut Butter Filling
  • ¾ Cup low-salt creamy peanut butter (or crunchy)
  • ¾ Cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ¾ Cup confectioners sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  1. Beat peanut butter and butter on low until creamy using a mixer. Add sugar and salt and beat on low to incorporate. Increase speed to medium and beat for about four minutes until the filling is light and fluffy.
  2. Spread frosting generously onto half of the cookies and smoosh another cookie on top of each. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 day or freeze.

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