Whoopie Pies

Everywhere I look in my cooking magazines, the blogs that I check out, even my parenting magazines, whoopie pies are the thing to make right now... I had never even heard of them, so of course they peaked my interest. There are so many different flavor combos, but I thought that I would start out with a plain one first and see what all the hoopla was about! So, I made up a batch, with the help of my kids, for their teachers on Valentine's Day. They were delicious!! The kids were begging for more of the filling and the chocolately goodness on the outside was just the right complement! Try them, you'll like them!



Whoopie Pies
(recipe found in Family Fun magazine)

Cakes:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Filling:
1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla
red food coloring (optional)

Heat the oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (I never have used parchment paper, but I sprayed my cookie sheets with cooking spray in between each batch and that seemed to work really well!)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and vanilla. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until evenly blended, about 1-2 minutes. Add the egg, increase speed to high and beat until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute more. Pour half the flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat at medium speed until combined. Add the buttermilk mixture and continue beating until just blended. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat again. Using a cookie scoop, place heaping tablespoons of batter on the cookie sheet, 9 on each sheet. Slightly flatten each mound with a spoon.

Bake the cakes one sheet at a time for 10 minutes. Let them cool on the sheet for 2 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Using a mixer, beat all the filling ingredients, except the coloring in a medium bowl until evenly blended, about 2 minutes. If you want to give the filling a color, fold in drops of red food coloring until the desired tint is reached. To make each pie, spoon and spread a heaping tablespoon of the filling onto the bottom of a cake, then gently press another cake on top.



Who wouldn't want this hard working kid in their classroom? :)