Chocolate Whoopie Pies

The whoopie pie: cake, cookie, or pie? To me, certainly not a pie; more of a cross between a cake and a cookie.

Whatever you call them, they come in many varieties. I’ve tried several, and have personally made chocolate peanut butter whoopie pies, lemon raspberry whoopie pies, and vanilla whoopie pies with chocolate filling. Despite this, nothing quite compares to the classic chocolate-cookie-with-fluffy-white-filling whoopie pie. This is my first attempt at the classic version, and I have to say: they are delicious. And enormous. And definitely not heart-healthy. But it’s not like you’ll eat them every day, right?

The recipe below is adapted from Cinnamon-Spice & Everything Nice, incorporating more powdered sugar into the filling to mellow out the sweetness of the marshmallow creme. That probably sounds impossible, but it’s true; a bit more powdered sugar cuts the sticky sweetness of the creme very well, and also stabilizes the filling a bit. Don’t skip the step where you let your filling chill in the refrigerator for just a few minutes; it sets up very nicely and yields a fluffy texture that complements the tender cookies very well.

Ingredients

For the chocolate cookies

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature

For the fluffy white filling

• 8 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper; my recipe yielded 20 individual cookies for 10 complete whoopie pies.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a medium glass measuring cup, combine buttermilk and vanilla; mix and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for 1 minute. Add brown sugar and cream until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

Scrape down your bowl very well and add the egg, then beat until well-combined.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour, mixing until combined after each.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop very generous, heaping scoops of batter onto prepared sheets; you should have 6 cookies per sheet and need to leave a few inches of space between them, as they’ll spread as the bake.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until tops are set and spring back lightly when touched. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.

To make the fluffy white filling, beat butter on medium speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and marshmallow creme, beating for about 2 minutes to combine. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating well to combine.

Chill filling for about 5 minutes in your refrigerator; this will allow it to set up slightly and provides a sturdier texture.

Flip cookies over and divide filling evenly among half of them; using a small offset spatula, spread filling slightly, then place another cookie on top.

Wrap each whoopie pie in plastic wrap for easy serving and storage. Since they are so large, it’s nice to be able to eat half of one and save the other half for later.