Butterscotch Sauce

Homemade butterscotch is very easy to make. I admit that my first batch, which went into butterscotch cupcakes, turned out better than my second batch; I suspect I cooked this batch on higher heat than I should have, which resulted in a much thicker confection once it cooled.

This sauce turns out best when simmered, rather than actually boiled; use medium-low heat, and look for small to medium-sized bubbles – if you see large bubbles on the surface, turn your heat down slightly to keep the sauce at more of a simmer.

The sauce will thicken as it cools, but should still be easy to drizzle. If you happen to cook your sauce at a higher heat than you should and it turns out too thick to drizzle, simply thin it out using a few tablespoons of heavy cream to get it back to drizzling consistency. It will still taste delicious…believe me.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in brown sugar, then heavy cream.

Bring mixture to a simmer/gentle boil and cook for 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla extract and salt.

Allow to cool completely before serving. Sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Honey Orange Muffins

Yesterday I saw a recipe for honey muffins on Taste of Home, a wonderful cooking and baking site. I’m on a low-sodium diet, so I checked out the sodium content in the original recipe and saw it was 242 mg – much too high for one muffin for someone like me.

Fortunately, my Aunt Liz sent me some reduced sodium baking powder last week, and I was able to use that to cut down on the sodium in a big way. My muffins have 93 mg each, and I also mixed in some vanilla extract, orange extract, and orange zest into the batter to turn these into honey orange muffins. The end result is not only lower in sodium, but also very tasty. Next time, I might add some chopped pecans to the batter and drizzle on an orange icing once the muffins have cooled.

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder*
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract (or orange juice)
zest of half a medium orange

*Rumford makes reduced sodium baking powder; you can find it online.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners; this recipe made 17 muffins for me.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a large glass measuring cup, combine egg, milk, melted butter, honey, vanilla extract, orange extract, and orange zest. Beat with a fork to combine.

Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and stir until just combined; batter should be lumpy. Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of batter into prepared pans, filling each well about 3/4 full.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until tops are light golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or freeze cooled muffins for future breakfasts and snacks.

Lemon Blackberry Cake

Today, in an effort to ramp up my piping skills, I bought a basic Wilton cake decorating book at the craft store. In it, I found a cute berry-and-vine cake and was inspired to make this lemon blackberry cake.

I found a great recipe for lemon cake at My Cake School, then divided the recipe in half to make one single 8-inch round. I don’t usually double-fill cakes, but my blackberry filling made less than I was hoping for, so I thought it needed a bit of a boost; next time, I’ll double the filling recipe.

Once filled, I frosted the top only for a more rustic look, then piped on some vines, leaves, and blackberries. The end result is delicious, light, and perfect for summer. If you’d like to frost the sides of your cake as well, I’d increase the frosting recipe by at least one quarter to ensure that you have enough for piping.

Lemon Cake

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter, slightly softened but still cool
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 tablespoon lemon extract
zest of 1 lemon

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with parchment, then grease the parchment and lightly flour the pan.

In a glass measuring cup, combine eggs, milk, vegetable oil, lemon extract, and lemon zest. Whisk to combine; set aside.

In your stand mixer, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; beat for 30 seconds to combine. With the mixer running on low, add butter one pat at a time, until the mixture looks like coarse sand.

Add half the egg mixture and beat on medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes, then scrape down the bowl and add the remaining egg mixture in two batches, beating for about 30 seconds after each.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely before filling and frosting.

Blackberry Filling

Ingredients

6 ounces blackberries, mashed
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, stir together blackberries, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture boils, then allow to boil for 1 minute, stirring well, until the mixture thickens.

Remove from heat and press through a fine sieve to filter out the seeds. Allow to cool before using; makes about 1/3 cup.

Creamy Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients

12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Leaf green food coloring
Purple food coloring
Black food coloring

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar all at once, then beat on low speed until all of the sugar is incorporated into the butter; this will take a few minutes. Scraped down the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.

Add vanilla and heavy cream, then beat for another 1-2 minutes.

To assemble the cake:

Reserve about 1/2 cup frosting for tinting. Divide the reserved portion and tint half green and the other half purple/black; I started with purple and added black until I reached my desired blackberry shade.

Slice the cake in half length-wise; place one half on your cake plate.

Top with blackberry filling, spreading within about 1/2 inch of the edges. Top the filling with frosting, spreading gently to within about 1/4 inch of the edges. The filling is slippery, so as you spread the frosting it will mix with the filling a bit, and that’s fine.

Top with the second half of your cake and frost the top using the white frosting.

Fit a piping bag with a plain tip and fill with green frosting; pipe on vines, then switch to a leaf tip and pipe on leaves.

Fit a second piping bag with a plain tip and fill with purple/black frosting; pipe on blackberries.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

Below is a detail of the blackberries and vines and a slice of the cake so you can see the filling.

Brown Sugar Cupcakes

My cousin Barb brought her girls Maureen (my goddaughter, age 5) and Margo (age 21 months) up from Maryland for a visit to Pittsburgh this week. Although I whipped up these brown sugar cupcakes without the assistance of my two favorite little bakers, they helped with the buttercream and did a very good job.

Depending on how old they are, little bakers can help with many things. Measuring and pouring can be easy, helpful tasks, as can (careful) mixing. To make our buttercream, Maureen and Margo helped me measure out the powdered sugar into a large bowl, then add it one cup at a time into the mixing bowl. Mo also poured in the vanilla extract and heavy cream and learned the basics of bowl-scraping before helping me pipe the buttercream onto our cupcakes. Even Margo helped squeeze the piping bag for our last cupcake, which she then ate.

Brown Sugar Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners; this recipe made 23 cupcakes for me.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and melted butter, whisking until no lumps remain. Whisk in egg, sour cream, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Slowly whisk in flour mixture until batter is completely smooth; it will be fairly thick.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of batter into prepared cupcake pans, filling about half-full.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and remove from pans immediately; cool completely before frosting.

Creamy Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients

1 cup butter, at room temperature
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Purple food coloring, if desired

Preparation

Add vanilla and heavy cream, then beat for another 1-2 minutes.

Add food coloring and beat for 1-2 minutes; scrape the bowl well to make sure you get all of the food coloring incorporated into the frosting.

Fit a 14-inch piping bag with a Wilton 1M tip and pipe blobs of frosting onto each cupcake (it’s easier with little helping hands to pipe blobs than swirls, but you can also try swirls – Mo did a pretty good job at the swirls). Store in airtight containers at room temperature.

Below, Maureen, Margo, and I whip up some tasty frosting…and then the girls demolish some cupcakes.

Vanilla Lime Cupcakes

My recent cherry limeade cupcakes made me wonder…what if you took the lime cupcake, filled it with lime curd, and topped it with vanilla buttercream? You’d have an amazing cupcake, that’s what.

Before you worry about making lime curd, fear not: it’s much easier than you think. I used the Martha Stewart key lime curd recipe, but with regular limes, and it turned out very well.

My big plan is to add mint to these cupcakes, along with some white rum, and turn them into mojito cupcakes…but that’ll be another blog post for another day. When making these cupcakes, bear in mind that you need to chill your lime curd for about 3 hours before using it; you could also buy lime curd at your local market – look for it in the jelly section.

Ingredients

Lime Curd

1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 medium limes)
4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Lime Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lime zest

Vanilla Buttercream

12 tablespoons butter, softened
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

Preparation

Make the lime curd:

Place a bowl and sieve next to your stove for easy access once your curd is cooked.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, eggs, lime zest, and lime juice. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture holds the shape of the whisk – this will take about 12-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and whisk in butter a few pieces at a time until butter completely melts.

Strain the curd through your sieve and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming.

Chill for about 3 hours before using; I chilled mine overnight.

Make the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners; this recipe yielded 18 cupcakes for me.

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

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Add vanilla extract, lime juice, and milk and beat for about 30 seconds.

Add flour mixture in two batches, beating until combined, then fold in lime zest.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of batter into cupcake tins, filling about 2/3 full.

Bake for 16-20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow cupcakes to cool in pans for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the buttercream:

Place butter in a mixing bowl and beat for a few minutes using the paddle attachment.

Add powdered sugar. With your mixer on low, incorporate the powdered sugar into the butter. (Hint: I find that placing a kitchen towel over the mixer during this stage prevents a powdered sugar blizzard.)

Add vanilla and beat for 3 minutes on medium-high speed. Scrape down the bowl, then add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating for 1-2 minutes between each addition. You want a fluffy consistency that will be easy to pipe.

Assemble your cupcakes:

Using the small end of a melon baller, scoop out the center of each cupcake; reserve scraps for a trifle if you like, or just eat them as you wish.

Fit a piping bag with a plain tip and fill with lime curd; pipe curd into each cupcake. You should have enough for each cupcake with a few tablespoons of curd left over.

Fit a piping bag with a Wilton 1M swirl tip and pipe swirls of frosting onto each cupcake.

Store cupcakes in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving.

Makes 18 cupcakes.

Zucchini Bread

It’s zucchini season, and in my opinion the best way to eat zucchini is to shred it and mix it into quick bread batter with pecans and orange zest. We have a bumper crop of zucchini in our garden this year, and so I suspect I’ll be making many more loaves as the summer goes on.

For this recipe, it’s important to choose a smaller zucchini, which will be more tender, and to shred it finely using the smaller side of your grater so you have (although this sounds strange) a very mushy pile of zucchini shreds instead of strips like shredded cheese. This helps the veggie blend into the batter better, so you’re left with a finer texture when the bread is baked. Next time, I might stir together some orange juice and powdered sugar for a drizzle icing and top that with some toasted pecans.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
zest of 1/2 medium orange
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of an 8 x 4 loaf pan.

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

In a small bowl, combine sugar, zucchini, vegetable oil, egg, and orange zest; stir to combine, then pour into flour mixture and stir until just combined, until there are no dry streaks remaining. Be careful not to over-mix, as over-mixing can yield a tough texture in the end result. Gently fold in pecans.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Check the bread around 45 minutes and cover if necessary to prevent over-browning.

Cool completely in loaf pan before serving. Store at room temperature.

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

Here we are in the dog days of summer, a time generally acknowledged as the hottest of the year in certain parts of the world. This interesting phrase originated with the rising of Sirius, the dog star, over North Africa and parts of the Middle East sometime in July or August. I was born in the dog days, and I like to think this is part of why I love dogs so much.

In any case, the dog days of summer call for refreshing treats, and these cherry limeade cupcakes fit the bill. They’re very light, with a wonderful texture and subtle flavors. I adapted this recipe from I am Baker, adjusting it very slightly to add more cherry juice and powdered sugar to the frosting. Make sure you allow your ingredients to come to room temperature before using them, as this yields the lightest, fluffiest texture in both the cupcakes and the frosting.

Ingredients

Lime Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lime zest

Cherry Frosting

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice*

*You can top the cupcakes with maraschino cherries if you like, but I left my cupcakes plain.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners; this recipe yielded 18 cupcakes for me.

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

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Add vanilla extract, lime juice, and milk and beat for about 30 seconds.

Add flour mixture in two batches, beating until combined, then fold in lime zest.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of batter into cupcake tins, filling about 2/3 full.

Bake for 16-20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow cupcakes to cool in pans for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, beat butter in a mixing bowl for 1-2 minutes. Add 3 cups powdered sugar and allow the sugar to fully incorporate into the butter; this will take several minutes.

Add almond extract and 1/4 cup cherry juice; beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, then add another cup of powdered sugar and additional juice. Beat on medium speed for another 2-3 minutes.

Fit a 14-inch piping bag with a Wilton 1A tip and pipe generous blobs of frosting onto each cupcake.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Cake for One

For the longest time, I’ve wanted to find a recipe for one 6-inch cake. Just a single 6-inch round, a cake for one, for those times you literally want a little cake.

Most recipes can be cut down, but the single-layer cakes I’ve made before call for one egg – and I didn’t want to figure out how to halve an egg. Instead, I chose a recipe without eggs and cut it in half; this recipe for crazy vanilla cupcakes, which makes one dozen cupcakes or an 8-inch round, has no dairy at all. I’m delighted to report that it turned out very well, just enough for four servings.

I cut my cake in half and turned it into a two-layer, but you could easily skip that step if you like. I also tinted my frosting a light pink and added some sprinkles for an extra bit of color.

Ingredients

For the cake

3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup water

For the frosting

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 teaspoons heavy cream
Food coloring, if desired
Sprinkles, if desired

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 6-inch round cake pan; line with a parchment circle, then lightly grease the parchment and flour the pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Make three wells for the wet ingredients; add vinegar to one, vanilla to another, and vegetable oil to the third. Add water and stir until batter is very well-combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20-22 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for a few minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting: In a mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar all at once, then beat on low speed until all of the sugar is incorporated into the butter; this will take a few minutes. Scraped down the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.

Add vanilla extract, almond extract, and heavy cream, then beat for another 1-2 minutes.

Add food coloring if desired; I used a few drops of red for a light pink shade.

Slice cake into two layers; place a dab of frosting on your cake plate to help the bottom layer stay in place during frosting. Place the bottom layer on the plate and top with a thin layer of frosting. Top with the second layer; frost the top and sides. If desired, add rainbow sprinkles.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Butterscotch Cupcakes

Say hello to one of the best cupcakes I’ve ever made: the butterscotch cupcake. Last month, I tried and failed to make a butterscotch cake, and these treats are my redemption. They’re one of my favorite things I’ve ever made, and that’s really saying something.

Big thanks to Sally over at Sally’s Baking Addiction for the original recipe. I tweaked both the cupcake and frosting recipes just slightly, using sour cream instead of yogurt in the cupcakes and going with an adapted version of my own classic vanilla buttercream.

If you’re intimidated by the idea of making your own butterscotch sauce, don’t be. It’s incredibly easy, and the results are beyond delicious. I have about 1 cup of butterscotch left over, which will keep in the fridge for a week. Now we’ll just have to figure out how to use it up…maybe in another batch of these cupcakes?

Ingredients

For the butterscotch sauce

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the brown sugar cupcakes

1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature*
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the creamy vanilla frosting

1 cup butter, at room temperature
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream

*To bring an egg to room temperature in a short amount of time, place it in a bowl and cover it with warm water. Allow it to sit for about 5 minutes.

Preparation

Make the butterscotch sauce: in a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in brown sugar, then heavy cream. Allow mixture to come to a gentle boil and cook without stirring for five minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Allow to cool completely before using; I stored my sauce in the refrigerator overnight before making the cupcakes, but it doesn’t have to be cold to use it.

Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners; this recipe made 21 cupcakes for me.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of batter into prepared cupcake pans.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and remove from pans immediately; cool completely before filling and frosting.

Make the frosting: In a mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar all at once, then beat on low speed until all of the sugar is incorporated into the butter; this will take a few minutes. Scraped down the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.

Add vanilla and heavy cream, then beat for another 1-2 minutes.

To fill and frost the cupcakes: Place butterscotch sauce in a squeeze bottle or pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip. Push the tip into the center of each cupcake and pipe in the sauce.

Fit a 14-inch piping bag with a Wilton M1 tip and fill with frosting; pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Drizzle tops with butterscotch sauce.

Store at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; I’m keeping mine in the refrigerator until they go to the office with me tomorrow.

Here’s a cross-section of the cupcakes; check out the awesome fluffy cupcake texture and channel of butterscotch sauce down the center.

Fluffernutter Whoopie Pies

If you’ve never had a fluffernutter, you haven’t really lived. Today, to my astonishment, I learned that some people don’t know what a fluffernutter is…and even if they knew, they’d never actually had one. How is this possible? This is America. Land of the marshmallow fluff, home of the peanut butter.

But seriously, if you’ve neither heard of nor eaten a fluffernutter, it’s a sandwich made with white bread, peanut butter, and marshmallow creme (or fluff, if you will)…and it is delicious. Invented in Massachusetts during World War I, this fluffy, peanut buttery treat was originally called a liberty sandwich, though I have no idea why. Last weekend I tried (unsuccessfully, but that’s another story for another time) to make fluffernutter cupcakes; they failed, but these flutternutter whoopie pies were a huge hit in my office today. The recipe below is adapted from Baking Bites, though I used a different type of filling instead of just marshmallow creme and peanut butter. This recipe makes 18 whoopie pies, and next time I think I’ll use a smaller cookie scoop to yield more.

Ingredients

For the peanut butter whoopie pies

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup sour milk* or buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*To make sour milk, place 1 tablespoon vinegar in a glass measuring cup and add enough milk to equal 1 cup total. Stir; let stand for 5 minutes before using.

For the fluffy white filling

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

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

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl well. Add peanut butter and beat to combine, then add vanilla and beat well.

Add flour mixture and sour milk alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour, beating until no dry streaks remain and batter is well-combined. Your batter will look more like cake batter than cookie dough.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of batter onto prepared sheets; you should be able to fit 6 cookies on each sheet, as they will spread.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until cookies are set and the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheets for a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.

To make the filling, place butter in a mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Add marshmallow creme and vanilla and beat until very well-combined.

Add powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping the sides of your bowl frequently. You want a firm but spreadable consistency so that your filling doesn’t ooze out the sides.

Flip cookies over. Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, drop generous scoops of filling onto half of the cookies. 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.

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