Whoopie Pies

This week we’re baking Whoopie Pies! I was first introduced to the Whoopie by one of my dear peeps, Belia. Bel and her husband Bill are wonderful friends of our family and we’ve had many great times with Bel and Bill, camping, celebrating Chinese New Year (stay tuned for Almond Cookies!), BBQs. When my oldest son was 6 years old, he thought both were named Bill and so he asked his Uncle Bill … “Uncle, if your name is Bill and Auntie’s name is Bill … how does you tell each other apart?” That always makes me smile!

Bel is a beautiful and creative woman. By trade, she is an interior designer and when she wanted to start along a new and more peaceful path, she turned to baking. I am green with envy over the baking kitchen Bill built in their basement! Everything Bel makes is beautiful to look at and to eat and she introduced me to the Whoopie which originated with the Pennsylvania Dutch. When kids would see these giant, cakey Oreo cookie creations, they would yell “whoopie!” which is how it got its name. This version comes to us from Ruth Ann Stelfox of Raymond, Alberta which is just 3 hours up the highway from my little haven.

Whoopie Pies
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup baking cocoa (I use Dutch organic)
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 cup buttermilk
FILLING
2 cups marshmallow crème
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
½ cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with water and buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
2. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2” apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 375F for 5-7 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
3. In a small mixing bowl, beat filling ingredients until fluffy. Spread filling on the bottom of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies.

I really loved this recipe! The chocolate was so rich and the combination was light, soft and fluffy. I worried that the filling would be very sweet, but it wasn’t. My oldest literally purred with every bite and just kept saying how soft and delicious it was. The recipe says it will make about 3 dozen … and I got 3 dozen + 2 and that was using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop. I will definitely make these again!