Making whoopie.....

Whoopie Pies that is! Lol!!

I made another fabulous dessert for D to take in to work last night and they were pretty yum if I do say so myself. I found this on Bakerella's website, along with tons of other goodies!!

I must say that I was pretty pleased with the outcome, but I would make one or 2 small adjustements to the process. I had never had whoopies pies before so the problems that I had maybe a totally normal "whoopie" experience, but not so much my taste. I mean they were good, but not moist cake that I like.

Classic Chocolate Whoopie Pie Cakes
Bakerella via Whoopie Pies!

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk

Now...get your oven all warm and toasty at 375 degrees. Prepare your baking sheet by lining it with some parchment/wax paper. I would recommend getting to pans going at a time. In a smaller bowl (not teeny but not really medium) sift together your flour, cocoa, salt and baking SODA. I always get soda and powder mixed up so make sure you use SODA.

In your mixer bowl, beat your room temperatrie butter with the shortening and sugar on low until it is just combined. After combined, increase your speed to medium and continue about 3 minutes. Make sure you have scraped everything off the walls and bottom of your bowl so everything gets incorporated.

Next, add your 1 egg and vanilla (I probably used more about 2 tsp...I don't measure vanilla, I just pour it in) and mix it for 2 more minutes. The recipe calls to add half your milk and half your flour mixture next. It gets a little messy so I would do it in quarters if I were to make it again. And make sure you scrape your bowl really well. The flour tends to crawl up the sides of the bowl. Repeat when combined and again beat until it is all mixed together.

Now you are ready to put your whoopies on the baking sheet! I used my fabulous medium Pampered Chef cookie scoop and went to town.

Done...now time to get my pies cookin'!! Cook for 10 minutes or until your pies spring back when pressed gently. Remove and cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before adding filling.

1 Tbsp of batter should make about 48 two-inch cakes or 24 pies
2 Tbsp of batter should make about 30 four-inch cakes or 15 pies.

Salty Peanut Butter Filling
from Whoopie Pies

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (or crunchy)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Now for the ultra smooth filling!

Beat your pb and butter on low in your mixer until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and salt on low to incorporate. Increase your mixer speed to medium and beat 4 to 5 minutes until your filling is light anf fluffy.

Fill a pastry bag with your filling. You can just take a spoon and plop the filling on your pies, but I think a pastry bag makes it nicer looking and less messy. I added some extra PB and chocolate chips for a special surprise inside!

Place your second pie on top and gently press down. DONE!!

Keep whoopies stored in air tight container.

Now, for some of my notes. I found the pies a little too rich and dry. They tasted more like a devil's food cake than just a regular cake. I think next time I may add a little applesauce (like one of the individula cups) to add a little more moisture. I think it would help with the richness a little too.

Second, I recommed using multiple cookies sheets if you are able to fit more than on in your oven at a time. With this recipe and my medium scoop I got almost 36 pies, or 18 whoopies. As I scooped out each batch, the last 2 had some pies that didn't quite look right...almost like they were melted. I think the batter and soda in it got a little crazy and were just funny. I don't know how else to describe it other than that.

Third...the filling. I have 2 suggestions here. While the orignial recipe is ridiculously good, I found it a little too Peanut Butter. I base that on D's reaction when I gave him a bit to taste. He goes, "Mmm....wow, peanut butter!" I asked him if it was ok and he said yea, it was just really peanut butter. So I think next time I may cut back on the PB. I also thought it was a little soft, too soft to pipe, in my opinion. So I added about 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra powdered sugar to stiffen it up. That didn't do a lot, so I threw it in the fridge. That really helped a lot. Next time I make these I am going to do the filling first so it has plenty of time to thicken a little.

So those were my suggestions for the whoopies. I hope D's coworkers enjoy them!!