Remember last week when I said ice cream sandwiches were my favorite summertime treat? Well, scratch that. Whoopie pies are my new warm-weather obsession! I'm a fickle food lover, I know.
Whoopie pies don't offer the same jolty frost as a frozen treat, but the idea is kind of the same. Two little mounds of cocoa-flavored cake (the stick-to-the-roof of your mouth kind) cling to a creamy filling. They're best after a summer BBQ (as I recently discovered after bringing a batch to my friend Karlyn's baby shower), because after piles of pulled pork and creamy mac-n-cheese, they keep the comfort food theme going. A cross between a cupcake and a devil dog, whoopie pies just really scream summer.
I must confess that I used a non-Food Network recipe to make my whoopie pies, although I realized soon after that we have a few versions here on our site. I've made the same recipe once more since then (just 4 days later, in fact), but am still searching for the perfect filling.
The first time, I made what seems to be just one type of whoopie filling (confectioners' sugar, butter and marshmallow Fluff). But when I'm baking, I like things to be as homemade as possible. The next time, I set out to make one entirely from scratch. After some searching, I found a recipe on this baking blog I like. It was good, but basically a buttercream frosting without all the butter.
I'm wondering if any of you out there have found the perfect whoopie pie filling. Perhaps I just need to make the Fluff myself?
Comments (9)
I forgot how good Whoopie pies could be! They made the perfect post-BBQ dessert.
Posted by Karlyn | July 3, 2007 6:32 PM
Posted on July 3, 2007 18:32
I was born in New England and when my family moved to Florida and later Texas my mother made this recipe for baby showers and all kinds of events and everyone loved them. I was raised calling them Black Moons but never knew where the recipe came from. I confess, I am a Black Moon addict and my kids are too. Especially frozen! I wanted to give you the recipe I have for the filling as it does not call for butter or whipped cream at all but shortening. Maybe not the healthiest but I love it. Very similar to Oreo cookie filling.
2 cups shortening
2 cups XXX sugar
2 cups marshmallow fluff
1 tsp. vanilla
Posted by Brenda | July 4, 2007 10:47 PM
Posted on July 4, 2007 22:47
I made this filling for filled cupcakes and it turned out excellent! For an even better version I added instant coffee to the mix. I usually don't like shortening type frostings, but this was excellent:
Cream filling
1 cup of milk
4 heaping tbsp of flour
1 tbsp. instant coffee (optional)
Whisk milk and flour and coffee (for capuccino flavor option) together in a two quart pan. Cook until it makes a thick paste (like mashed potatoes).
Put in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator at least two hours.
Put the paste in a large mixer bowl. Add one stick of margarine or butter, 1/2 cup solid Crisco, 1 cup of granulated sugar, and 2 tsp of vanilla. Beat with mixer on high speed for aproximately 5 minutes.
Refrigerate.
Use about a heaping tablespoon for each cupcake. It is delicious! It makes a lot of filling.
Posted by Adriana Gutierrez | July 4, 2007 11:05 PM
Posted on July 4, 2007 23:05
It is hard to beat a good fluff recipe, but at the moment my favorite is the cream cheese/mascarpone filling here: http://bakingbites.com/2007/02/red-velvet-cake-sandwich-cookies/
It's a little different from the standard filling, but goes well with the cakelike cookies in whoopie pies - especially if you like to experiment with different flavors (like red velvet, pumpkin, etc)
Posted by Nic | July 5, 2007 2:33 PM
Posted on July 5, 2007 14:33
My family is originally from Maryland. I grew up knowing "Whoopie Pies" as "Gobs." To me, it's a Pennsylvania Dutch treat. I have a recipe that uses shortening, egg whites, vanilla, powdered sugar and milk. I know, I know... raw egg whites?? But I use pasteurized ones and don't let them sit out too long (they never last). I've also seen oatmeal and pumpkin ones. Very tasty!
Posted by Karin Maier | July 9, 2007 2:54 AM
Posted on July 9, 2007 02:54
Since you're already a fan of One Girl Cookies in Brooklyn, you should try their whoopie pies. They made a version with the pumpkin cookies and cream cheese filling. (Just like that person above mentioned.)
To die for!
Posted by DiWriter | July 12, 2007 3:58 AM
Posted on July 12, 2007 03:58
I don't know if you're already familiar with "The Great American Cookie Book" by Nancy Baggett, but there's a fantastic recipe for whoopie pies in there. The filling does use marshmallow creme as an ingredient. They're ridiculously delicious.
Posted by Debra | July 16, 2007 3:49 AM
Posted on July 16, 2007 03:49
I LOVE Whoopie Pies!!!!
The "frosting" recipe I use for mine is:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
With electric mixer, cream butter, shortening, vanilla extract and powdered sugar; beat until fluffy. Add milk, 1 tablespoons at a time, until the frosting has the creamy consistency you are looking for. YUM!!!
His,
Mrs. U
Posted by Mrs. U | July 16, 2007 3:54 AM
Posted on July 16, 2007 03:54
First of all, thanks to Food Network for the Road Tasted show. My family and I watch often and find ourselves rushing to the computer to find out where we can buy some of the treats covered.
We saw the episode last week covering Whoopie Pies and wished we could have one right then and there. We had never heard of Whoopie Pies but what's not to like about chocolate and marshmallow cream? My wife found a recipe online (there are several different ones) and whipped up a batch a few days ago. YUMMY, though a bit sweet. We found it best to have half a pie now and half later.
I think we're going to try and tweak it to find what recipe we like best but I just wanted to drop a note to say how awesome it is to see new foods and treats covered, especially ones we can try to make ourselves at home.
Posted by Bill | July 18, 2007 6:15 PM
Posted on July 18, 2007 18:15