Everything nice.: Makin' Whoopie.

I have very fond memories of whoopie pies. My mom found a recipe, from the newspaper, I believe, and has been making ever since I can remember. Before I can remember, my family has gone camping every summer with my mom's side, and somewhere through the years it became tradition for my mom to make these delicious goodies and take them on our annual camping trip. My sister and I would eat tons and tons, and they were definitely a hit among the rest of the cousins as well.

And how could you not like them? 2 soft, cake-like chocolate cookies sandwiching gooey marshmallow cream frosting is hard to say no to, but I still get confused looks from people when I say I love whoopie pies or when I said I was going to make some yesterday! Apparently I was one of the few that grew up with them, which is a dire shame, but they are becoming more popular and trendy in bakeries now. There are even cookbooks dedicated to whoopies, just like there are books for cupcakes and cake pops now. All super fun treats, and these are no exception. Like I said, the original is chocolate cookies with marshmallow cream filling, but you can make any kind you want! There are recipes for red velvet whoopies, pumpkin whoopies, chocolate chip cookie whoopies..... and a lot more! My mom bought a cookbook dedicated to whoopie pies a little over a year ago, and it is so great. Like I said, you can do many different variations of whoopies, but if youd didn't know what to do, this book will help you out. There is a whole list of different recipes for the cookies, then a whole list of all the cream fillings so you can mix and match! If you're not sure what would go well together, there's a whole other section of recommended pairings! Take a peek inside this whoopie pie cookbook (the one my mom has) on Amazon, and see for yourself all of the wonderful whoopie possibilities (yes, there is even a maple-bacon filling)!

So, without further ado, the classic whoopie pie!

(recipe from my mom's kitchen)

Ingredients

For the cookies:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups unsifted flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk

For the filling:

4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp shortening
1 cup marshmallow creme
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Combine butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a large mixer bowl until well blended. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in another small bowl. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk to the butter and sugar mixture until ingredients are combined.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet (putting down parchment paper makes it easier to get cookies off), Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool before frosting.

For the cream filling, cream the butter and shortening. Gradiually beat in marshmallow creme. Blend in vanilla and powdered sugar and beat well.

Voila! Time to frost.

After my cookies cooled, I matched them up. They were pretty much all the same size because I stuck to using the teaspoon to scoop the batter, but some get a wonky shape so I just matched them all the best I could. I left them on the cooling racks, but on one rack was one half of the paired cookies all in a line, and on the other, I placed its match with the flat side up (in the exact same position in lines) so I could spoon the frosting on top and then sandwich the other one right on top!