Cookie Dough Whoopie Pies

I just put Cookie Dough in your Whoopie Pie.  You can thank me later.

Question:

What do you do when you've made six batches of Cookie Dough and find that your family won't eat another spoonful?

Answer:

Eat it all yourself.  Make freakishly good Whoopie Pies so your family gets jealous and begs for a bite.

Yes, I really was faced with the situation above.  Though there's no doubt my family loves my Cookie Dough recipe, after having it literally five times in a row, they refused to eat another bite.

But then I turned the leftovers into a Whoopie Pie filling and, just like that, problem solved.

Whoopie Pies have always been some of my most successful recipes and this Cookie Dough variation is no exception.  Rich chocolate cake, with creamy cookie dough sandwiched in the middle.  Everyone in the house gobbled these up in less than one day.

They really are that good.

Cookie Dough Whoopie Pies
Cake:
• ¼ cup soy, almond, or low fat milk
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup spelt flour
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• ¼ cup applesauce
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 ½ tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp water
Filling:
• about ½ cup Healthy Cookie Dough (can be made ahead of time)
• 2 ½ tbsp soy, almond, or low fat milk

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix together ¼ cup milk and vinegar in a small bowl.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients for cake.  Add milk mixture, applesauce, vanilla, maple syrup, and water, and mix again until a smooth batter forms.  Use a teaspoon measure to drop circles of batter onto a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking sheet.  Bake for 6-7 minutes, until batter has set.  Place ingredients for filling in a bowl, and mix together until mixture is spreadable and smooth.  Spread a layer of Cookie Dough filling on top of each baked cake, and top with another cake.  Store whoopie pies in fridge.

Please believe me when I say that these are one of the best desserts I've ever made.  You don't want to miss out!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Yogurt Filling

Double Chocolate Whoopie Pies

You know how when you get something new, you just have to try it right then and there?

I've always been like that.  I get a present, a gift, a whatever, and I just have to do something with it as soon as possible.  Like, I actually have to.  If I don't, I get all antsy and feel like I'm missing something.  I'm not kidding.

So recently I got a whoopie pie pan as a gift.  I bet you know where this is going.

You would not believe how fast I raced into my kitchen.  Seriously, I had already made, photographed, and eaten something within 24 hours.

But there was a reason for the eating part.  Other than my weird gift accepting habit, I mean.  The whoopie pies I made were fantastic.  Knock your socks off amazing.  No way they're healthy good.  Worth a third serving delicious.  So yummy I had to call up the person who gave me the pan and thank them for a good 10 minutes.

And I hate talking on the phone.

Double Chocolate Whoopie Pies
For Cake:

• 2/3 cup spelt flour
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup extra dark cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt (soy works fine)
• 1/2 cup applesauce or mashed banana (of using all applesauce, you may have to adjust sweetener)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup milk

For Filling:

• 3/4 cup black beans (if from a can, rinse very well)
• 1 tbsp nut butter of choice (I used peanut butter)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp extra dark cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix together flours, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt from cake ingredients in a medium bowl.  In another bowl, combine vanilla, honey, yogurt, applesauce/banana, and vinegar (from cake ingredients).  Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix as best you can.  It will be dry.  Stir in 1/2 cup milk until a smooth, but thick batter forms.  If you have a whoopie pie pan, spread about 1 tbsp of batter into each cup.  If not, drop about 1 tbsp of batter onto a greased baking sheet (spread into a circle if necessary).  Continue until all batter has  been used.  Bake for 7 minutes, or until cakes have risen and are no longer wet (baking times may very depending on whether or not you have a whoopie pie pan).
While cakes are baking, make the filling.  Combine all ingredients for filling except chocolate chips in a food processor.  Blend until smooth.  You don't want any bean clumps remaining.  Add chocolate chips and pulse only until incorporated.  When cakes are ready, spread frosting on one cake and top with another.  Repeat until no cakes are left.  Store Whoopie Pies in fridge.

Enjoy!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Crazy Ingredient Brownies

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Yogurt Filling

Though I don't believe I've mentioned it before, I'm a big fan of whoopie pies.

But, c'mon, who isn't?

They're just so lovable!  2 pieces of fluffy cake, with creamy frosting sandwiched between, and totally portable, too.  In my opinion, whoopie pies are even better than cupcakes because you get a taste of both frosting and cake with each bite.  (Please don't tell me I'm the only one who always ends up eating all the frosting before I'm finished with the cake.)

And these paricular whoopie pies, though they're much healthier than most you'd find in a bakery, definitely live up to their name.  In fact, they came out even better than I had expected... and I had pretty high hopes for these guys.

The pumpkin cake is super moist, despite being low fat, and the yogurt filling has the absolute perfect tangy to sweet ratio.  Combined they created two little bites of heaven.  Of course I had to have seconds.

If you're still not convinced that you have to have to have to make these, what if I tell you that one of my taste-testers said that these whoopie pies were one of the best things I've ever made?  Does that help?  I don't want to sound braggy or anything, but I've made some pretty yummy stuff!

Plus, they're not even hard to make.  Or at least, not any harder than another baked good.  All you do is mix up your ingredients, then drop the batter onto a cookie sheet.  No special equipment needed.  I was sort of surprised myself with how easy it was.

So, now that you have all those awesome facts floating around your brain, I hope that you've decided to make these.  In fact, I hope you're not even reading this now because you've skipped down below to the recipe.  However, for those of you still reading, I shall not put any more distance between you and this awesome recipe.  Read on!

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Mape Yogurt Filling
(makes about 10 whoopie pies, depending on size)

• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup oat flour (grind down oats to a fine powder in a coffee grinder or food porcessor to make your own)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch salt
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pumpkin
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt (vegan yogurt, greek or otherwise, will work too)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix together milk and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.  In another larger bowl, mix together next eight ingredients (through brown sugar).  Then add pumpkin and vanilla to bowl with milk, and stir to combine.  Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until well combined.  Drop batter onto greased cookie sheet (or sheets, if you run out of room) in circles about the same size as each other (it doesn't have to be perfect).  Bake for 7 minutes.  While cakes bake, mix together the last three ingredients (maple syrup, yogurt, and cinnamon) in a small bowl.  When cakes come out of the oven, let cool, and then spread the yogurt mixture on 1 cake piece, and top with another.  Repeat until all whoopie pies are made.  If there's an extra side leftover, I recommend you eat it :)

Now that that's done with, I have something very important to say...

Happy Halloween!

I didn't have any more Halloween themed recipes to share today, but I do wish you all a great night of trick-or-treating and/or handing out candy.  You can bet I'll be having a whole lot of fun!

(And don't worry if you end up with 50 thousand pounds of candy, I plan on posting a whole bunch of recipes that use leftovers)

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Peanut Butter Pumpkins

(a recent recipe, I know, but it's absolutely perfect for Halloween, so I couldn't resist.)