Old-Fashioned Chocolate Whoopie Pies Recipe

If you've never had a whoopie pie, you are in for a treat. These oversized cookie sandwiches are not actual pies, but 2 cake-like cookies with a creamy frosting stuffed in between them. Recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe and says, "I love making nostalgic desserts that have a history, and learning about traditions in other regions. Whoopie pies are a Pennsylvania, Amish tradition and have spread across the country as a delicious dessert. They can be made the traditional way with chocolate cakes, or in a variety of other [flavors] like pumpkin, vanilla, gingerbread, or lemon." 

Whoopie pies are a fun dessert for birthday partoes, book club meetings, baby showers, dinner parties, or just an after school snack. They are easy to make, plus you can make the filling ahead of time, and store it in the fridge until it's ready to use. Read on to learn how to make these cake-like pies. 

To make this recipe, we'll need some baking basics like all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar. Our wet ingredients are butter, milk, an egg, and vanilla. For the chocolate flavor, we're using unsweetened cocoa powder, and for our filling, we'll need some marshmallow cream. Hahn says you can easily swap unsweetened cacao powder for cocoa powder since they are pretty much the same, and you can substitute dairy-free milk and butter if those are preferred.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grab a medium bowl, and mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then, in a large bowl, add ½ cup of softened butter and granulated sugar. Using a hand mixer, beat the ingredients together, and then add the egg, milk, and 1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes to ensure it is fully combined, then fold the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients slowly.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of the chocolate batter, and place them on the baking sheets. "Make sure to leave about 2 inches between each ball of batter because they will spread out when cooked, and we don't want them to run into each other," Hahn remarks. Once you have laid out 24 dough balls, wet your fingers, and smooth the tops and sides, flattening them slightly. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Once cooked, let them cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to further cool for 15 minutes.

While the batter is baking, you can whip up the filling. In a medium bowl, add the remaining butter, powdered sugar, remaining vanilla, and the marshmallow cream. Using a hand of stand mixer, beat until well-blended. Once the chocolate cake pieces have cooled, spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of the filling on the inside of a cake piece, then top with another cake piece. Repeat the process until all the whoopie pies are assembled, then serve. These pair well with a simple fruit salad, or can be served alone with coffee, tea, or milk.