Banana Whoopie Pies

Lately, I have had whoopie pies on the brain... The red velvet ones I made for Valentine's Day were a huge hit. Matt has declared that he wants either those or a cookie cake for his birthday next month. "Seriously?" Was my response. And yes, he was serious. He would forgo an actual birthday cake for red velvet whoopie pies (because they were that dang good!). Now I know, whoopie pies were last year's trend. But I love them... I love the idea of them... I love the countless possibilities of flavor combinations. I have always been the person to catch onto trends a year two after everyone else, so why should that be in different with my baking. :)

I saw banana whoopie pies on one of Martha Stewart's Cookie of the Day emails. If you have not subscribed to these emails, I highly recommend that you do. I brainstorm a lot of new ideas by reading the various recipes that come through my inbox. After skimming over the recipe for the banana whoopie pies, I immediately started to think... what goes well with bananas? Well, there are a lot of things... but a no-brainer is peanut butter, so I decided to go that route with the filling. Yum! I also love bananas dipped in chocolate, so I thought I would spruce up half the batch with an added touch of sweetness. Yum, Yum!

These were well received by both my husband and my co-workers, so I definitely recommend that you try them!

Now, I have to leave you with this recipe while I go finish packing... we're heading out on vacation in the morning. Check back in a week or so, and I'll tell you all about it! :)

Ingredients
Yields about 30 whoopie pies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup mashed banana (from 1 large ripe banana)
1/2 cup sour cream
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature 
1 cup raw sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

For Filling:
8 oz Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 1/2 cups confections' sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For Chocolate Topping:
6-8 oz semi-sweet chocolate

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another small bowl, combine banana and sour cream.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and creamy. Add egg and vanilla, beat until incorporated. Add banana mixture in two additions, alternating with flour mixture (you should begin and end with flour mixture).

Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe into 1 1/4-inch rounds on baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake 10-12 minutes, or until edges are golden and tops are set. Slide parchment, with cookies, onto wire racks. Let cool.

For filling, cream the cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add confectioners' sugar. Beat in vanilla.

To assemble, pair the cookies up according to size. Transfer filling to a clean pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe filling onto the flat side of one cookie from each pair, leaving a little room around the edges. Sandwich the cookies so that the flat sides are facing each other, pressing gently so that the filling reaches the edge.

Melt chocolate according to package directions; let cool slightly. Spoon chocolate over top of assembled whoopie pies. Garnish with chopped pecans or sprinkles before the chocolate sets.

Enjoy!

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart