Irish Cream Whoopie Pies

Ah, whoopie pies... decadent cookies, sandwiched together with utter sweetness, beckoning to be devoured. I just can't seem to get enough of them! I've made three variations in the last month, and I'm swooning over the heavenly goodness that continues to find its way out of my oven. In celebration of St. Patrick's Day (and my love for Baileys!), I decided to try an Irish Cream Whoopie Pie.

I adapted the cookie portion from the chocolate pumpkin whoopies I made in the fall. Then, I whipped up a delightful Baileys buttercream filling.

These turned out SO good... they're intoxicating!

Ingredients
Yields about 20 whoopie pies
For the cookies: 
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup Baileys Irish Cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the filling:
12 tbsp (1 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 - 2 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°. Line baking sheet with non-stick baking mat or parchment paper; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine butter and both sugars. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium/high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg and mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Adjust speed to low and gradually mix in half the flour mixture, then the Baileys and vanilla, and finish with the remaining flour mixture.

Drop tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookies spring back when lightly touched. Place baking sheet on wire rack and let cool 5-10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheet and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

For the filling, combine butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add Baileys and beat until combined. Transfer buttercream to a prepared pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.

To assemble, pipe filling on the flat sides of half the cookies then sandwich with remaining cookies.

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

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

I must say, this being my first Valentine's in the blog world, I just love gawking at all the sweet creations popping up all over the place. I've always enjoyed Valentine's Day because it's a day you show your affection for someone special through fun, thoughtful, and sometimes crafty expressions (of course, I love when those expressions are edible!). And I'm not just talking about showing affection for that romantic someone in your life, but for anyone that is special in your life... family, friends, classmates, teachers, co-workers... anyone that is special to you.

My sister recruited me to bake some yummy treats for my niece and nephew's teachers. Given that my nieces and nephew are my most favorite little people in the entire world, and their educational growth and social development is very important to me (because I want them to grow up to be my most favorite big people in the entire world), I happily agreed to help my sister show her appreciation for those who have a wonderful impact on her kids. I decided to make these adorable heart shaped whoopie pies, and packaged them up in some super cute boxes. It turn out to be a perfect little gift!

These whoopie pies are absolutely delicious! I believe Matt's words when he sampled them were, "These are ridiculous!" Ridiculous being cool terminology for "insanely good". :) I browsed through a couple of recipes for cream cheese filling and finally ended up creating the one below, and it was phenomenal! Once I tried it, I immediately started brainstorming all the wonderful things I could make to include cream cheese filling so that I could have more reasons to make it. :) So. Darn. Good!

Ingredients
Yields 2 dozen whoopie pies
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 oz red food coloring

Filling:
8 oz Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confections' sugar
1/2 tbsp clear vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter on medium-high speed. Add brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed of mixer to low, gradually beat in half of the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, and then the remaining flour mixture just until incorporated. Do not over beat. Blend in food coloring.

Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Using a heart shaped cookie cutter as your guide, pipe batter onto prepared baking sheets spacing each heart about 1 inch apart.

Bake 7-9 minutes or until tops are set. Cool on wire racks. Remove cooled cookies from baking sheets.

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

To assemble, transfer icing to a clean pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pair the cookies up according to size. Pipe frosting 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. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container.

Source: adapted from Annie's Eats, originally from Better Homes & Gardens

Chocolate Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Since I started reading food blogs earlier this year, I have seen so many variations of whoopie pies. Chocolate, red velvet, pumpkin, strawberry, s'mores... the list goes on and on. They always look so charming, and the flavor combinations always leave me craving a bite.

When this recipe popped up in my inbox, I knew I had to make these. (Chocolate + Pumpkin = Whoopie!) The combination sounded perfect for an October treat, and yes, these were quite perfect. This was my first attempt at a whoopie pie, and I can assure you there will be many more to follow. The cookie is so soft and cake-like, and it's full of luscious chocolate flavor. The spice from the pumpkin filling is just enough to really pop. Yum, so good! These were easy and fun to make... I mean any cookie that comes out of my oven looking like that makes me smile. :) They were also a huge hit at the office. Definitely a crowd pleaser so give them a shot!

Ingredients
Yields about 20
For the cookies 
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the filling
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup canned solid pumpkin
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg

Directions
Prepare cookies... Preheat oven to 375°. Line baking sheet with non-stick baking mat or parchment paper; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter, shortening, and both sugars. Using the paddle attachment, mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then milk and vanilla, and finish with the remaining flour mixture.

Drop about a tablespoon of dough onto prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake 12-14 minutes or until cookies spring back when lightly touched. Place baking sheet on wire rack and let cool 5-10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheet and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare filling... In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, butter, and confectioners sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix until smooth, scraping down bowl as necessary.

Assemble whoopie pie... Pipe or spoon filling on the flat sides of half the cookies then sandwich with remaining cookies.

Source: Martha Stewart