Name: Old Fashioned Whoopie Pies
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup baking cocoa; 1/2 cup hot water; 1/2 cup shortening; 1 1/2 cups sugar; 2 large eggs, room temperature; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup buttermilk; 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; Dash salt; 1 cup 2% milk; 3/4 cup shortening; 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Old Fashioned Whoopie Pies

I hope you are enjoying BBQWeek as much as I am! Today I'm sharing one of our favorite desserts, whoopie pies. These are perfect for a barbecue because they are individually portioned and are hand held, no silverware required! This recipe is from Taste of Home and is featured as their #Bakeable challenge for May.

Though I've made them in the past, most of the versions have started with a cake mix. This one is the real deal completely from scratch. I used a cookie scoop to get nice equal portions, and my first sheet came out of the oven flat. I ended up chilling the dough for 30 mins and the next ones came out perfect.

For the filling, I used the vanilla extract that was called for but didn't really think that there was enough vanilla flavor so I used the seeds from a whole vanilla bean as well. The filling was looser than I'm generally used to, but set up nicely in the fridge.

While they are not the same as a New England style whoopie pie, they are absolutely delicious. Keep them refrigerated until serving. I individually wrapped them and it will be super easy to pop them onto a double layered tray with some ice in between. Thank you to Maria C. for sharing her recipe! Be sure to go and check out what all the other #BBQWeek bloggers are making using the links down below.

Old Fashioned Whoopie Pies

Ingredients

1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk

For the filling:

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Dash salt
1 cup 2% milk
3/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, combine cocoa and water. Cool for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in the eggs, vanilla and cocoa mixture. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition
Use a 2T cookie scoop to drop dough 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake until firm to the touch, 10-12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.
For filling, in a small saucepan, combine flour and salt. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth; cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and refrigerate until completely cool.
In a small bowl, cream the shortening, sugar and vanilla extra and vanilla bean seeds until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add milk mixture; beat until fluffy, 7 minutes. Spread filling on half the cookies; top with remaining cookies. Store in the refrigerator.