whoopie pies!!

i don't know where i stand with whoopie pies... i mean, don't get me wrong...they are delicious... what's not to like about a portable piece of cake... but i don't know... maybe it's the cupcaker in me that makes me a little stand-offish to what i guess would be a cupcakes' 2nd cousin... or maybe it's that i just prefer a softer more tender piece of cake...

so to help make up my mind, i enlisted the help of one of my new favorite baking books... baked explorations... and armed with their recipe and a hunger to get to the bottom of this dilemma, i set out to make some chocolate whoopie pies...

the result... i'm still up in the air... these whoopie pies baked up nice, firm but still soft, with a delicious sorta crust on the outside, and just chocolaty enough... and that was a nice contrast to the smooth and billowy vanilla buttercream center... even as i write this i'm shaking my head about how i still can't decide if i'm a fan or not... what's wrong with me!!

anyways... maybe one day i'll fully hop on board the whoopie train... but until then, i'm still a cupcake kinda gal...

chocolate whoopie pies, from Baked Explorations
yields 10-12 large whoopie pies or 15-17 small pies

ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder, sifted
2 tsp instant espresso powder
1/2 cup hot coffee
1/2 cup hot water
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk, shaken

directions:
1. preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper
2. in a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda
3. in a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and espresso powder, pour the hot coffee and hot water over the cocoa mixture and whisk until the mixture is completely smooth
4. in another medium bowl, combine the canola oil and light brown sugar, add this to the cocoa mixture and whisk until combined

5. add the egg, vanilla, and buttermilk and whisk until smooth
6. gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture

7. using a ice cream scoop, drop batter onto prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2-3 inches between them
8. bake 10-15 minutes, until the cookies crack slightly on top and spring back in the center when gently pressed

9. let cool completely, then remove from sheet with an offset spatula

10. pipe or scoop half of the rounds with the filling, then top each piped round with the other half and serve

well... until next time... and as always... happy baking everyone!