Here's another re-post of a favorite recipe... Whoopie Pies. This post receives a ton of traffic from google for people searching "Whoopie Pie from a Cake Mix." I guess everyone likes a good ole treat with a good ole shortcut!
As I mentioned yesterday, Emma, D and I are taking a work break this week and tackling some projects. Yesterday was all about stripping down some furniture and today I'm making a slipcover for a mini wing back chair. This weekend? We'll be building a bed! I'll be sharing all of these posts next week... if they go well. Stay tuned!
the new cupcake?
These light and fluffy cake cookie sandwiches are all of the rage these days. I recently read an article (NY Times, maybe?) that claimed the Whoopie Pie was the new cupcake. Wow. Bold statement!
I'm not sure about the new cupcake, but I do like that they are a more 'homey' rustic dessert that seems to have a casual quality, as apposed to the 'pretty' cupcake with the swirls of icing. In fact, they might be a more 'manly' cupcake option. Definitely a more transportable cupcake option - even after years of catering and delivering cupcakes, it is always one of my biggest struggles!
On the 'manly' note, Mike specifically requested these this week after his first Whoopie Pie experience while visiting our friends in Maine last weekend. I knew he would love them as his favorite cake combo is chocolate cake with white icing. A Whoopie Pie fan was his destiny.
Like cupcakes the possibilities are endless. I had a friend post of my facebook wall today that she had recently heard of a Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pie. I can only image that with fluffy cream cheese icing. Oh wow! I will definitely be experimenting with that this Fall.
While looking at different recipes online today, I found many different looking whoopie pies. For me, a great Whoopie is in the lightness and fluffiness of the cake AND the icing. The entire thing should taste like a fluffy, chocolate and cream cloud.
I am a huge fan of anything that starts with a cake mix. For some reason, it just seems more manageable if it starts with a box! The result was great... and very quick to make. Highly, highly recommended. Oh, and what makes these even better is they are great to freeze, too. I'm going to put them in the freezer to get out for Mike's lunches everyday.
Whoopie Pies
from a cake mix
1 chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
........
2 sticks of butter, softened
3-4 cups of powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a mixer, combine cake mix, eggs, water and oil. Whip together for 2-3 minutes.
On a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking sheet, scoop out batter into round mounds. I used a small ice cream scoop that measured 1 2/3 inches in diameter. Use the back of a spoon to round out scoops of batter into perfect circles.
Bake for 8 minutes. Cool.
For the icing, in your KitchenAid with the paddle attachment, whip together butter and sugar (start with 3 cups of powdered sugar, then add more if necessary for thickness). Whip for 5 minutes until light and fluffy (the extra time makes all the difference!). Scoop into a pastry bag with the end cut with a 1/2 inch opening.
To fill, pipe icing onto the bottom cookie (wrong side up), then top with another cookie (right side up).
You can make any size you'd like, these ended up being almost 5 inches!
Whipping the butter and powdered sugar for 5 minutes gives it a really fluffy, airy quality.
Here is my pastry bag with the end cut off... one of my favorite things.
Bottom half.
...and top. Looks like a big fluffy oreo, right?! I think I must go have another one right now with a big glass of milk.
These "whoopie pies" look amazing! Thanks for sharing. I'll be making some very soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing a whoopie pie test run today and tomorrow I'm going to make the football shaped ones.
ReplyDeleteMaria, I am doing the same thing! How many total pies does this recipe yield? I'm not sure whether or not to double the recipe for our party.
ReplyDeleteI just made these - wanted to let you know it made 32 cookies, so enough to make 16 whoopie pies. they turned out great.. just make sure you don't make them too big. they really expand when you bake them.
ReplyDeleteI just made another batch, too! I tried to make minis- but it was almost impossible. You only need the smallest amount of batter!!
ReplyDeleteJenny Steffens Hobick
Anyone have experience using fluff in the filling? Most of the other recipes I'm finding use fluff, and I'm wondering what type of differences there would be taste and consistency wise between this recipe and those.
ReplyDeleteI have added fluff to taste to the above recipe.....Amazing
DeleteHey, sorry if this is a dumb question, but can I use red velvet cake mix instead? I saw this picture on Annie's Eats that had red vev whoopie pies in heart shapes, I want to do that. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI don't like using fluff because it is too sweet. I use a creme cheese filling for my whoopie. It has been a great success.
Deleteyes! in fact, i made red whoopie pies for emma's 'valentine's day' themed party last week! i didn't think to do them in a heart shape though - great idea!
ReplyDeleteCan you use yellow cake mix?
DeleteHow do you store them...are the tops more like a cookie or cake? I'm thinking in a tin, so they don't go sticky on the top. Can you freeze them? Going to make them for St Patrick's Day, chocolate cake mix, subsitute Guinness for the water, add some Baileys & green food colouring to the filling.
ReplyDeleteI just made this and it's so delicious! I will definitely use a smaller scoop next time as I was only able to make 10 whoopie pies.
ReplyDeleteI've been making Whoopie Pies since 1970. They were always my daughters and their friends favorite homemade sweet treat. Being from the East coast, I always used the Amish (Lancaster County, Pennsylvania) recipe (not made from a box mix). They are scrumptous.
ReplyDeleteYes, if you are making the Pies from a box mix, you can use any flavor you'd like (i.e., chocolate (of course), strawberry, red velvelt, lemon, yellow, chocolate chip, etc.). I've never used the "fluff" though. There are a number of recipes on-line that call for the marshmallow fluff.
Someone asked about storing the Pies? Store at room temperature: Cover the Pies (individually) with plastic wrap. Store on counter or table in an open container up to three (3) days (however, one time, they actually stayed in the house longer than three days...on the seventh day they were gone...my girls ate them). To freeze the Pies: Wrap the pies i aluminum foil, up to three (3) months. Let the Pies thaw at room temperature overnight before serving.
I know my article is lengthy, but I hope it is of some help to someone. TTFN...
Oh, I forgot to mention what my girls called them...round Devil Dogs (Drakes made them). Those of you who've had them or who have seen them, know that they are long shaped not round. Everything else about the Devil Dog is the same as the Whoopie Pie. I stopped buying the Devil Dog when I started baking the Whoopie Pie. Also, the Whoopie Pie has been around since the early 1900's (about 1920). It's not new. TTFN...
ReplyDeleteWhat if I don't have a kitchen aidixer? Can I use a hand mixer for the frosting?
ReplyDeleteI'm from central Pennsylvania. We've had these forever. Well, at least from the 1950's when I was a child. We called them Gobs. The Harris Boyer (Bunny Bread) Company made them commercially and they had a picture of a sailor (nicknamed gobs) on them. Although commercially-made gobs are no longer available, we still eat and love the homemade ones. There was a stand at the Fall Foliage Festival in Bedford this past fall that sold only whoopie pies, made in chocolate, red velvet, oatmeal, pumpkin, and spice flavors....delicious!!
ReplyDeleteThese are gorgeous! My boys would love them...off to the kitchen!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!!!! My grandson has an Easy bake oven and is wanting to make these. I'm going crazing looking for a recipe and this one looks GREAT! I'm going to mix them up and let him have is baking time.
ReplyDeleteMy Mother made these for us back in 1964. She got the receipe from a friend from Penn.
ReplyDeleteI'm so exicted to make these from a cake mix. I'm going to try this reciepe today the one from above. Just a quick ltl. note to all you WHOOPIE FANS in MAINE I think in Doverfoxcroft in Sept. they have a BIG WHOOPIE FESTIVAL every year.
ReplyDeleteHow many does this recipe yield?
ReplyDeleteJust found this site yesterday. In under 2 hours was able to make 10 dozen 1" pies using my Kitchen Aid mixer, one box of red velvet cake mix and plastic lunch baggies for both the cookie and the icing. I baked my little dollops of batter just over 5 minutes. Love it!
ReplyDelete