Whoopie pies and recipes for them are everywhere online, but oddly enough, I still rarely see them at bake sales or casual gatherings. It's always cupcakes, brownies, or chocolate chip cookies -- but whoopie pies? Not so much.
The Perfect Spring Cookies
This is a shame, because they're one of the best desserts you can bring anywhere, any time of year. And for Spring, they're especially nice. They have that perfect balance of lightness and richness with their soft cake layers and fluffy cream filling.
But still -- you just don't see them a lot. I guess people either think whoopie pies are too much work or they just forget about them. I tend to fall into the "forget about them" category myself, which is probably why I hadn't made them in a while. Recently, though, I started testing a few versions again, and it reminded me why they're worth the effort.
My Favorite Chocolate Whoopie Pie Recipe
After all these years (I first made these for Fuzz in elementary school, she's now in her twenties) this recipe is still my favorite one for chocolate flavored whoopie pies. The cake part has always been just about perfect, but I've played with the filling by testing with all-butter, all shortening or a little of each.
All Butter vs. Shortening Whoopie Pie Filling
One thing I noticed during testing: as much as I love an all-butter filling, swapping out about ¼ cup of the butter for shortening makes a big difference. The texture is smoother, the filling holds its shape better, and the pies just look a little more polished overall. I've added a note about that in the recipe so you can choose which version you prefer.
High Ratio Shortening
If you do decide to go with the part shortening version, it's worth seeking out some high ratio shortening. High ratio shortening is what a lot of professional cake bakers use because it has a better flavor and texture. Grocery stores don't sell it, but can order it in a few places online including Amazon.
Storing and Serving
Whoopie pies won't last long at events. To serve, chill them thoroughly then wrap each one individually in plastic wrap. Try to keep them cool just until serving time. They should hold up on a bake sale table for an hour or so if you chilled them in advance. If you're making whoopie pies for the family, the best place to store them is in the freezer.
Some More Great Whoopie Pie Recipes
Recipe
Chocolate Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (210 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (60 grams)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (56 grams)
- 4 tablespoons shortening or more butter (48 grams shortening or 56 grams butter)
- 1 cup light brown sugar (210 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature (230 grams)
Filling:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened** (230 grams)
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar (250 grams)
- 1 container marshmallow creme (7 oz) (210 grams)
- 2 teaspoons good quality vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Don't use cooking spray or anything very slippery because it might cause the cookies to spread.
- Thoroughly mix together flour through cocoa and set aside
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and shortening until creamy, then add the sugar and beat until well mixed. Beat in the vanilla, then add the egg and beat until fluffy, scraping sides of bowl often.
- Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk alternately, stirring with a heavy duty scraper, until batter is smooth and thick.
- Drop batter by generously heaping tablespoons onto baking sheets spacing about 2 inches apart (I usually can fit 12 per sheet on a 13x18 inch tray). Bake one sheet at a time for 12 to 15 minutes or until cookies are puffed, slightly cracked and set. Let cool on baking sheets for about five minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack.
- FILLING: Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Beat in vanilla. Stir in marshmallow cream and beat until fully mixed in. Spoon between cookies. Better yet, put in a piping bag and pipe onto the cookies (much neater results). A heavy duty zipper bag with the bottom corner snipped off will also work.
- Wrap the cookies in plastic wrap.
Anna says
Judy, I should start calling them Gobs :). I like that name. I think the filling might work okay as a cupcake frosting because you could just dollop it on. It would probably be too stretchy and not smooth enough for a layer cake, but cupcakes should work. Another thing you could try is Ermine Frosting. Looks like I need to put this one in a recipe card format, but here's the link. https://www.cookiemadness.net/2011/03/06/cornstarch-frosting/
Judy says
Miss Anna, I was wondering if the filling would work as a frosting? I have never used marshmallow cream in my gobs filling recipes...I grew up with Pennsylvania roots, and whoopie pies were called gobs from my part of Pennsylvania. I was just thinking of making cupcakes for my son's birthday, who loves gobs, so I thought it would be a good frosting...what do you think?
Anna says
Allison, thanks for catching that. Confectioners' sugar is the only sugar. I just listed it twice. It should be
FILLING: Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Beat in vanilla. Stir in marshmallow cream and beat until fully mixed in. Spoon between cookies. Better yet, put in a piping bag and pipe onto the cookies (much neater results). A heavy duty zipper bag with the bottom corner snipped off will also work.
allison says
the filling says beat together butter and sugar until creamy then add confectioner's sugar but there isn't any other sugar in the list of ingredients.
Anna says
Laura, thanks for the review! I have some Dutch cocoa so maybe I'll make a batch today. The photo needs updating anyway.
Laura says
Made these and got 5 star reviews from my boyfriend who grew up part time in Lancaster, PA and Maine (both laying claim to inventing the whoopie). The cake was SUPER moist (i baked them for 11 min) and for the filling i followed the 1/2 shortening 1/2 butter and he and his kids loved them!! I had to double the recipe to get 20 but i think i just made them too big. Great recipe though and would highly recommend dutch cocoa for the richest chocolate flavor 🙂
Anna says
Hi Nina,
Six is a good number! They also freeze well, so if you ever want to make more you can throw some in the freezer.
Nina says
Hello I enjoyed makeing the whoop
Pies I love bakeing I made 6 of those little
Boogers
Shannon M Wells says
These are absolutely amazing. I just use all butter, and they come out very moist
Carol says
If you use a convection oven you can make cookies on more than ray rack. Do you prefer one shelf baking over convection?
Stephanie says
High ratio shortening! Thank you!
Katrina says
Hmm, maybe I'll make some Whoopie Pies. Sam's birthday (7!) is this weekend and he told me he wants "the usual", pies, cookies and cupcakes. I guess I usually go all-out for birthdays. Don't know if pie is going to happen, but I was planning to make cookies and cupcakes. I think Whoopie Pies would be a big hit.
Sue says
I'm sure I've had one at some point in my life but don't really remember. Are they messy to eat? When I see photos of them I always think of those Hostess treats called Suzy Q's.
martha says
I grew up eating whoopie pies baked by my mom who was born and raised in Maine. You still see them everywhere there. But I never see them here in Phoenix. I think it's a regional thing.
Now that you've planted the seed, I'll need to be baking a batch soon. These look delicious.
Jersey Girl Cooks says
My son loves whoopie pies but I make them very rarely. He will be a happy boy when I make these. I like the cake to filling ratio here too.