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Home » All-Time Favorites

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Last updated on March 15, 2022 By Anna 11 Comments This post may contain affiliate links.

As popular as Whoopie Pies seem to be on the Internet, I hardly ever see them at school events or bake sales. We get a lot of cupcakes, brownies and chocolate chip cookies, but Whoopie Pies? Nope.

Whoopie Pies

I guess people perceive them as too much work or forget about them altogether.  I usually fall into the latter category, but last week was an exception. I'd been testing a few different Whoopie Pie recipes and Fuzz needed to take goodies to school party.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

I'll never know if the kids liked them because about 10 minutes after Fuzz set down the bag, the whole thing disappeared (bag and all). But I liked them! This recipe gives you very puffy Chocolate Whoopie Pies with a high ratio of cake to filling. Also, this particular filling is made with 100% butter. Some recipes use shortening in the filling or  a mix of butter and shortening. I actually like the fillings with a little bit of both, but since shelf-life and stability weren't issues here, I went with the butter recipe.

High Ratio Shortening Optional

A little about shortening.  If you do need to make Whoopie Pies with a shortening based filling, go to a cake decorating store or order some high ratio shortening. It's the type professional cake decorators and bakers use, and the flavor and texture might remind you of the old school fluffy grocery store cupcake icing.

Irish Cream Whoopie Pies

Update: I've added some additional photos along with an Irish Cream variation. Adding Irish Cream doesn't do much for the cake part of the cookie, but it tastes pretty good in the filling.

irishcreamwhoopiepies3

Also,  as much as I like the all-butter filling it seems swapping out about ¼ cup of it for shortening gives the filling a better texture and shape.  I've added a note about that in the recipe.

whoopie pies

Some More Great Whoopie Pie Recipes

  • Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
  • Best Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
  • Blueberry Spice Whoopie Pies
  • Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

Recipe

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Cookie Madness
Chocolate Whoopie Pie recipe with a butter and marshmallow cream filling.
5 from 4 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes mins
Cook Time 12 minutes mins
Total Time 37 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 18

Ingredients
 

  • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 7.9 oz -- or weigh out equivalent White Lily all-purpose
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
  • 4 tablespoons shortening or use butter
  • 1 cup light brown sugar 7 oz
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • 1 cup buttermilk room temperature

Filling:

  • 2 sticks 8 oz unsalted butter, softened**
  • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 7 oz container marshmallow cream
  • 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 and confectioners' sugar. 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.

Notes

I like the texture and stability of the filling when a little shortening is combined. All butter is fine, but doesn't hold up quite as well. If you are willing to add a little shortening, even as much as ¼ cup (replacing ¼ cup of the butter, of course) will help. A good ratio seems to be ¾ cup (6 oz) butter and ¼ cup shortening (1.7 oz) shortening. The "oz" is weight. Shortening weighs less water than butter and weighs less per volume amount.
For the Irish Cream variation, use the shortening version (¾ cup butter, ¼ cup shortening) and add about 2-3 tablespoons of Irish Cream to the filling.
Keyword Whoopie Pies
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    I love hearing from other bakers and appreciate helpful comments. Rude ones will be deleted immediately.

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  1. Anna

    July 26, 2020 at 7:50 am

    Laura, thanks for the review! I have some Dutch cocoa so maybe I'll make a batch today. The photo needs updating anyway.

  2. Laura

    July 26, 2020 at 7:14 am

    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 🙂

  3. Anna

    May 16, 2020 at 2:00 pm

    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.

  4. Nina

    May 16, 2020 at 12:36 pm

    5 stars
    Hello I enjoyed makeing the whoop
    Pies I love bakeing I made 6 of those little
    Boogers

  5. Shannon M Wells

    October 08, 2019 at 2:25 pm

    5 stars
    These are absolutely amazing. I just use all butter, and they come out very moist

  6. Carol

    November 19, 2016 at 3:10 pm

    5 stars
    If you use a convection oven you can make cookies on more than ray rack. Do you prefer one shelf baking over convection?

  7. Stephanie

    January 03, 2015 at 8:05 am

    High ratio shortening! Thank you!

  8. Katrina

    March 13, 2014 at 4:19 pm

    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.

  9. Sue

    March 07, 2014 at 3:03 pm

    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.

  10. martha

    March 05, 2014 at 3:57 pm

    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.

  11. Jersey Girl Cooks

    March 04, 2014 at 12:01 pm

    5 stars
    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.

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