Makin' Whoopie?... What?... Like...

Dork alert here. Brace yourselves ladies and gents. Nowadays, in my ripe old age... I love to travel. That's not the dorky part. However, one of my favorite things to do is to check out supermarkets when I'm in a new land. It is really, really cool. I walk the aisles, and while of course many of the products are the same... there is just a different feel. While I have never been west of Ohio during my "remembering years" (that's the ages I can actually remember doing something... so like age 10 and onwards), I've been throughout the whole East Coast. And let me tell you something...

There are a lot of different supermarkets out there. Some are more awesome than others, but they are all pretty unique. So here's a question to you... what supermarket do you frequent, and where in the US is your favorite one? Sorry... told you it was Dorkfest 2000 here today. Must be the coffee... or me.

So anyways... the recipe for today comes from a supermarket magazine we have in Albany, NY. There we are treated with both Price Chopper, and Hannaford Supermarkets. While I always think PC has better deals, Hannaford is usually more health conscious, and has this sweet magazine that comes out once a month. I saw this recipe for a thing called a whoopie pie, and after laughing for about 3 minutes straight (haha whoopie), and I thought to myself "Self... I have to try that... how can you not try that?". Oh, and a warning... this is not an Adam "healthier" baking recipe. You have to try something before you can mess around with it :) This is also going to Dhanggit's Perfect Party Dishes... they are a perfect handheld snack... just watch the messy fingers :) Go on and check out her Event!

Makin' Whoopie Pie
Courtesy of Hannaford Supermarket Fresh Magazine

Whoopie Pie Cakes:
-1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
-3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
-2 eggs
-3 cups AP flour
-3/4 cup cocoa powder
-2 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp instant coffee (I used expresso powder)
-1 1/2 cups buttermilk
-1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Filling:
-3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
-2 1/4 cups powered sugar
-1 tsp vanilla
-3 cups marshmallow creme... I just call it Fluff

Preheat the oven to 350*. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or those really cool slipmats. In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together with a handmixer or by hand, until smooth and brown creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated well.

In medium the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, salt, and instant coffee powder. Stir well until everything is evenly distributed throghout. Set aside. In a 2 cup measuring cup, pour buttermilk and vanilla extract, and mix well.

Alternate pouring half of the dry ingredients and the buttermilk mix into the butter and brown sugar mixture, mixing by hand or with a handmixer. The completed batter will be very thick, and rather stiff. I would use a handmixer unless you have some serious guns.

Drop the batter on the baking sheets by heaping tablespoon fulls, and leave 2" for the batter to spread out. Bake for about 10-13 minutes. The done cakes should look like little cakey cookies, and be lightly springy and soft to the touch. Let cool on the pans for a minute or two, and then completely cool on wire racks. Make the filling while the cakes are baking.

To make the filling, cream the butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, and beat on low speed with your mixer. Scoop out the marshmallow creme, and add to the mix, beating on low until well combined and smooth. Taste it and add more sugar to taste. Frost the flat side of one of the completely cool cakes, and top with a second cake. You're finally done, baby.

I really liked these pies. This recipe made about 20 pies, that are a little smaller than the size of your palm. It's a perfect snack size I think. The cakes are not very sweet at all, but with the filling, it makes all the difference. Be careful though, the filling is messy. I didn't take pictures, but I got fluff all over my hands, and was forced to like it off. Well, such is the life of a baker and chiropractor. I can't go adjusting people with sticky hands, right? "Um, Miss Jones, is your neck sticky? My bad". Oh, and anyone like Mallrats?... I got the title from there :)