Whoopie Pies

Every once in a while it's my turn to provide snack for our small group Bible study. For me, this is always a fun opportunity to do a little baking, since I'm rarely willing to venture time-consuming baking projects. That, and with only two adults in the house, a little sugar goes a long way. 

This time, I thought Whoopie Pies were in order. I still remember when my family moved to Pennsylvania, when I was about seven years old. One of the ladies in our church gave us a basket filled with individually plastic-wrapped Whoopie Pies. I had never tried one before, but one bite and I was hooked. 

Fast forward sixteen years, and Whoopie Pies still make my favorite desserts list. Granted, it's a long list! *wink* Apparently they're becoming more mainstream, as I recently saw a whole cookbook of Whoopie Pie recipes at Barnes and Noble a few months back.

At any rate, I was quite satisfied with the results of my recent attempt. For the cakes I used the Real Maine Whoopie Pies recipe from Katy Elliott's blog, which I ended up tripling. However, I opted for the Food Network Whoopie Pie recipe for the filling, and I'm glad I did. Mostly because the Food Network recipe uses a whole jar of Marshmallow fluff, rather than the 2 TBSP called for in the first recipe. And more marshmallow fluff is a good thing. A really good thing. I did add extra confectioner's sugar, milk, and vanilla, since I was making a rather large batch. I just eyed the consistency, and it turned out perfect. Oh, that filling! I've officially decided to add Marshmallow fluff to any buttercream icing I make from now on.

Apparently, there's a huge argument over whether Whoopie Pies originated in Maine or in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. But as far as I'm concerned, the origin is insignificant. All I'm concerned with is the chocolate marshmallowy goodness.