another season, another reason...for makin' whoopie...(pies, that is! it's too damn hot for the other kind)

(the completed tower-'o'-whoopie pie "cake")

who doesn't (at least occasionally) long for the simpler days of childhood...for the days of little to no sense of responsibility...the days when every need was met without our even having to ask...the days when mom kept the little debbies at the ready (aside: could "little debbie at the ready" be a song title?  the title of something far less appropriate?  hmmm...something to think on)...when we were far too young to yet read, let alone understand the ingredients' panel?  ah, the bliss of youthful ignorance...
well, folks, the years pass; our palates develop; we learn what things like "processed" and "hydrogenated" and "preservative" mean...
and, yet...snack nostalgia, well, there just ain't  no avoiding it...
THE WHOOPIE PIE to the rescue!!!
was looking forward to getting together with a few other couples and their wee ones on this beautiful summer day.  wanted to bring a special treat that we could all enjoy together (parents and children).  i thought, "what better than a whoopie pie?!?"  the problem: i have never made a whoopie pie.
well, i had just come across a good-looking recipe in "gourmet today"
that i was itching to try.
did so.
was quite tickled with the result.
and, unless the guests were just being kind, i think it was well-liked all around.  i knew i'd hit the nail on the head when my husband (who, per usual, had no clue what i'd been doing in the kitchen all afternoon) asked, "don't take this the wrong way, but are these supposed to taste like a little debbie?"  score!

so, i thought i'd share my bounty.
really, easy-peasy-ish.  i can't wait to experiment with new flavor combos (white chocolate cake with dark fluff or pumpkin cake with cream-cheese fluff, chocolate/peanut butter, dark chocolate/salty almond, cinnamon sugar/apple...).  whoa, cowgirl rein it in, now...task at hand, m'dear...
on to the recipe:

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WHOOPIE PIES
(adapted ever-so-slightly from "gourmet today")
total time: about one hour
difficulty (2.75-3)
yield: 12 pies

ingredients:
・for the cakes:
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-2/3 cup unsweetened, dutch-process cocoa powder (i use ghiradelli natural, unsweetened, premium baking cocoa)
-1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon salt
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-1 cup well-shaken buttermilk (the low-fat/cultured variety found on most grocery shelves is just fine), room-temp or thereabouts
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-------
-1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room-temp
-1 cup brown sugar, packed
-1 egg, room-temp

・for the filling/fluff:
-1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room-temp
-1 1/4 cups confectioners'/powdered sugar (plus more for sprinkling, optional)

-2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (that's right; i said it: marshmallow fluff.  ha!  the jet-puffed variety of our childhoods...see how i'm a-bringin' this thing full-circle for y'all?)

1. place oven racks on upper and lower thirds of the oven.  then, preheat to 320° (on pure convection.  if your oven doesn't have this feature, pre-heat to 350°, but be extra vigilant of bake-time)

2. grease 2 large baking sheets and set aside

3. in a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk/fluff/sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together.  set aside

(the whisked/fluffed dry ingredients)

4. in a small mixing bowl, combine the buttermilk with the vanilla, set aside
5. in the mixing bowl of your standing mixer*, beat together butter and brown sugar at medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is pale and fluffy-looking (man, i've used the word "fluff" a lot, here...)
6. add egg, continue to beat well for one minute-ish
7. turn machine off, scrape down the sides of the bowl
8. turn machine back on at low-speed.  begin to add the flour and buttermilk mixtures, alternately, in five additions (flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk, flour), allowing the additions to fully incorporate between each addition
9. using a small ladle (gravy-sized or thereabouts...something that will yield slightly less than a 1/4 cup), spoon the batter in small mounds, about 2 inches apart, on your baking sheet (i was able to do 12, with 4 rows of 3 mounds).  repeat on second sheet
10. bake between 10-12 minutes, checking often and switching rack position after 5 minutes

[while cakes are baking, wash, rinse, and dry your standing mixer bowl and attachment]

11. remove cakes from oven and allow to cool completely before assembling

(the cakes, just out of the oven)

(cakes-a-coolin')

12. while cooling, make the filling/fluff:
-combine all ingredients (the marshmallow creme, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla) in your standing-mixer bowl.  beat on medium-high for about 3 minutes, or until smooth
13. assemble the pies by spooning something like a rounded tablespoon of the filling/fluff onto one cooled cake.  place a 2nd cake on top, et...voilà!

(get in my belly!)

(whoopie pie)

*recipe can be made without the aid of a standing mixer.  just use a hand mixer, or, if you wanna brave it by-hand, get ready for a serious upper-body workout!

store in air-tight container, with a layer of parchment or wax between.  good out of fridge for 24 hours; after that, they must be kept cool and very well-sealed

i have opted to put these whoopie pies together in a sort-of free-standing "cake" tower, sprinkled with powdered sugar...just for fun...feel free to copy my style or create your own.  

happy baking!