Gourmet Whoopie Pie Recipe

Soft and fluffy chocolate espresso cookies, sandwiched with a rich mascarpone kahlua frosting, these are the perfect way to enjoy classic tiramisu flavors!

I’ve been thinking about desserts lately, especially since it’s Girl Scout cookie season (aka the best time of the year right?!).  I don’t have any copycat GS cookies, yet, but it got me thinking about other cookies that I love, like these pumpkin whoopie pies.  Since pumpkin isn’t easy to come by this time of year, I moved on to another classic flavor, tiramisu!

Whoopie pies are a classic New England treat, comprised of two soft cookies (almost like cakes) with a creamy filling.  In the traditional recipe, the cookie/cakes are chocolate, and the filling is made of buttercream and marshmallow fluff.  This version uses an espresso chocolate cookie/cake and a mascarpone frosting laced with kahlua and a bit of espresso.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies With Cream Cheese Filling Recipe

That’s up for debate lol.  In my opinion they’re cookies, since the chocolate rounds are baked on a baking sheet and not in a pan like a traditional cake.  But these cookies are so soft, they taste just like cake, with a slightly crispy outside edge that is just delectable.

The process is pretty simple.  Once you make the chocolate espresso batter, bake them until the edges are set.  Let the cookies cool, then make the mascarpone frosting.  Spread frosting on one of the cookies, top with another, dust with powdered sugar, then nom nom nom!

Absolutely!  Assembled whoopie pies can be kept fresh in an airtight container (I like to refrigerate them), for 3-5 days.  The chocolate cookies can be made the day before, then sandwiched with the frosting the day of serving.  Alternatively, the chocolate cookies can be frozen for 1-2 months.

Melted Ice Cream Whoopie Pies Recipe

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The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

Hey there! I'm Amanda. Wife, mother, photography nerd, and bacon lover! I believe that delicious meals should be easy to make. Now that you’re here, stay a bit, browse a few recipes, and let’s get cookin’!Valentine’s Day is almost here and I’m not much for all that girly hearts-and-flowers stuff, so I usually grumble about the abundance of pink and red everywhere. But this year I’ve decided to  embrace it, and what better way to mark the occasion than with deep dark chocolate cake? Even better, these Dark Chocolate Hibiscus Whoopie Pies are made in individual servings so everyone can have their own, and the cakes are filled with a luscious whipped cream cheese confection that gets its lovely pink color and tart flavor from dried hibiscus flowers. No red dye #5 here! This dessert is so perfect for Valentine’s Day that it’s even got the word “whoopie” is in the name. (If you don’t understand the reference, Google Ella Fitzgerald.) Plus, flowers. And pink. All I need now is a sappy Hallmark card.

Double Chocolate Whoopie Pies Recipe

Despite their name, whoopie pies are actually handheld cake sandwiches with creamy filling. They originated somewhere in New England in the 1920’s, though their precise birthplace is a point of contention among the states of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, all of which lay claim to the invention of this treat. Regardless of where they originated, whoopie pies are delicious, fun to eat, and a lovely change of pace for dessert.

Even if you didn’t grow up eating whoopie pies there’s something comforting and nostalgic about them, and they appeal to kids and adults alike. When I worked as a pastry chef the first signature dessert I developed for the restaurant was this particular dark chocolate whoopie pie recipe, and despite initial skepticism from some of my coworkers they were a hit with diners AND staff. I often found myself in the kitchen in the morning wondering where the leftovers from the previous day’s batch had disappeared to.

I usually pair these cakes with a simple whipped mascarpone, sweetened cream cheese filling, or Italian meringue-based buttercream, but for Valentine’s Day I though it would be fun to make the filling pink. I don’t use artificial colors so I went with fragrant and colorful dried hibiscus flower, which has a tart, citrusy flavor that complements the tangy cream cheese beautifully. I’ve used powdered hibiscus petals in batters and frostings before, but this time around we’re steeping them and boiling the strained liquid with some superfine sugar until it’s reduced and thickened, and vivid ruby red in color. (Wow, I even managed to work a precious gem into this post – I’m on a roll here.)

S'mores Whoopie Pies

I make the syrup first so it has plenty of time to cool. Boil the water, pour it over the petals, and let them steep for about 10 minutes. I buy large bags of hibiscus petal online and they’re sold in some specialty stores, but you can substitute herbal hibiscus tea bags. Use one tea bag per tablespoon/4 grams of petals. Make sure you use pure herbal hibiscus tea and not black or green tea flavored with hibiscus.

After steeping, strain out the solids. I set a small fine-mesh sieve over a measuring cup to do this, and press down on the petals with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon to push out any liquid that’s trapped in the solids. You should have close 7 ounces of liquid after this . You won’t be able to reclaim the entire initial volume because the hydrated petals are holding it. Transfer the strained liquid to a small saucepan along with your superfine (aka caster) sugar. If you want to use regular sugar instead, I suggest giving it a quick whir in your spice grinder if you’ve got one, as the finer granules melt more easily and result in a smoother syrup. Stay close to the pot while it’s reducing, because sugar syrups have a tendency to scorch or boil over quickly. You want it at a hard simmer but not a rolling boil. You’ll reduce it down by about 75%, so you should have 60-75 ml (4 to 5 tablespoons) syrup when all is said and done. The consistency when hot is similar to maple syrup, so it’s still pretty runny. Once it cools it will thicken up a bit more.

Pour the syrup into a bowl nestled in an ice bath to let it cool completely while you proceed with the cake batter. Make sure the ice bath bowl isn’t too much larger than the syrup bowl – you don’t want it to sink too much as the ice melts because you run the risk of water leaking into the syrup as the ice melts and the level drops.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies — Everyday Gourmet

The batter for the cakes comes together in no time, and since they’re divided into one- or two-ounce portions they bake quickly. They’re moist, dense enough to maintain their structure when eaten out of hand, and have a fudgy quality that’s downright irresistible. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t really have a sweet tooth so my desserts are never cloying, and these whoopie pies are no exception. The cake is dark and loaded with cocoa so it’s not super sweet – you can always add more confectioners sugar to the filling to sweeten it up, but I like to drizzle the hibiscus syrup over the cake and plate for serving, then dip each bite into a dab of syrup. (Yes I know, whoopie pies are traditionally a handheld treat, but this cake will stick to your fingers and hibiscus can stain, so I suggest eating it with a fork.)

So, sift all your dry ingredients into a large, deep bowl – this is the bowl in which you’ll mix the batter, and you need enough space for the beating, plus high sides so you don’t end up with cocoa all over your kitchen and yourself. Trust me on this.

In a separate medium bowl or a measuring cup, combine all your wet ingredients. I go the cup route because I can measure the milk, oil, and yogurt directly into it without dirtying separate cups, then just add the eggs, vanilla and syrup and whisk it all together right in the cup. It’s also easier to control this way when you drizzle the mixture over your dry ingredients.

Mint Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Be sure to whisk your wet ingredients thoroughly – you want the mixture to be uniform before adding it all to the dry.

If you have a stand mixer feel free to use it to mix the batter, otherwise I recommend a handheld mixer or electric beaters. A standard whisk will suffice for combining your dry and wet ingredients separately, but once you add everything together it becomes very stiff. You’ll need that electric power to loosen it up. (Unless you have an extremely sturdy whisk and you’re looking for a really tough arm workout. If that’s the case feel free