KITCHEN KREATIONS: Vanilla Whoopie Pies

Oh my word, talk about yummy deliciousness! These things are fantastic!

I get a lot of my cooking ideas from different blog sites that I visit and occasionally follow. Today, I was reading IowaGirlEats' blog which had a link to the Better Homes & Gardens Red Velvet Whoopie Pie recipe. Kristin, from IowaGirlEats, made these for her hubby last Valentine's Day. Since we aren't big fans of Red Velvet cake, I decided to take out the ingredients that made it taste like Red Velvet (ie. the cocoa and red food dye). Everything else was the same. I also didn't like the BH&G filling recipe, so I decided to go to the She's Becoming Domestic blog because she had a Pumpkin Spice whoopie pie recipe with a delicious-sounding Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling. So, I used my adapted Red Velvet Whoopie Pie recipe and combined it with Susan's Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling recipe. Voila! Instant success! Woo hoo!!! I am definitely on a roll.

I had to do something to reward the hubby for tackling all that snow by himself today. He did an awesome job, too bad the street is still not driveable. Hubby gives this one two more thumbs up.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla flavoring (If you can find it in your area, use the Vanilla Butternut flavoring, it's awesome!)
  
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 recipe Whoopie Pie Filling, recipe below

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment; set aside. In medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high 30 seconds. Beat in brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating after each addition just until combined. Stir in food coloring.

3. Spoon batter in 1- or 2-inch diameter rounds, about 1/2-inch high on prepared baking sheets, allowing 1 inch between each round.

4. Bake 7 to 9 minutes for 1-inch cookies or 9 to 11 minutes for 2-inch cookies, or until tops are set. Cool completely on baking sheets on rack. Remove cooled cookies from baking sheets.

5. To fill, dollop Whoopie Pie Filling on flat sides of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies, flat sides down.

6. To store: Refrigerate in airtight container up to 4 days. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling

• 1 stick butter, Room Temperature
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
• 2 cups Confectioners Sugar
• 4 Tbsp evaporated milk
• 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1 tsp. Vanilla (I also used the Vanilla Butternut flavoring here too. Yummy!)
  
• Dash of Salt

Beat cream cheese, butter, milk, salt & cinnamon until lump-free and smooth. Gradually add sugar until well combined. Add vanilla until just incorporated. Pipe onto cookies and sandwich them together. Enjoy!!

Whoopie Pie