March 17, 2011

Saint Patricks Day Whoopie Pies


OK, so you can make these anytime or dye them any color you want.  Technically they are Vanilla Bean Whoopie Pies with Nutella Buttercream Frosting.  I know, now pick up your jaw and wipe the drool off your chin and go make these.



In a medium bowl add the flour, salt, baking powder and whisk together.



Cream together the butter, both sugars and the shortening.  Blend on medium speed for about 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.



Add the eggs and the buttermilk - look at it transform into this curdled looking concoction.  It's supposed to look this way.  It'll get better I promise.


In a small bowl add the milk, baking soda, and vinegar - watch it bubble up. 



Start by turning the mixer on low add half of the flour mixture, then the milk mixture, then the other half of the flour mixture.  Beat just until combined.



I added a bunch of green food coloring gel.  You could do any color of the rainbow but the normal white color is very pretty.  At least it looked really pretty on the blog where I found this recipe.  I bet you could also add sprinkles in and make a confetti type.  So many possibilities.



I used a rounded Tablespoon so that these would all be approximately the same size. The original recipe calls for a small cookie scoop - which I don't own.  The idea is to try to keep them as round as possible.



I wish I'd taken pictures of the filling, but I didn't.  I'm sorry.  I do have this to say for the filling however; it's one of the tastiest I've had in a while.  I could just be my love for Nutella.  It's super easy to make.  I plan to make it again for my daughters upcoming birthday party, and perhaps any dessert between now and then that I can think of with frosting.  It's so good.

The original recipe can be found here: Vanilla Bean Whoopie Pies with Nutella Buttercream Frosting

I copied the below information directly from the link above:

Vanilla Bean Whoopie Pies


from Whoopie Pies by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon white vinegar
seeds from 1 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, shortening and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs and buttermilk and beat until combined (your batter may look curdled - mine definitely did, but it came together when I added the flour).

Combine the milk, baking soda, and vinegar in a small measuring cup. With the mixer on low add half of the flour mixture, followed by the milk mixture and then the rest of the flour mixture. Beat just until everything is combined. Add the seeds from the vanilla bean and beat for another minute, until everything is completely combined.

Using a small cookie scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between cookies. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 8-10 minutes, or until they are set and just beginning to brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare the filling with the recipe below. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip with the Nutella buttercream. Once the cookies are cool, pair them by size. Pipe some of the buttercream on the flat side of one cookie in each pair. Sandwich the whoopie pies together, pressing to nudge the filling to the edges.


Nutella Buttercream
from Handle the Heat

3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and Nutella together until combined. Add the vanilla, milk and confectioners' sugar to the mixer bowl and beat on low speed until the powdered sugar is just about incorporated. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the frosting is smooth.

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