Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Green Velvet Whoopie Pies

Posted by Erin Wilburn / 19 comments » / dessert, whoopie pies

To be perfectly honest, I’ve never really celebrated St. Patrick’s Day.  Don’t get me wrong, I usually wear green that day, but that’s about it.  So… you’re probably wondering, why in the heck am I posting a treat for a holiday I do minimal participation in?  That is because, I baked these on February 14th.  Valentine’s Day.

You see, I remembered how much The Fiance loved the previous time I made whoopie pies, and how much he had requested I make them again.  And… I knew my friend Jessica had a recipe for red velvet whoopie pies, and they would be the perfect Valentine’s-y treat.  So, come Valentine’s Day, I went to the neighborhood Kroger to get some red food coloring.  They were out of the bottle of red.  I asked the stock boy to check the back, still out.  So I drove to Walmart, they were out.  Drove to another Kroger, out.  Tried Aldi, no food coloring; tried Dollar General (freaking love that store), nope; Family Dollar, nope; Rite Aid, nada.  Everyone kept suggesting to buy the multipack and just use red.  Except, I would need to buy 3 multipacks to have enough red.  And I already had 2 multipacks at home, unused, except for the red.  (I blame this cake.)

Then I had a stroke of genius.  I am NOT the type of blogger that prepares treats in advance to post ahead of holidays.  That’s just not my style.  I blog things I make, period.  And I make things when I have an occasion, or a craving, because that’s all I have time for!  I realized, just like my other friend Erin showed “[insert color] Velvet Cake” doesn’t necessarily have to be red.  And there was an upcoming holiday that focused on the color green!  **cue angel chorus trumpeting my triumph**

So here ya go!  Make these handheld little treats for a fun, festive way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!  Or, just make them to use up whatever color food coloring you seem to have a surplus of.  🙂

And now a little verdict on taste.  These were quite yummy, but a bit drier than the Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.  Seeing as the pumpkin version is the only other whoopie pie I’ve had, I don’t have much to compare it to, and the pumpkin likely added quite a bit of moisture.  But another reason these seemed dry could have been because I might have baked them a touch too long.  Their dark color made it hard to tell when they were done!  We still gobbled every last one of them up.  And while these do need to be stored in the fridge, be SURE and let them sit at room temp for 15-20 min or so before consuming, because they taste MUCH better than when they are cold.

PS. Right now I am really wishing I could share the photo from my 5 year old dance recital when we had white tutus decorated with 4 leaf clovers.  Because that would make this post even better.  You better believe next time I visit my parents that photo will be scanned and share with the world.

Print

[Insert color] Velvet Whoopie Pies

from Better Homes & Gardens via The Novice Chef

Ingredients:

CAKE:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1-oz. bottle red food coloring (2 Tbsp.) **Erin Tip: If you choose to make these green, 1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp will be plenty, no need for 2 Tbsp.**

FILLING:
3 cups powdered sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

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

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.

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

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 and frost with favorite filling.

FILLING:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful no to overbeat the filling, or it will lose structure.

Pipe filling in between onto bottom of one whoopie pie and sandwich between another whoopie pie. Store whoopie pies in fridge until ready to serve, then allow whoopie pies to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.