Whoopie Pies

Makes 24 to 26 whoopie pies
Hands-on: 45 minutes  |  Total: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Everybody will love these cute sandwich cookies stuffed with buttercream filling. The cookie dough comes together in a snap, and the cookies bake quickly;just 7 minutes per pan. See the recipe below for a Kentucky-specific variation.

1⁄2 cup (4 ounces) salted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (about 81⁄2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon table salt
1⁄4 cup whole milk
Whoopie Pie Filling (recipe follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer; beat on medium speed until well blended, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
2. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat on low speed just until blended after each addition.
3. Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, drop the dough about 3 inches apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
4. Bake at 400°F until the cookies are just set and beginning to brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks, and cool the cookies on the baking sheets 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies from the baking sheets to the wire racks, and cool completely, about 20 minutes.
5. Spread the Whoopie Pie Filling on the flat side of half of the cookies (about 2 tablespoons per cookie). Cover with the remaining half of the cookies, flat side down, and gently press together.

Whoopie Pie Filling [Subrecipe]
Makes about 2 3/4 cups
Hands-on: 10 minutes  |  Total: 10 minutes

This filling gives the Whoopie Pies a wonderfully smooth and creamy texture.

1⁄2 cup (4 ounces) salted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1⁄2 teaspoon table salt
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy; add the vanilla and salt, and beat until blended. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating on low speed until blended and smooth after each addition. Add the cream, and beat on low speed until smooth.

Wildcat Whoopie Pie [Variation]
Prepare Whoopie Pies as directed through Step 3, sprinkling 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips evenly over tops of unbaked cookies. Proceed with recipe as directed in Steps 4 and 5. Roll edges of filled cookies in 1 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts.