chocolate peanut butter whoopie pies

So it's the dog days of summer and my kids are bouncing off the walls on days we have to be home.  I mean, I'm not always able to frolic over to the pool,  lunch with the neighbors and work on my tan.  That sounds nice, but that's not my life.   I have bills to pay, laundry that is piling up and dust bunnies getting the better of me at the moment.  So there are times we have to forget that its summer and stay indoors.  In order to keep the kids better occupied I decided to have them each choose one recipe from any of my cookbooks and we would have special one on one time in the kitchen together.  Not surprisingly they all chose desserts!  First up, whoopie pies.  They turned out so awesome I just had to share it with all of you.  By the way, after we made these...we were off to the pool for an evening swim.  I am such a sucker.

  This is an easy take your dry ingredients and mix with the wet ingredients kind of cake recipe.

You'll notice that the batter is very luscious and billowy like usual cake batter.  These babies will bake up firmer and a bit more dry than regular cake.   

Use your trusty cookie scoop (any size will do) and dollop them on an ungreased cookie sheet.  They will not spread very much but you want to space them apart at least an inch.

They puff up beautifully just like a cookie but it's cakey like cake and not chewy like a cookie.  I guess it's the whoop whoop in the WHOOPIE.

Yes, I went there.

 

Then using the same size cookie scoop, scoop up a load of the filling (recipe below) and release it on top of one inverted whoopie.

Stack a second whoopie on top right side up and smoosh down.

Think of these like homemade Oreo Cakesters!

Enjoy your Whoopie!

Buttercream

Chocolate peanut butter Whoopie Pie

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg

Filling

1 stick butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup peanut butter

Directions

1.Cream together 1 cup of the butter or margarine and the egg. Add 1 cup white sugar, vanilla and hot water. Stir in the flour, cocoa, and baking soda and mix well.

2.Drop from a cookie scoop onto cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes. let cool on wire rack.  Sandwich cookies together with Peanut Butter Frosting.

3.To Make Peanut Butter Frosting: Beat butter and peanut butter until fluffy.  Add sugar a 1/4 cup at a time and beat on hight after each addition. This makes is light and airy.   If frosting is too still...add more peanut butter.  If it's too soft...add more sugar.  The adjustments can be made to your desired sweetness.