, which was co-authored by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell. Sarah is a native of Pittsburgh and used to write for the local newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I worked with the food editor there to write a piece about the popularity of whoopie pies, their history, and a bit about Sarah and the book:
Whoopie pies with your favorite s'mores flavors
Ingredients:
For the Graham Cracker Whoopie:
- 1½cupsgraham flour
- ¾cupall-purpose flour
- 1½teaspoonsbaking powder
- ½teaspoonsalt
- 4tablespoonsunsalted butter(at room temperature)
- 4tablespoonsvegetable shortening
- 1cuppacked dark brown sugar
- 2large eggs
- ½cupbuttermilk
- 2tablespoonsmilk
- 1teaspoonbaking soda
- 1teaspoonwhite vinegar
- 1teaspoonvanilla extract
For the Classic Marshmallow Filling:
- 1½cupsMarshmallow Fluff(or other prepared marshmallow cream, which will do in a pinch)
- 1¼cupsvegetable shortening
- 1cupconfectioners' sugar
- 1tablespoonvanilla extract
For the chocolate ganache:
- 8ouncesmilk chocolate chips(or solid chocolate, finely chopped)
- ½cupheavy cream
Directions:
- 1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- 2. In a medium bowl, stir together both flours, baking powder, and salt.
- 3. In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, shortening and brown sugar until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the buttermilk and beat until combined.
- 4. In a measuring cup, combine the milk, baking soda, and vinegar. Add the milk mixture to the batter along with the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Add the vanilla and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until completely combined.
- 5. Using a spoon, drop about 1 tablespoon of batter onto one of the prepared baking sheets and repeat, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes each, or until the cakes begin to brown. Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.
- 6. Make the Marshmallow Filling: In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the Marshmallow Fluff and the vegetable shortening, starting on low and increasing to medium speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low, add the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes more.
- 7. Make the Chocolate Ganache Filling: Put the chocolate in a large, heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat just until it bubbles. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate in the bowl and let it sit for about 10 minutes, until the chocolate is melted. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until smooth. Allow the mixture to rest at room temperature until firm enough to spread, about 2 hours. You may also refrigerate the mixture for about 30 minutes, until it is firm enough to spread, stirring every 10 minutes.
- 8. Assemble the whoopie pies: Pipe or spread (whatever your preferred method) a layer of chocolate ganache filling onto the flat side of one of the cakes. Using the same method, top the chocolate filling with the marshmallow filling. Top it with another cake, flat-side down. Repeat with the rest of the cakes and filling.
- * Note: I know many people are opposed to vegetable shortening, but it really is a necessary ingredient. It gives the cakes their characteristic lift and lightness, and the rounded shape. It is also a crucial component of the classic marshmallow filling. I can attest to both of these after reviewing my mom's old recipes for gobs!
Nutrition:
Calories: 326kcal
Fat: 19g
Saturated fat: 7g
Cholesterol: 27mg
Sodium: 117mg
Potassium: 58mg
Carbohydrates: 36g
Fiber: 1g
Sugar: 25g
Protein: 2g
Vitamin A: 3.6%
Vitamin C: 0.1%
Calcium: 4.3%
Iron: 4%
These are good but not like a smore very much
I love whoopie pies! My favorite is the chocolate peppermint!
I love whoopies
I am so frustrated! I make your recipes ALL the time, and have great success with each and every one – except these!! I have made these three times now, and the last two times the whoopie/cookies were flat as boards. I just don’t get it. The first time, I had domes of beautiful graham whoopies, and these last two times I have flat, greasy, crumbly chewie halves. I can barely bring myself to waste a half a pound of good chocolate on these. The first flop, I threw out the cookies. But now, I am trying again, and the same! What do you think went wrong?
Hmm might have something to do with your leavener, or if you are greasing the cookie sheets instead of using parchment. If everything else is the same, I’m not sure why else they would turn out fine one time and flat the others.
I only know them as Whoopie pies, and I just found out what they were about a month ago while watching Food Network. I have never had one and I was thinking about trying to make some my family :) They look so good!
Hi
The recipe requires confectioners’ sugar for the marshmallow filling, can I just use granulated sugar instead?
Thanks
Hi Julie, You can’t really sub granulated sugar here because it won’t dissolve into the mixture the way powdered sugar will.
I am from South Africa and recently stumbled upon your blog – it is beyond fabulous!!!
Please could you tell me what the following is:
Marshmallow Fluff (or other prepared marshmallow cream)?
I have never seen this in our stores before and wondered if you could tell me what I could use as a substitute?
Tx a mil!
This is basically like a spreadable melted marshmallow concoction. To substitute, you could make your own marshmallow frosting. I recently made s’mores cupcakes with a homemade marshmallow frosting that you could use here:
https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/07/13/smores-cupcakes-recipe/
the smore whoopie pie was really good. i just had to make them and try them when i read about them on the site. thats a whoopie pie also something that is really good use ur favorite cookie and have a cookie whoopie thanks
I was wondering if you could substitute the graham flour for a different one because I can’t find it anywhere!!??
Hi Carmella – It is available online at King Arthur Flour, but if you’d rather not order, it sounds like a reader above had good luck processing graham crackers in the food processor and using that instead.
I couldn’t find graham flour, either – even at Mrs Green’s, an all natural grocery near me. So I improvised, and processed some Mi-Del organic graham crackers in the Cuisinart. And I used good milk chocolate chips for the ganache, since when I do s’mores on a campout, I use good ol’ Hershey’s milk chocolate – so I wanted that same flavor. It worked great. These are definitely on my make again list. Tks for sharing!
I’ve tried looking for the graham flour and can not find it. I really, really want to try this recipe out. Can you tell me where I may be able to find this type of flour?
Hi Tiffany, I found it in the organic section of the regular supermarket, where other flours like almond and rice flour are found. If you don’t have any luck, you could always order it as well:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/king-arthur-whole-wheat-pastry-flour-/-graham-flour-3-lb
For me, they’ve never been Whoopie Pies or Gobs – they’re a cookie sandwich! That sounds much more nutritious.
I prefer the basic chocolate (like an oreo), but it’s also the only way I’ll eat oatmeal cookies. But I must say, these S’mores Whoopie Pies might become my favorite!
I don’t like using processed foods, so I made my own marshmallow fluff. The second I added the shortening, it completely deflated. I had to add a ton of extra powdered sugar to save the consistency and even then, it was too runny. Just posting so anyone else thinking about using homemade knows what’s coming! I think next time I’m just going to put mini marshmallows on top of the ganache and broil it.
I live in Kazakhstan, where I am the principal of an international school. We can’t get Marshmallow fluff – but can get jet puffed Marshmallows. Is there any way to modify the marshmallow filling so that marshmallows can be used?
Hi Joahna, You could make a marshmallow frosting to use in place of of the marshmallow fluff concoction. Here is a recipe:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/02/homemade-devil-dog-ding-dong-or-hostess-cake/
I made these and they were okay, but I prefer the traditional chocolate with white filling ones.
I lived in Pittsburgh in the 80’s and forgot that they call these ‘gobs.’ Thanks for this post! (I call them Whoopie Pies, though, even though they are sold as “Moon Pies.”) Great post!
I have to admit that I don’t believe I’ve ever had a whoopie pie. *gasp* I can’t wait to give it a try!