Whoopie!

Julie turned 11 on Friday! Hardly seems possible, right?

In keeping with family tradition (read: whatever I did for Steph at age 11 I had to do for Pete at age 11 and thus for Julie at age 11), for her gift she got an iPod, which she's been dying for. I can't believe how tiny they are now! It's maybe half the size of a credit card. 

Julie chose carnitas for dinner, which is how you know she was definitely not swapped at birth. In lieu of a cake, she (with a little help from Andy) made Abby Dodge's whoopie pies, which came out great.

Whoopie Pies 

Chocolate Wafers:
2 cups all-purpose flour
⅔ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk 

Vanilla Filling:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1⅓ cups Marhmallow Fluff (not crème)
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt 

To make the chocolate wafers:

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment or Silpats.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well blended. In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until well blended. Pour in about two-thirds of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until blended. The mixture will look sandy, with small pebbles of dough. Add the buttermilk and continue mixing just until blended. Pour in the remaining flour mixture and mix just until blended.

Using a small ice-cream scoop or 2 tablespoons, drop 2-tablespoon mounds of the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake until the mounds are puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center of 1 mound comes out clean, about 10–11 minutes. Transfer the cookie sheets to racks and let cool for 5 minutes. Using a spatula, lift the cookie cakes from the sheets onto the racks and let cool completely.

To make the filling:

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended and smooth.

To assemble the whoopie pies:

Arrange half of the cooled chocolate wafers, flat side up, on a work surface. Mound about 1½ tablespoons filling in the center of each. Top with the remaining wafers, rounded side up, and press gently on top until the filling spreads just to the edges. Refrigerate until the filling is firm, about 1 hour, or up to a week until ready to serve. (And, if you are Julie, you will want to roll the sides of each whoopie pie in sprinkles.)

Comments

[Katy]

Oh wow, happy birthday Julie! Julies's bdays always resonate with me because my "baby" niece is exactly the same age (turning eleven on 10/30) and it reminds me how grown-up they both are! Luckily, eleven still isn't too old to cuddle and gossip on the phone with your favorite aunt :)