Whoopie Pies

Yes, that is actually the name of them for those of you who have never experienced this magical treat!  I grew up with whoopie pies, we made them every holiday season.  All the Girls (My grandma, mom, aunts, cousin Jody, my sister and I) would head to my grandmas house and spend the day baking.  We would line her dining table with paper towels and fill it with cookies stacked upon cookies.  We made chocolate chip, sugar, peanut butter with a Hershey kiss, lace cookies, whoopie pies, you name it!  All other cookies aside, whoopie pies must make an appearance this time of year.  I make a huge batch because to me they are like candy corn at Halloween or candy hearts during Valentines day, you savor them once a year and then wait eagerly for 12 months until you can enjoy them again.  There are so many variations but this is the traditional, "oh my gosh I actually baked, and it worked", Chocolate Whoopie Pies.

You will need:

Whoopie Pies
1 C. Shortening
2 C. Sugar
2 Eggs
4 C. Flour
3/4 C. Unsweetened Cocoa (I use Hershey's)
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Baking Soda
2 C. Milk
2 tsp. Vanilla

Filling
1 1/2 c. Shortening
4 C. Powdered Sugar
1/4 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Tbs.-ish  Milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl mix together Flour, Cocoa, Baking Powder, Salt, and Baking Soda and set aside.  I use a fork to make sure it is mixed evenly.

In a large bowl beat Shortening, Sugar, and eggs until well blended

You will now add the dry ingredients and milk to your Sugar/Shortening/Egg mixture.  Alternate between the milk and dry mixture, adding a little bit at a time.  Once well blended add your vanilla and give one final mix.

Scoop your cookies onto a greased baking sheet and cook for 10 - 15 minutes depending on the size of your cookies.  My "pies" took 12 minutes to cook and they were pretty large.

Let your "pies" cool.  When you are done baking, start pairing your "pies" together. 

Now, you can begin making the filling.  Beat together Shortening, Powdered Sugar, Salt, Vanilla and milk until smooth.   Slowly add your milk a little at a time, you may use more or less that I recommended. (I don't measure, I just eyeball it each time) 

 This frosting should be on the thicker side otherwise the cookies will just slide off each other.

Slather on a nice helping of frosting

And smash another "pie" on top.  Kind of like an Oreo but WAY better!

To keep them moist I usually freeze half the batch (plus they also taste great as frozen little treats) and put the rest in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Enjoy!