Chocolate Whoopie Pies

I recently found a recipe for Whoopie Pies in my email inbox and wanted to give them a try since I've never actually made them despite having eaten many of them....

plain (LEFT) and rolled in crushed peppermint candy (RIGHT)

After reading reviews on the recipes, I took the Food Network cookie recipe from here and combined it with the filling recipe from here and they were a hit.  The cookies were chocolatey, almost brownie like and the filling was sweet and fluffy. 

Recipe adapted from Food Network
For the Cookies:
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup natural cocoa powder, such as Hershey's or Scharffen Berger
1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons fine salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.

Combine unsweetened and semisweet chocolates and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl.  Heat at 75 percent power until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir, and continue to microwave until completely melted, about 2 minutes more.

Whisk the sugar, eggs and vanilla into the chocolate mixture until smooth.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in another bowl. Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until moistened. Switch to a rubber spatula and finish folding the batter together; take care not to over-mix.  *Let the mixture sit for a few minutes.  It will thicken and lends to a puffier cookie.

Use a small cookie scoop to drop a heaping tablespoon of batter onto the baking sheet, spacing them about 1-inch apart. Bake about 6-8 minutes until the top bounces back when lightly touched.  *I made 41 cookies using a small cookie scoop.

For the Filling:
2 cups confectioners sugar
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup marshmallow creme
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (optional)
About 12 candy canes, crushed (optional)

Beat the confectioners sugar and shortening in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add the marshmallow creme, milk and peppermint extract and beat until light and airy, about 5 minutes.

Spread a heaping tablespoon of the filling on half of the cooled cookies. Sandwich with the remaining halves, pushing down slightly to move the filling to the edge. Put the crushed candy canes on a plate and roll the sides of the whoopie pies in the candy.

Tip: Rolled in peppermint, these make a lovely holiday gift but packaging them can be tricky.  Stacked in cellophane bags, the filling will squeeze out and make the clear packaging less attractive and crush your cookies.  I recommend packaging them in a plastic container or metal tin where they can be laid flat or just slightly overlapping.  Enjoy!