Nothing says comfort food like Whoopie Pies! A slow rainy Sunday afternoon is a perfect time to experiment in the kitchen. While grocery shopping yesterday I ran across a box of Pillsbury Sugar-Free Chocolate Cake Mix. Now I haven't made too many cakes lately, but I don't think I had noticed this sugar-free product before. On the back of the package was a recipe for Whoopie Pies. And sugar-free.....except for the filling they had. So I explored.
Whoopie Pies
Before we get into the recipe, did you ever wonder where the name Whoopie Pie came from anyway? Well, probably not, but we might as well take a look.
According to the internet, so you know it has to be true.....it says Whoopie Pies were made from leftover cake batter. A tradition started by the Amish. When children would find the little cakes in their lunch pails....they would shout Whoopie! So, there is it and now you know)).
I'm not a food blogger, so I'm going to give you the recipe right upfront. Don't you think it's annoying when you have to scroll down and down the page to find the recipe you're looking for? I understand why that is, but I'm still going to list the recipe now. If you read this far and leave, well, that's okay....but you'll miss some stuff!
Whoopie Pie Recipe
1 Box of Pillsbury Sugar-Free Chocolate Cake Mix
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs.
Filling:
2 sticks softened butter
1-2 tablespoon cream (or milk)
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup Swerve Confectioners sugar
Cake Directions:
Mix cake mix, water oil, and eggs. Beat at medium speed for about two minutes.
Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven 325-375 (it all depends on your oven, better to be a little low than too hot.)
The recipe on the box says drop two tablespoons of batter onto the cookie sheet 2" apart. After the first cookie sheet was filled, I found this to be a little too much to my way of thinking, so I cut back to maybe 1 1/2 tablespoon. I didn't measure, but I just wanted a smaller Whoopie Pie.
The instructions called for baking 7-9 minutes but watch them closely. They bake fast and you don't want the overdone, but you do want them nice and dry on top. Remove from pan and cool
Hint:
Cool on parchment paper or spread out a newspaper. I used wax paper and it seemed to make moisture collect on the bottom. Live and learn.
Some of the Whoopie Pies turned out nice and round. When baked they have a concave shape and once you add the filling, you'll press the flat sides together.
Problem: Sometimes they come out irregularly shaped.
Solution: Eat them.
Whoopie Pie Filling
Cream the butter, sugar, cream, and vanilla in the mixer until smooth. Add a tsp or two of cream as needed if the consistency is too thick. Taste it. If it tastes too buttery to you, add a little more sugar. I probably wound up using a cup of sugar instead of 3/4.
You want the filling to be the consistency of spreadable frosting. The cake box list a filling recipe made with a can of frosting and cream cheese, which would likely be great...but I was trying to cut out some sugar here.
Please don't lecture me.))) Carbs....yes it's still full of carbs, but we have eliminated sugar. Since cake is so loaded with sugar, we rarely ever have it, so this nice little handheld Whoopie Pie was nice for a change.
Spread the filling on the flat side of the cake and top it off with the flat side of another cake. Now you have a Whoopie Pie! Whoopie!
The filling wasn't as nice as white as I would have preferred, it was more creamy in color. It still tastes great and was appealing. It would have been sparkling white had I used Crisco shortening instead of butter. Yes, Crisco shortening! Check out some of your buttercream frostings....Crisco. When you think about it....Crisco or butter....either way you're getting fats.
Summary
Store in the refrigerator, if they last that long! We enjoyed this recipe for sugar-free Whoopie Pies so much, I may try it again with a white cake make and chocolate filling. Would they still be called Whoopie Pies? Gosh, I don't know. Or chocolate with peanut butter filling...or chocolate with coconut filling..... If we don't come out from under this sheltering in pretty soon, we're not going to be able to get through the door to get out!
Stay safe!
More Craft Articles
Easy Hand Tied Bow Tutorial
Spring Grapevine Wreath Tutorial
