Classic Whoopie Pies

I must confess, I have never had a whoopie pie. The name itself gives an image of a certain well-established actress eating pie, and well, I’ve never gone on from there. It was a mistake, I tell you. A big, sad mistake.
Whoopie pies are wonderful. I want to have them around at all times.
One thing I learned? Double the frosting. I thought I piped on plenty. That was not the case. I wanted so much more. So be generous with your frosting. You wont regret it.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 C. All-purpose flour
2/3 C. Cocoa Powder
1/4 t. Salt
1 1/2 t. Baking Soda
4 T. Butter, softened
1/4 c. Shortening
6 T. Brown Sugar, packed
6 T. Sugar(Granulated)
1 Egg
2 t. Vanilla
1 C. Milk(I used Almond)

Preheat your oven to 375 and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
 Cream the butter, shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
Add half of the milk and mix. Add half the flour and mix. Add remaining milk and mix. Add flour and mix just until combined. 
Place scoops of batter 2 inches apart on baking sheets. I like to use a small spring loaded scoop. Do 1 T. scoops for mini whoopie pies and 2 T. scoops for regular sized. 
Bake for 8-9 minutes(small) or 10-12(large) or until the tops spring back when touched.
Cool for 5 minutes on the parchment and then move to a wire rack. Cool completely and then frost.

Makes about 10-12 mini pies or 5-6 regular sized.

Vanilla Buttercream:

1 stick of Butter, softened
2-3 C. Powdered Sugar
1 t. Vanilla
1-2 T. Heavy Cream

Place the butter in a mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Add in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating on slow speed until incorporated(will be very thick). Increase mixer speed to medium and slowly pour in the vanilla. Add the cream to the frosting and continue to whip on medium speed until the frosting is fluffy. Add more or less cream to achieve the desired consistency. Fill a piping bag full of the frosting and cut off the tip. Pipe large mounds of frosting on the bottom of a whoopie pie cake and top with another cake, pressing down until the frosting spreads out to the cake edges.

Share some with your neighbors.
I was going to.
Then we ate a lot.
Then there were no Whoopie Pies to give away, so what could I do?
My hands were tied. Ah, well. Next time. Next time we’ll share.