Thursday, March 15, 2012

Top O' The Mornin' To Ya

No, literally.  Hubby is so obsessed with St. Patrick's Day - despite only being about 1/16th Irish - that he is insisting we go to our favorite Irish Pub at 8 in the AM this Saturday.  In order to make it through, I decided I'd need sustenance.  In the form of cake and frosting of course. 



Last year, I made my first green velvet cupcakes per Hubby's request and I was all set to make another batch this year - why fix what ain't broke right? But then I started thinking, the first thing Hubby does whenever he is presented with a cupcake is to break the bottom off and put it on top of the frosting like a sandwich.   




So I said to myself: "Self, why not cut out the middle step and just make him a cupcake sandwich?" aka a Whoopie Pie.  But of course, I had to make a Green Velvet Whoopie Pie!




I originally tried using my tried and true Red Velvet recipe with just a reduction in liquids but that was an epic fail! I then went searching through the internet, but I just couldn't get on board with using brown sugar or a full 1/4 cup of cocoa since I still wanted them to taste red velvet-ey.  I finally decided to slightly alter a recipe I found on Tasty Kitchen.  


I started by creaming together the butter and sugar. 



While the machine did its work, I combined the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. 



Once the butter is creamed, I added the egg and vanilla and gave it another good whirl to combine. 



While it whirled this time, I added some green good coloring to the buttermilk.  I actually ended up adding more green once it was all combined so don't be afraid to add a lot.



With the mixer on low, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk mixture beginning and ending with the dry ingredient. 



Since whoopie pies are essentially the wonderful result of a cake and a cookie having a baby, you want to make sure not to over mix the batter.  


Once it is all combined, I filled a piping bag that I put into a pint glass for stability.



I then snipped the end off, fairly low down to make a nice small opening. 



Using the piping bag, I laid out my circles by applying gentle pressure for about 5 seconds which gave me circles about 1.5 inches in diameter.  



Bake for 8-10 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  You can see I put mine a little close together and the top row ended up being a little smaller (those were piped before I put the 5 second count together.) 


You will know they are done when you can gently touch the top and you can't see the depression.



Put them on a wire rack to cool the same way you would a sugar cookie.  



Once they cooled, I matched up the cookies into same sized pairs.  



And piped on some cream cheese frosting with an open star tip.  



I gently placed the top cookie on the frosting.  I only gently pushed down to secure it on the frosting, but not enough to cause the frosting to ooze out.  I then placed the tray in the refrigerator to solidify the frosting. 


While the pies chilled, I melted some white chocolate and readied a piping bag 



I gently drizzled the pies with white chocolate and put them back in the fridge to allow the chocolate a chance to set. 



Not before snagging one to have a taste test.  YUM!



Look how cute these guys are.  They will make the perfect breakfast, snack, treat or dessert for our super long day on Saturday. 

To make them easier to store in my purse, I wrapped each one in wax paper.  




Such a delicious little package.  I can't wait. 


Shopping List for Green Velvet Whoopie Pies - Yields 15 Pies

  • 2-¼ cups All-purpose Flour
  • ¼ cups Cocoa Powder
  • ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
  • ¼ teaspoons Salt
  • ¾ cups Butter, At Room Temperature
  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 1 whole Egg
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • ¾ cups Buttermilk
  • Green Gel Food Coloring
  • Cream Cheese Frosting



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