Whoopie Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches!

-Whoopi Goldberg's Cousin Wilbur  C. Goldberg, a pastry chef, actually invented the Whoopie pie in 1975, and named it after his favorite cousin.

-Making  "Whoopie" is a reference used in the 60's for the act of copulation. Now, it's more widely referred to as "Getting your freak on".

 

-"WHOOPIE"!! Is what I yelled today when I found 20 dollars in a pair of jeans I got at a thrift store today. Score!!

Ok, So I may have embellished the thing about Whoopi Goldberg, but the others are pure facts about the word that shares title with this awesome classic American dessert.

For a snack with such a goofy name, you might not give the whoopie pie the respect it rightfully deserves...

A Whoopie Pie is a delicious, cake-like cookie dessert that traditionally is filled with a buttercream frosting,or sometimes Marshmallow Fluff according to many a recipe I have come across. They kind of resemble a big Oreo cookie, but taste scores better. Now, there's certainly  a time and a place for that gooey, nonsensical goodness known as Marshmallow Fluff, but I personally don't want it in my whoopie pies. 

Buttercream frosting on the other hand, if it could be genetically modified into a multi-vitamin form, I'm pretty sure I could sustain life on it happily for evermore.

With the heat of summer in full force, I've been converting everything I bake at home into a cold treat, if at all possible. I was given an ice cream sandwich last week, and it completely reminded me of a shabby version of a Whoopie pie  filled with ice cream.

Twas' then I had a baking epiphany: Ice cream filled Whoopie Pies...

Whoopie Pies with Ice Cream Filling:

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup buttermilk

1. For the cakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until light and creamy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking soda, salt, flour and cocoa. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in three parts, alternating with buttermilk, and combining well after each addition.

2. Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, scoop out 12 1/4-cup mounds of batter and place about 6 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before filling.

*This part is adapted from a recipe I got in the NY times years ago from Zingerman's Bakeshop in Ann Arbor Michigan.

-1 pint of Vanilla Ice Cream ( or any kind you want, to use) I used Hagen Dazs Vanilla Bean.

 I let the ice cream sit at room temp for about 15 minutes so it softens enough to be pliable.  Using an ice cream scoop, scoop ice cream into center of cookie and then top with other cookie. Freeze until set, about 1-2 hours

Open Mouth, Insert Whoopie pie....

The Shell is cakey and moist, even after being frozen.  It really tastes almost identical to a Ice-cream sandwich, only WAY better.

These lovely snacks may take a bit more effort than going to the grocery store and buying a package of those fuddy-duddy old school ice cream sandwiches, but these are so awesome, you probably won't be able to even look at those again after making an Ice Cream Whoopie pie. You can use a lot of different kinds of ice cream too, I just went with plain vanilla to make it taste more like a traditional  ice cream sandwich, but any flavor your little heart desires can be held within the delicious little pie called Whoopie.