Whoopee Pies are so fun and so uniquely tasty. It’s like a magical little cake and cookie sandwich combination. Black cocoa has a much deeper and particular taste. It pairs really nicely with a raspberry buttercream in the middle. These whoopee pies are unbelievably good. I will note that you will most likely need to order black cocoa powder online as a lot of stores don’t seem to carry it. It is well worth it though! I love to keep it in the pantry to turn up the volume on basic chocolate recipes. 

 This recipe makes 12 whoopee pies

 1 3/4 Cups (220g) All Purpose Flour

1 Tsp (4g) Baking Soda

¼ Tsp (1g) Salt

½ Cup Black Cocoa Powder (You can use regular if you can’t find black cocoa)

1 Cup (200g) Light Brown Sugar, Packed

1 Cup (237mL) Buttermilk, Room Temperature

½ Cup (120mL) Vegetable Oil

1 Large Egg, Room Temperature 

1 ½ Tsp (6g) Vanilla Extract

  For the Frosting:

1 ½ Cups (339g) Softened Unsalted Butter

2 Tsp (8g) Vanilla Extract)

¼ Tsp (a pinch) Salt

½ Cup (140g) Raspberry Preserves

3 ½ Cups (315g) Confectioner’s Sugar

Directions:

1.     Make sure your oven racks are in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 375 Degrees F (190C). Line a couple cookie sheets with parchment paper. 

2.     Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder with a whisk and set aside. 

3.     In a larger separate bowl, use a whisk to combine the brown sugar, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and egg until well mixed. Add the dry mixture to the wet and whisk until just combined. 

4.     Use a 1 ¾ - inch cookie scoop to scoop the batter on to the sheets, leaving 2 inches of space between each one. Place one rack in the upper third and one rack in the lower third of the oven and bake for 5 minutes, then switch the pans and bake for another 3-5 minutes or until they spring back when lightly touched. Allow to cool on the pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. 

5.     For the frosting, use a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to cream the butter on a medium-high speed for 3 minutes or until light. Add the salt and vanilla and mix for another minute. 

6.     Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the raspberry preserves. Mix in thoroughly, then add ½ cup of powdered sugar at a time. Fully mix in each addition before adding the next. Turn the mixer on high for a few seconds between each addition to keep the frosting light and fluffy. You can keep adding sugar until the frosting is as sweet as you like it, just taste along the way! 

7.     Once the whoopee pies are cooled, flip half of them over so the flat side faces up and pipe frosting on those, making sure to leave the other halves unfrosted to be the top portions. Put the other halves on top of the frosting and enjoy.