Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Creamy Vanilla Frosting (video)
These scrumptious chocolate whoopie pies are made with two soft and fluffy chocolate cake rounds and a layer of creamy vanilla frosting sandwiched in between. It’s a fun and delicious little treat you can eat right out of your hands.
What is a whoopie pie?
A whoopie pie is a cookie sandwich made with two soft mini cake rounds filled with some sort of creamy filling. They are designed to be a handheld dessert. The most common flavor is chocolate for the cake part and vanilla buttercream or marshmallow cream for the filling part. Other common flavors are pumpkin and red velvet whoopie pies with cream cheese filling.
So, why are whoopie pies called whoopie pies? There is nothing about them that resembles a pie. Though I have read a couple of theories on why they are called whoopies. Apparently, in the early 20th century, the term “whoopie” was being tossed around a lot. There was the classic flapper song “Makin’ Whoopee”. Then in the ’30s, the whoopee cushion was invented. Pennsylvania also proclaims that whoopie pies go back centuries in their state. Amish women would use leftover cake batter to make little pies and their husband and kids would yell “whoopie!” with excitement over the little treats. (source: Taste of Home)
Why this recipe is so great:
- Easy to make – Just mix, scoop, and bake, then sandwich some buttercream in between and enjoy!
- Dee-licious – Soft moist chocolate cake paired with just the perfect amount of sweet, creamy vanilla buttercream. Tastes like heaven in every bite.
- Easy to serve and a definite crowd-pleaser – There is no fuss with slicing and plating. Whoopie pies are a grab-and-go treat that both adults and kids love.
- Here are some reviews:
“Love how soft these are! I made them last year for Thanksgiving and am trying to make them Halloween themed for this year!” – Mackenzie
“These turned out amazing! I just made them for a work holiday party. I added crushed candy canes into the buttercream frosting for fun. Thank you for sharing your recipe!” – Jen
How to make whoopie pies:
(the ingredient amounts are listed in the printable recipe card further below)
- Toss together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Then slowly mix in the milk.
- Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Scoop the batter onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
- Beat the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until smooth. Pipe the buttercream onto half of the cake rounds and sandwich with the other half.
Variations:
You can use any flavor of buttercream you wish or roll the sides of the whoopie pies in festive colored sprinkles or sparkling sugar to dress them up. You can also add mix-ins to the buttercream like crushed candy canes, mini chocolate chips, or toffee bits.
FAQ:
What is whoopie pie filling made of?
The most common fillings are vanilla buttercream or marshmallow cream . Vanilla buttercream is typically made with butter, powdered sugar, milk/cream, and vanilla extract. Marshmallow cream is usually make with butter, powdered sugar, Marshmallow Fluff, and vanilla extract.
Why are my whoopie pies flat?
Most likely it’s because your batter wasn’t thick enough. Whoopie pie batters need to be very stiff so they don’t spread too much in the oven.
Is whoopie pie a cake or cookie?
A whoopie pie is a cake. It’s like a single-serving mini cake or an inside-out cupcake. It might look like a cookie sandwich but the texture is definitely more cake-like.
You might also like:
- Easy Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
- No-Bake Chocolate Cream Pie
- Apple Oatmeal Whoopie Pies with PB Frosting
- Homemade Boston Cream Pie
Did you make this recipe? Please kindly leave a comment with your star rating below.
PrintChocolate Whoopie Pies
- Prep Time: 25 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 16 whoopie pies
- Category: dessert
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These incredible chocolate whoopie pies are made with two soft and fluffy chocolate cake rounds and a layer of creamy vanilla frosting sandwiched in between.
Ingredients
Batter
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup (114g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup (250ml) milk
Filling
- 1/2 cup (114g) unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups (500g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3–4 tbsp milk
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Gradually add in the milk, scraping the bottom of the bowl as needed. The batter might curdle, but don’t worry, it will come together when you add the dry ingredients.
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Slowly add dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
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Using a 1-oz cookie or ice cream scoop, drop the batter onto the prepared baking pan 2″ apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
Filling
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In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy. Add in the vanilla, one cup of powdered sugar, and one tbsp of milk. Mix well. Add the remaining powdered sugar, one cup at a time, alternating with 1 tbsp of milk at a time. Add in the last tbsp of milk if needed for the desired consistency.
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Transfer buttercream to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe the buttercream onto the flat side of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies.
Notes
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container lined with wax paper at room temperature for 2-3 days and in the fridge for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
To Freeze – Individually wrap the whoopie pies and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight on the counter before serving.
Recipe adapted from Women’s Day and Martha Stewart.
I tried this recipe, and it was absolutely phenomenal! This is the only recipe I could find that didn’t need marshmallow fluff for the filling! These pies turned out amazing! I 100% recommend. Will be trying this again.
I’m so glad to hear and thank you for your rave review!
This one got rave reviews from my friends. For one thing, the cake is lighter, I could tell that as I removed them from the cookie sheet. (I don’t eat white flour or sugar but bake a lot for friends). I have feeling the filling was much tastier than the recipe I used before since this was a simple buttercream filling. I will be saving this recipe!
Thank you for your kind words and I’m happy to hear you got rave reviews from your friends!
Came out amazing! The batter is almost mouse like, it reminds me of the taste of ice cream sandwich cookies. My only mistake was using a 1 inch scooper and the cookies ended up bigger than I wanted and some ran together, so watch the size of your scoops but they were amazing and held up great when added filling and decorating. I added M&Ms in the middle of the butter creme frosting I filled the cookies with and for some of them, I coated in a chocolate ganache. Cookies held up!! Will make again.
Thank you for your rave review, Mackenzie – much appreciated, and enjoy the whoopie pies!
should i have room temp milk or cold?
It can be straight from the fridge or room temp. Doesn’t matter for this recipe. I hope you enjoy the whoopie pies!
I was making whoopie pie and there was a power failure, how long can I leave them on the counter uncooked
Sorry for the late reply. I hope your power came back quickly and I hope the whoopie pies turned out ok. If that happens again, raw batter can be left out for 2 hours at the most, but I would cover and place in the fridge until the power returns to be safe (and bring it back to room temp if needed).
Where is the marshmallow recipe?
There is no marshmallow recipe. I used vanilla buttercream for the filling. If you’re looking for a marshmallow filling here’s a recipe for you: https://www.cookingclassy.com/whoopie-pies/
First time I’ve made whoopie pies, they came out great! Especially the buttercream filling. I didn’t want to fight with Fluff or make marshmallow. Glad I found this recipe!
Thank you for your kind words, Michael! I’m so happy you liked it:)
So easy but the best part is my husband LOVES them👍 Thx for sharing
You’re very welcome, JoAnne! So happy to hear your husband loves them:)
Can you use almond milk instead of regular milk?
Yes, you can and I hope you enjoy the whoopie pies!
I would like to use a cream cheese or peanut butter filling..Can u tell me how much too use as filling
Hi Mardi, if you’re looking for a cream cheese frosting or PB frosting, you can use the following recipes:
https://www.littlesweetbaker.com/banana-cake/ (cut the frosting recipe in half)
https://www.littlesweetbaker.com/apple-oatmeal-whoopie-pies-peanut-butter-frosting/
Enjoy and happy Saturday!
These are absolutely amazing. I made them with a marshmallow filling and they were gone in minutes. Will definitely make again.
Thank you for your kind words, Debbie! I’m so happy to hear you think they are amazing:)
Hey girl, these look wonderful…watched the video and I see you added sprinkles to the outside rim…did you chill them a little first or do the sprinkles right after sandwiching the 2 halves with buttercream? Thank you for your help!
Thank you! I rolled the sides in a small bowl of sprinkles right after I sandwiched them.
Thank you for your help, Lily!
Love how soft these are! I made them last year for Thanksgiving and am trying to make them Halloween themed for this year!
Thank you and send me a pic of how you decorate it for Halloween!
I just made a batch of these. I used 1 tablespoon measuring spoon as I did not have a scoop. They turned out a perfect size (like mini) for my 5 kids.. lol I also used margarine instead of butter for the cookies and the icing and both turned out great. I will post photos after as the cookies are still cooling.
I may have to make more cookies though as the kids keep sneaking them as they are cooling. My youngest said the frosting is yummy because I always let him have the beaters.
I’m so happy you and your kids are enjoying the whoopie pies:) Thank you for your lovely comment, Natasha!
I don’t know what i did wrong while making these, they taste good but they are much flatter than they are in the picture.
Though to say since I wasn’t there to see how you made them. Perhaps the butter was too soft or too much milk or not enough flour. It could also be due to weak or expired baking soda. Were they fluffy?
Mine also tasted good but did not look appealing. The batter was very sticky, I had to flatten them out half way through baking with the bottom of a measuring cup b/c they were not flattening out in the oven they looked like big puffs of chocolate dough. I don’t have a big bowl mixer so I had to use my little electric mixer. It seemed like they needed vegetable oil.
These turned out amazing! I just made them for a work holiday party. I added crushed candy canes into the buttercream frosting for fun. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Great idea adding the candy canes to the buttercream! You’re welcome and thank you for your kind words:)
I add marshmallow cream to the frosting. Just a suggestion!
That’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing:)
My mother made these when we were kids (that was in the 60’s)!! However, looking back on that recipe, and several others from that time period, which I still have in her recipe boxes, it was not uncommon to use canned shortening ( aka Crisco ) in many recipes, even in the frosting!!! UGH! While I have personally not used that product in my own adult life, for health reasons, among others, I have to admit that I do recall that it made the cream filling more fluffy and light, and quite frankly, seemingly yummy????? The filling recipe that you provide here is similar to a standard frosting that I have used on cupcakes, even adding a little cream cheese for chocolate cakes. It would be too heavy for what my idea of a traditional “whoopie pie” should be so that’s why I haven’t made them at home. I’ve purchased some at bakeries and am here to testify that even the most expensive whoopie pies are not created equal! The best ones have a filling that is creamy, not too heavy, not sickeningly sweet.
P>S I love your site!!!!
Hi Sheila,
I’m personally not a fan of eating raw shortening, that’s why I prefer buttercream. Thank you for your comment and have a great day!
I don’t know if you’ll get this, and I hope it isn’t bad of me to mention, but maybe you could try a buttercream that is more of a European version. Google easy buttercream frosting from sugar geek show. It is not as sweet and still fluffy. Or Lily might have a version here on this site.
I don’t, but that’s a great suggestion, Cynthia! Thank you for sharing:)
I baked these for my friend group and they loved them!
Great to hear and thank you for your review!
Can I use whipped cream for the filling?
Whipped cream is not as firm as buttercream, so when you bite into the whoopie pie the center will all squeeze out. I think it will be a bit messy to eat with a whipped cream filling.
Okay, thank you!
My son loves them with whipped cream but I like the frosting better as that is the original recipe that I grew up on lol