Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies with Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting

It remains to be seen if whoopie pies will take the crown from cupcakes as queen of the portable sugary snacking device, but these guys might give them a run for their money.

The cakes are dense and moist, and the filing, ohhh the filling!  Food trends are slightly different than clothing trends, in that most of them last longer than that Day-Glo outfit you couldn’t live without in the 80s, and most have legit reasons for finding their way into our cultural gastronomical stream of consciousness.  Bacon, food trucks, farm fresh, Sriracha, these things have staying power, because they are fantastic!  Nutella sits easily, and firmly on this list.

If you’ve never sat down with a jar of Nutella and a spoon, and gorged on hazelnut… you’re missing out.  If you realize that gluttony is not really your style, try your hand at it in small doses… how bout frosting?

Some notes – I love my whoopie pie pan, and you will too!  Don’t let the cream cheese get too soft or warm, it will cause the frosting to be too thin and harder to manage.  These things have a shelf life of eternity, well not quite eternity, but a week and a half after making, I was still enjoying them, and they were just as delicious.

Whoopie Pies: adapted from Whoopie Pies

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour

1 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

4 tbl vegetable shortening

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1 c creamy peanut butter

1 t vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.  Spray whoopie pie pan with baking spray.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, shortening, brown sugar, peanut butter and vanilla until light and creamy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl between additions.

Add 1/2 of the flour mixture, beating on medium speed, just until combined.  Stop the mixer and 1/2 of the buttermilk.  Beat on medium speed until combined.  Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and buttermilk, beating until thoroughly combined and scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Drop about 2 tablespoons of batter into each pie cavity.  Bake about 16 minutes, until the cakes begin to brown at the edges and are firm to the touch.  Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, close to room temperature

2 tbl unsalted butter, room temperature

1 c powdered sugar, sifted

3/4 c Nutella

1 t vanilla extract

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and combine.  Add Nutella and vanilla and mix until completely incorporated.  Don’t over-mix!

Spread on the pies and enjoy!