These chocolate whoopie pies are two chocolate cake cookies sandwiched together with a marshmallow cream frosting in the middle. They’re a classic dessert in New England, and are soft, sweet, and so delicious!
These soft and fluffy whoopie pies are filled with the most luscious marshmallowey frosting, you’ll love the cake sandwiches, and the frosting so much on their own, but together they’re a match made in heaven.
What is a whoopie pie?
Whoopie pies are like a handheld cake sandwich that is stuffed with a sweet filling or frosting. They look like a cookie sandwich, but are soft, fluffy, and moist, more like a cake. They started across New England, and are considered the official state treat of Maine.
I fell in love with them while we were in Maine, and got one or two almost every chance we could, trying a variety of flavors like pumpkin, oatmeal, blueberry, red velvet, and of course the classic chocolate.
Whoopie pies’ filling can be a variety of sweet fillings, such as vanilla buttercream, marshmallow filling, or cream cheese frosting.
I went with the marshmallow cream frosting for the filling on these whoopie pies. Some versions have a homemade marshmallow filling made with egg whites, but we went the easy way for these ones by using Marshmallow Creme you can buy from the store.
How to make Chocolate Whoopie Pies?
Preheat your oven and line a baking sheet (or two) with a nonstick liner, and set it aside.
In a large bowl, stir together your oil, brown sugar, and granulated sugar till nicely combined. Add in the eggs, vanilla extract and milk, and stir it all together.
In another bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk them together till there are no lumps.
Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture until combined.
Get some hot water from the sink and pour it into the mixture, and stir it until it’s all just combined.
Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop 12 cookies onto your prepared cookie sheet. Leave each of the batter balls a couple inches apart as they will spread as they cook in the oven.
Bake the pan in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the whoopie pies cool on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Repeat until all the batter is cooked into cookies.
How to make Marshmallow Cream Frosting?
In a large bowl (a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer) beat your butter until it’s nice and smooth. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt, until it’s all well combined. Mix for a couple minutes until it’s fluffy.
Add in the marshmallow creme and whip it together until just combined.
Then scoop the mixture into a ziplock or piping bag (or you can spread it with a spoon). Flip one cookie over and spread frosting onto the bottom of the cookie. Place a matching cookie on top, bottom side down, so both cookies have the rounded sides out.
I like to place the whoopies back on a cookie tray and chill for an hour, then enjoy, but you can eat them immediately as well.
Tips for the Best Chocolate Whoopie Pies:
- Don’t over mix the batter, just like a cake you want to mix the batter till just combined so the cookies bake up nice and fluffy.
- You can add 1/2 or 1 cup of mini chocolate chips to the cakey cookie batter to add a little extra chocolate to your cookie sandwiches.
- Use a 1 1/2 TBS cookie scoop to scoop the batter onto the cookie sheet. This keeps your hands clean since the batter is very sticky, and also helps to keep the “cookies” more uniform in their size.
- Match similar sized and shaped cookies to one another after they have baked and cooled off. That way the tops and bottoms of the cookies line up a bit better when sandwiches together.
- Put a ziplock bag over a large cup with a corner down into the cup and the edges of the bag hanging over the edges of the cup, then scoop the frosting into the bag. Snip off a portion of the corner of the bag, and squeeze the frosting out of the bag onto the cookies to frost them evenly without any piping supplies.
How do you store whoopie pies?
Store the whoopie pies in a single layer in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. They’re very soft, and a bit sticky, so it’s best to keep them in a single layer so they don’t get smashed, and not touching to keep the sides from sticking together. You can also wrap them individually in plastic wrap to keep them nicely packed.
The ingredients themselves don’t need to be kept in the fridge, but the filling will stay the most stable if you store it in the fridge, otherwise it might get soft and squish out the sides.
How to freeze chocolate whoopie pies?
You can freeze the whoopie pies for up to 3 months. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap, them stick a few in a freezer safe bag. Before enjoying the pies, thaw them in the fridge overnight.
These chocolate whoopie pies are so soft, sweet and delicious. Paired with their amazing marshmallow cream frosting, they’re such a delicious dessert!
MORE WHOOPIE PIE RECIPES:
- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
- S’mores Whoopie Pies on Eazy Peazy Mealz
- Funfetti Whoopie Pies on House of Nash Eats
- Red Velvet Whoopie Pies on Sally’s Baking Addiction
- Oatmeal Whoopie Pies on Berly’s Kitchen
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Chocolate Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Whoopie Pies
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup hot water (the hottest water from the sink is okay)
For the Marshmallow Filling
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups marshmallow fluff
- 1 dash salt
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
For the Chocolate Whoopie Pies
- Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner, and set aside.
- Combine the vegetable oil, brown sugar, and white sugar in a large bowl. Stir together to combine.
- Add in the egg, vanilla, and milk, and stir until just combined.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients while your stirring, until they are just combined.
- Add in the hot water and stir it into the batter until it is all combined.
- Carefully scoop the batter by the 1 1/2 TBS full onto the prepared baking sheet. Keep the batter balls about 2 inches apart, as they well spread while they bake.
- Bake the pan in the preheated oven until the "cookie" tops look set and a toothpick can be inserted and comes out clean. Between 9 and 11 minutes.
- Let the whoope pies cool on the baking pan for about 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Marshmallow Filling:
- Add the butter to a medium sized bowl, and beat it with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, until it's smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, and beat until the whole thing is smooth. Then continue to beat the frosting for another 2 to 3 minutes until it is fluffy.
- Add in the marshmallow creme and beat the mixture until it's just combined.
- Scoop the marshmallow frosting into a large ziplock bag or piping bag, and snip off the corner.
For Chocolate Whoopie Pie Assembly:
- Flip one of the cookies over to reveal the bottom and pipe the frosting smoothly over the bottom. You can also spread it with a knife, but the edges might not look as nice.
- Place a matching cookie on top of the frosting to make a sandwich, with the domed part of the cookie facing up.
- Place the frosted cookie sandwiches back onto the cookie sheet.
- Enjoy immediately, or place the pan in the fridge for 1 hour to help the frosting set (I prefer them a little chilled) then enjoy.
Nutrition
Halloween Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Whoopie Pies
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup hot water (the hottest water from the sink is okay)
For the Buttercream:
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
- 5-6 cups powdered sugar
- 3 TBS heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 dash salt
- 1 cup Halloween sprinkles
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
For the Chocolate Whoopie Pies
- Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner, and set aside.
- Combine the vegetable oil, brown sugar, and white sugar in a large bowl. Stir together to combine.
- Add in the egg, vanilla, and milk, and stir until just combined.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients while your stirring, until they are just combined.
- Add in the hot water and stir it into the batter until it is all combined.
- Carefully scoop the batter by the 1 1/2 TBS full onto the prepared baking sheet. Keep the batter balls about 2 inches apart, as they well spread while they bake.
- Bake the pan in the preheated oven until the "cookie" tops look set and a toothpick can be inserted and comes out clean. Between 9 and 11 minutes.
- Let the whoope pies cool on the baking pan for about 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Buttercream:
- Cream the butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl at slow speed until well blended.
- Add in the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt and beat on medium speed until mixed.
- Beat the frosting for 3 to 4 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- Add in 1 to 2 drops of orange (or yellow and red) food coloring and fold it into the frosting with a rubber spatula.
- Scoop the buttercream frosting into a large ziplock bag or piping bag, and snip off the corner.
For Chocolate Whoopie Pie Assembly:
- Flip one of the cookies over to reveal the bottom and pipe the frosting smoothly over the bottom. You can also spread it with a knife, but the edges might not look as nice.
- Place a matching cookie on top of the frosting to make a sandwich, with the domed part of the cookie facing up.
- Add the sprinkles to a shallow plate or bowl. Roll the edges of the frosting into the sprinkles.
- Place the frosted cookie sandwiches back onto the cookie sheet.
- Enjoy immediately, or place the pan in the fridge for 1 hour to help the frosting set (I prefer them a little chilled) then enjoy.
Lyn says
These look so good! What is the width of the baked whoopie pies?
Aimee says
They are about 3-4inches wide