S'more Whoopies

After seeing a huge display in the grocery store for graham crackers and hershey chocolate - yum, I was in the mood for some s'mores. I guess since it's summer time the thing to do is go camping and eat s'mores. Since I can't go camping I figured I would just skip ahead to the s'more part.

I tried to think of fun ways to jazz up a normal s'more cause that would make for a pretty boring blog post. While scanning one of my favorite stores Paper Source the other day I ran across the "Whoopie Pies" cookbook - an entire cookbook on whoopie pies, why didn't I think of that?!? I was oddly drawn to the page with the s'more whoopie pie recipe... strange, I know :-)

I have made a few whoopie pies in the past, including my yummy lemon oatmeal whoopies which are great, but most of my whoopies have more of a nontraditional cookie texture rather then a cake texture. Since I hadn't tried a cake like recipe I thought it might be good to start here. These are insanely good, but I should warn you that they do take a little time, not quite as easy as baking a batch of cookies. I suggest preparing your chocolate ganache first and setting it aside while you make your whoopies and the marshmallow filling, that way you can be most efficient with your time. Also, they stick together since they are so moist which is good for taste but bad for storage. If you don't eat them all an once ;-) then place a piece of parchment in between each layer when you stack them in your storage container. I promise if you take the time to try this recipe you will not be disappointed! Give me s'more whoopies!

Start with your chocolate ganache - here is the cream right after I poured it over the chocolate chips.

This is the smooth ganache once all the cream and chocolate have melted together, yum!

Flour mixture

Sugar mixture

eggs and buttermilk

finished batter

I used a pastry bag with a extra large tip to make my circles, but use whatever you have handy, and make sure they are at least 2 inches apart so they don't bake into each other.

marshmallow cream mixture

I made sure I was organized so it wouldn't be chaos when I it came time to assemble

Graham Cracker Whoopie

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c graham flour - if you can't find this then use wheat flour
• 3/4 c all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter and room temperature
• 4 tbsp vegetable shortening
• 1 c packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Place rack in the center of the oven and prehead to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together both flours, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a stand mixer (if you have one) fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter, shortening, and brown sugar until light and cream, about 3 min. Add eggs and buttermilk and beat until combined.
4. In a measuring cup, combine milk, baking soda, and vinegar. Add this mixture slowly to the batter along with the flour mixture and beat on low speed until completely combined.
5. Using a spoon or put your batter into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip or even a ziplock with the tip cut off would work, drop about 1 tablespoon of batter onto your baking sheet, repeat spacing them at least 2 inches apart.
6. Bake for about 10 min until the cakes begin to brown.
7. Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for 3-5 min before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Otherwise they are likely to break if you try and move them when they are too warm.
8. Spread with marshmallow cream and chocolate ganache, but if you are in a hurry a dollop of marshmallow fluff and a square of chocolate would work fine also.

Makes about 40 two-inch cakes, about 20 assembled whoopie pies.

For the Marshmallow Cream!!

• 1 1/2 c marshmallow fluff, this is about 1 full normal sized jar
• 1 1/4 c vegetable shortening
• 1 c confectioner's sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1. In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitter with the paddle beat together marshmallow fluff and shortening, starting on low and increasing to medium speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, about 3 min.
2. Reduce mixer speed to low, add confectioner's sugar and vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Increase mixture speed to medium and beat until fluffy.

Chocolate Ganache - this is the easiest chocolate ganache ever!

• 11 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Place your chocolate in a large, heat proof bowl.
2. Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat just until in bubbles.
3. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate in the bowl and let it sit for about 10 minutes, until the chocolate is melted. Stir with a whisk until smooth.
4. Allow the mixture to rest until firm enough to spread, about 2 hours. Or you can refrigerate it for about 30 min until it is firm enough to spread, shirting every 10 min.