[Cookie 074] Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

You guys. It's almost summer.

Okay, maybe I'm jumping the gun a little bit (especially for those of you living in the other hemisphere), but I am still getting all giddy just thinking about the lovely smells, sights, and activities that come with the warmer weather. I only have TWO, count 'em two, more weeks until I am literally halfway done with my college education--but instead of thinking about that horribly scary notion, I pacify myself by forming mental to-do lists for the coming summer months. And it works, evidently, because I seem to have lulled myself into a false feeling of everlasting security when it comes to being entirely financially dependent on my parents! Right on! Graduating and getting a job in the real world? Hell, that's eons from now! Bring on 3 months of unemployed summer lethargy!

Yes, it's true, I am jobless for the entire summer. Well, that might not be entirely true, but until I've officially worked out some way to bring in the greenbacks, I'll be spending my days waking up early, enjoying homemade bread and homemade marmalade on the back porch for breakfast, and idling away my afternoons playing old country music records and printing black and white photos in my darkroom. God, that sounds way too good to be true.

Whoa, wait, where am I?? Cookies, right?? And where are my manners?! These are BIRTHDAY cookies for none other than my good friend D. Funny story: She likes Frank Sinatra--don't we all--but she, unlike most other people our age, genuinely refers to the act of having sex as "makin' whoopie." Naturally, when I saw this recipe, I immediately scrawled her name across the top so I would remember to make them in her honor. Done and done.

And they are very good. The individual cookies were actually too thick and bulky and I wished they had flattened out a bit just so the whoopie sandwiches would be a little easier to eat, but they were still tasty. And the peanut butter filling is to die for. Seriously, peanut butter + regular butter + powdered sugar + salt = just as good as makin' whoopie. There, I said it.

So I suggest you make these now, because once summer proper rolls around, I don't think you'll be in the mood for a cookie this heavy and rich. Southern-hemispherers, you can take your time--you're in it for the long haul now.

One small word of advice: if you're cookies end up as thick as mine, use a lot of filling. Otherwise the chocolate cookie obscures the flavor of the peanut butter filling and completely soaks up all the saliva in your mouth, leaving it dry, sticky, and chocolatey (in a bad way). Fortunately, this can be easily remedied with Milk: our Lord and Savior.

Also, I made a god awful mess making these guys. Let me just say: Avoid using a handheld electronic mixer in a bowl filled with nothing but cold butter and sugar. It was like Iceland in my kitchen. (...too soon?)

So, anyway, what are you all doing for summer/winter? Goin' anywhere fancy? Making anything? Learning anything? Makin' Whoopie Pies? Makin' Whoopie? Let me know! (Except for the latter--you can keep that between you and Old Blue Eyes).

Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

Makes about 4 dozen (I halved the recipe, and still ended up with way too many)

Ingredients

• For the Cookies:
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, not Dutch-process
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• For the Filling:
• 2/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• Coarse salt, optional

Directions

1. Make cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl; set aside.
2. Put butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.
3. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.
4. Make filling: Put peanut butter and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add confectioners' sugar; mix until combined. Raise speed to high, and mix until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Season with salt, if desired.
5. Assemble cookies: Spread 1 scant tablespoon filling on the bottom of 1 cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling. Cookies can be refrigerated in single layers in airtight containers up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

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{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 2/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5
Tastiness: 4/5
Attractiveness: 3.5/5
Is it worth it?: Yes, I do believe it is.

{Pairings}
Drink: Milk--nothing else will suffice.

Song: Makin' Whoopee -- Ray Charles (sorry but I'll take Ray over Frank ANY day...this version is the best)
Activity: Sexual innuendos aside, I'd say these cookies are great to enjoy with platonic friends as well.