rainbow whoopie pies.

Whoopie pies. Say it with me…’whoopie pies!’ I just love the sound of the name. When I first heard about them last year, I just HAD to find out what they were and how to make them. It was just perfect timing that this was the same week that the Donna Hay Kids Magazine was released, and guess what recipe was in there?! Rainbow whoopie pies! I think adding ‘rainbow’ to the name makes them sound that bit more magical and intriguing.

Now, this might be the teacher coming out in me, but I like to know things about things. So I looked up Whoopie Pies on Wikipedia (yup, my first source for information!…well unless I am writing an assignment, then that is a no-no!), and found out that it is thought that the original Whoopie Pies were first made from cake batter leftovers. Cake batter leftovers?! What are they? Not sure I have ever had cake batter left overs. If there is anything ever left in the bowl, it usually disappears very quickly! But whoever had these leftovers and came up with this idea…I deeply thank you!

So, what’s with the whole ‘whoopie’ thing? Wiki also informs me that food historians believe that Amish women used to bake these sweet treats and put them in farmers’ lunchboxes. When the farmers opened their lunchboxes and saw what is inside, they would shout out ‘whoopie!’. Well, I must say I find explanation completely believeable…I’m thinking I would do the same thing! (perhaps not ‘whoopie!’ exactly, but something along those lines…). Whoopie pies are a soft, cake-like biscuit that crumbles in your mouth, and with the addition of pink marshmallow frosting, I can never pass one up.

Rainbow Whoopie Pies
Recipe from Donna Hay Magazine, Kids Issue, Annual 8 2011

250g unsalted butter, softened
1 C brown sugar
3/4 C caster sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 C plain flour, sifted
1/2 C cocoa, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
Coloured sprinkles, to decorate

For the pink marshmallow frosting
150g pink marshmallows
30g butter
60g white chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat oven 150 degrees Celsius.
2. Place the butter, brown sugar and caster sugar in a large bowl and beat until pale and creamy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until combined.
4. Add the flour, cocoa and baking powder and mix until combined with a wooden spoon.
5. Roll teaspoons full of the mixture into balls and place on baking trays lined with baking paper, allowing room to spread. The dough is very sticky, so use damp hands when rolling into balls.
6. Flatten slightly and bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden.
7. Cool on wire racks.
8. To make the pink marshmallow frosting, place the marshmallows and butter in a saucepan over low heat and stir continuously until smooth. Remove from heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Allow to cool completely.
9. Spread half the biscuits with the frosting and sandwich with remaining biscuits. Roll the sides of the whoopie pies in the sprinkles.

Recipe yields approximately 24 whoopie pies.

If you haven’t tried Whoopie Pies before, you should definitely pop them on your baking to-do list! If baking them from scratch scares you a little, there are plenty of great packet mixes out there too. They won’t disappoint!