Whoopie! It's Monday!!!

Like every other office in America, my office did a little NCAA bracket challenge. Except to keep it legal and everything (and because I am a rule follower), no money is ever exchanged and the spirit of it is pure fun. Instead, the winner gets to pick the baked good of his or her choice and I will make it for the entire office. This year we had some of our office alumni participate in the challenge and naturally, one of them, former Co-op Boy Kevin, won. So while the logistics of getting the baked good of his choice (something of a "chocolate peanut butter" combination) shipped to Kansas are being worked out, I let the "still employed in the office" winner, Deanna, pick her favorite baked good. And her choice was....Whoopie Pies! (Or Gobs, for the Pittsburgh folk, I guess...or at least that's what my boss calls them.)

I have never made Whoopie Pies but I have watched my mom and my sister Sue make them. And I was up for the challenge. And I kind of overachieved, maybe just a little. You see, I started googling away for Whoopie Pie recipes and I discovered all of these variations on a Whoopie Pie theme. So it became more of a Whoopie Pie Buffet.

First, we had the Original Whoopie Pie. I have been told by the Whoopie Pie Connoisseurs in my office that the texture of the cookie portion should be sticky. My cookie portion were not sticky. But I refuse to use shortening in anything ever. So that may be the reason. And I am okay with that. The stuff just scares me.

Next up was the Reverse Whoopie Pie where the flavors switch places: chocolate creamy filling between two vanilla cookies. I threw some chocolate chips in some just for fun. And the Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pie. (I used the same chocolate cookie recipe as in the Original but used the peanut butter filling recipe from here.)

Then, to get a little fruit in the mix, I used a tip from Rock Recipes and added some freeze dried strawberries to the Original filling mix and smeared it on two vanilla cookies for a Strawberry Whoopie Pie.

And finally, the reason for the sugar high I have been living on for the past few days: the Pumpkin Whoopie Pie. OMG, I can and will eat anything with pumpkin in it. Add some cream cheese icing, and well, farewell to my toned abs. LOL! I may have to double up on my Pilates classes this week to make up for my Pumpkin Whoopie Pie consumption.

I think the Whoopie Pie Buffet was a huge hit! And I think I am getting really good at baking. Because I made all of these in under three hours. I have focused on planning the baking process and having something to work on while waiting for something else to get done. It is so much more efficient.