Over the next year, I will be baking my way through the Whoopie Pies cookbook by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell. Just like Julie and Julia. Sort of. Except without the weird glazed duck recipes. And just whoopie pies. In every possible flavor combination. I have assembled a fab team of taste testers and they will provide reviews of the recipes. For more on Whoopie Pie Wednesday (WPW), click here.
After last's week rather unsavory savory Jalapeno Honeybun Whoopie Pie, I was so so so excited to return to baking whoopie pies the way they should be: sweet and delicious! And nothing is more sweet and delicious than the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. This week's whoopie pie was a chocolate chip cookie part with a peanut butter buttercream filling, known affectionately in the book as Chip 'n Dale.
Stating the obvious here but the batter for the cookies was exactly like making chocolate chip cookies.
I am not the biggest fan of chocolate chip cookies, primarily because of my noted dislike of semisweet chocolate. The only three cookies that I love are oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodle, and sugar with icing. And they have to be soft. Crispy cookies are ick. The chocolate chip cookies used in these whoopie pies were super soft and even I, noted hater of semisweet chocolate, liked them.
The recipe in the book technically called for using the Salty Peanut Butter filling but I did not color inside the lines and instead used my personal Peanut Butter Buttercream frosting recipe for the filling. Because, in my completely unbiased opinion, it is delicious.
And yes, that is my Pink Princess spatula hanging out in the frosting.
A cookie and a dollop.
Whoopie!!!!
I loved this whoopie pie. A lot. I normally only sample one so that I have enough for everyone. This week, suffice to say, I ate more than one. But the recipe actually made a lot so no one was deprived, I hope.
This was seventh whoopie pie in the Whoopie Pie Wednesday series and I can say with honestly NEVER have the samples been gobbled up as quickly as this week's pies were. I always bring a bag of extras into the office and they were gone almost seconds after I clicked send on the email announcing their presence.
But what did the Taster Testers think? Hint: Most of them agreed with me.
Yummy. A twist on an old favorite. A sandwich of chocolate chip cookies. Chippendale peanut butter filling. Instead of chipping my teeth on a cookie, they sink right into the cake, which manages not to fall into one big heap of crumbs. The strong chocolate melts in my mouth and lingers long after the peanut butter. Those chipmunks would be atwitter over this delicious dessert. All that's lacking is a tall glass of cold milk.
Rebecca’s Note: I too was a fan of the fact that these whoopie pies did not result in a crumbly mess. The texture of these cookies was amazing.
Liz
A few times in my life now I've been asked ever perplexing question "What do you think you'd crave most if you were pregnant?". After careful consideration and thought I almost always answer peanut butter... and sometimes chocolate and peanut butter. Well now, I can say that I'll also probably crave Rebecca's Chip 'n Dale Whoopie Pies. The peanut butter filling was amazing... (I'd like to request a jar of it) and it was perfectly balanced by the chocolate chips...
Thanks Rebecca, I hope that you'll be able to mail me a batch if I ever do get pregnant... I might go crazy if you don't.
Rebecca’s Note: Maybe my weekend job can be crafting pregnancy craving care packages.
Jacki (and family)
Oh my! These are by far my favorite. (so far :) ) Kim just came in the room - asked what he could do for me. I told him to give me his chip-n-dale. He said no way. I told him if he didn't eat it now, it was mine :) Kim's verdict: yummmmmm... dat good! yummmmm... She can just make those every week :)
I'll leave the creative reviews to others (like Carmen) and just say: these earn a major thumbs up from the Jonas clan!!
Rebecca’s Note: Yay! More sound effect reviews from Kim! I really think he has a future in them.
Shirin
First of all, I hate peanut butter and I hate peanuts. I can stomach a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every once in a while, but only if I put on a ton of jelly. Seriously, I used to tell people I was allergic to peanuts so I wouldn't have to go near them or smell them or be forced to eat them or anything. So, obviously I was wary of the packaging: chocolate chip with (gasp) peanut butter! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate is a definite weakness for me. But I was scared of the peanut butter, especially in my favorite part of the whoopie pie, the cream filling.
With all that said - can I have four more please? (but seriously, maybe the recipe to this one - or I might have to go out and buy the whole book to get this one recipe). DELICIOUS is the only word I can think of to describe this. Just the right amount of filling - thanks for filling it more!!!! The cookie part was soft and a little crumbly but not too much. Just a tad dry, but was covered up by the extra icing. The chocolate chips were a nice surprise in each bite :-).
And, the peanut butter fear - it must have something to do with the texture of the peanut butter and peanuts. Because I really loved the cream. It wasn't sticky and gooey like peanut butter, and it wasn't salty like a peanut. It was sweet and made the cookie taste even better. Plus, I really liked the combination of flavors between the chocolate chip bites with the peanut butter cream. All in all, I'd say this was my favorite so far! I definitely recommend highlighting this one and pulling it out at a holiday party or something like that! THANKS!!!
Rebecca’s Note: Let me know if you need the recipe around the holidays! And I definitely am trying to find the right amount of filling so that there is a substantial amount but not so much that it gets all over the packaging. I think I found that amount with this pie.
Whoopie Review.... If I liked chocolate, I would have really loved this whoopie pie. But I don't care too much for chocolate, and the chips were very chocolately. I tried to eat around them, but found it very difficult which probably scored major points with the chocolate lovers. The icing was great. And if the cake portion did not have the chocolate chips, the whoopie would have tasted like a peanut butter cookie, which I love. The cake was very moist. If I pretend like I like the chocolate for a minute, this would probably be one of the higher ranked whoopie pies.
Rebecca’s Note: Normally, Natalie and I agree on chocolate-y things. I wonder why my opinion of the chocolate was more favorable this week. I think I might still be traumatized by the awfulness that was the Jalapeno Honeybun.
Holy deliciousness Domestic Goddess! This week's Woopie Pie was exactly what I've been waiting for. It was a sweet and scrumptous treat and it just screamed "Katie dessert!" First of all, chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite. Secondly, I LOVE peanut butter. As you can probably imagine, I was very excited to try this week's WP and I was right to be so excited. I went about my usual routine and found that the cream was a bit tough to lick because it had hardened around the edges, but I eventually got it and was hit by a slightly sweet peanut butter flavor. I then took a nibble of the cookie portion and it was definitely one of the best chocolate chip cookies I've tasted in a long time. The cookie was soft yet slightly crumbly. It was sweet without tasting artificial (which is how I think the Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies taste). And the chocolate chips were phenomenal! They were big and and the chocolate was just the right balance of bitter and sweet. And then I took a bite of the whole thing together and it was everything I wanted it to be and more. I liked it so much that I didn't want it to end so I started taking smaller bites to make it last longer. There's a reason that Reeses Peanut Butter Cups have done so well and this reminded me of a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup without having to get messy chocolate smudges on my hands. The peanut butter (butter cream I presume) was perfectly balanced with the choclate chicp cookies. There was enough to have cream with every bite without there being too much cream. And the cookies were the right consistency that they didn't smoosh down the cream when you took a bite. This WP was perfection. :0)
Rebecca’s Note: I think, though I cannot confirm, that there is a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup-esque pie in the book. If not, I will see that one is created.
Dessert is back! And it's named after everyone's favorite Rescue Rangers. The peanut butter cream was fantastic, and the chocolate chip cookies were also really good. Some other reviewers might vehemently disagree, but given the relatively small size of the cookies, I thought the chips were a little too big. I couldn’t taste the cookie; it was all chips. While absolutely delicious, this week’s whoopie pies were a little too rich for me. One was enough to satisfy any sweet tooth.
Rebecca’s Note: The recipe actually called for mini-chips. I had a bag of full-sized chips. I really could not justify buying a bag of mini-chips (which rarely come in the cheaper, store brand versions) so I used the full-sized chips.
This is hands down my favorite whoopie pie so far! Firstly, the chocolate chip cake part was great! Perfect texture for a whoopie pie cookie! Not too dry, but dry enough to support the icing in the middle! The peanut butter buttercream icing was awesome! It wasn't too too heavy/sticky like peanut butter...but had a good strong peanut butter taste! The icing held up well in the pie as well...the viscosity really helped it stay in the pie and not overflowing out when you held it! And there was a great cookie/icing ratio this week. I loved this pie! The only reason its not a perfect 10 is because I have a feeling if it was just chocolate cake (of this exact texture) and the peanut butter icing...I would be in heaven. Chip N Dale: 9.9
Rebecca’s Note: And Laura wins Review of the Week by working the word 'viscosity' into her review. Well done.
Ron Mexico
"The Elvis" has left the building. That's correct - there is a new whoopie pie champion and it was not even a contest. The chip n dale was simply amazing. There is nothing more to be said.
Rebecca’s Note: Rough week for Elvis. First the anniversary of his death and now his whoopie pie being supplanted by Chip 'n Dale.
Whoopie Pie Wednesday will be back again next week. Yep, I have broken the every other week cycle into an every week cycle for a little bit. I have a few vacations coming up and National Cupcake Week and I need to squeeze some extra whoopie pies in.
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