Zucchini Whoopie Pies: My Own Creation!

I really love my new whoopie pie pan! I mean, don't get me wrong. I love a good, misshapen, free-form whoopie pie as much as the next gal. But come on, how cute are they when they're made in these perfect little circles, complete with puffy middles and nice, symmetrical sides? Thank you, Williams-Sonoma, for my new toy!

So once I had gotten my whoopie pie pan broken in by making some muffin tops in it, I decided that I should probably make actual whoopie pies in them next. I mean, that is the pan's intended purpose, right? And I still had so much zucchini on my windowsill, staring at me every day. The answer was obvious: make zucchini whoopie pies!

A quick Google search yielded plenty of options for me. Who knew there were so many variations on the zucchini whoopie pie, let alone two or three? I found endless possibilities, and based on what I found, I decided to just make up my own recipe! I couldn't find any variations that contained chocolate, and I really wanted to do a batch of regular and a batch of chocolate. I played around with ingredients and came up with what I think is a great whoopie pie. Two, actually.

For the first one, the regular zucchini whoopie, I found that I could make the cake/cookie part more delicate and cakelike by using cake flour as well as some all-purpose flour. In the past, I have found that whoopie pies can become rubbery after a day, and I'd much rather they retain that light, nearly crumbly texture I've come to expect in a whoopie. I used a nice combination of warm spices to flavor the cookies, and cut down on the amount of buttermilk I used. I figured that the excess moisture from the grated zucchini would make up for it.

The chocolate whoopie, in my opinion, turned out even more delicious than the regular variety. I used some Dutch process cocoa powder, some espresso powder, and then all the ingredients I had used in the regulars, albeit in different proportions. These turned out incredibly moist, super chocolatey, and almost too decadent to call them zucchini whoopie pies. After all, the word "zucchini" implies healthy. Nutritious, even. But these little babies definitely taste like dessert. A yummy, naughty dessert.

To fill all the pies, I made an orange-flavored cream cheese frosting. Oh, was this good! It doesn't require that much orange juice to make the citrusy flavor really come through. It offset the spicy outer shells so well; total yum. I'm still shocked that I was able to come up with something so delicious, all on my own! There's hope for me yet with this baking stuff, I think!

Zucchini Whoopie Pies

created by Bri

makes 12-15 whoopie pies

Ingredients

1 cup cake flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 egg

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 cups finely grated zucchini, squeezed to release excess moisture

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together both flours, the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking soda in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and shortening until well-combined. Add the brown sugar and mix on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in vanilla and egg; mix until fully incorporated.

3. Turn the mixer down to low. In two separate additions, add in the dry ingredients, adding in the buttermilk in between the two additions. With a rubber spatula, fold in the zucchini and the walnuts, if using.

4. Using a whoopie pie pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, drop tablespoon-sized dollops of the batter 1-2 inches apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes, rotating the pan and switching it from the bottom to the upper rack halfway through baking.

5. Allow to cool on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. To fill, pipe desired amount of Orange Cream Cheese Frosting onto one whoopie pie shell (recipe for frosting follows). Sandwich a second whoopie pie shell on top to complete your whoopie.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

8 oz. (one package) cream cheese, cold, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups (or maybe more) confectioners' sugar, measured and then sifted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. fresh orange juice

Directions

1. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until fully incorporated. About 1/3 at a time, add in the confectioners' sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Make sure each 1/3 is completely mixed in before adding the next. Once combined, mix in the vanilla extract and orange juice, just until it is all mixed in. Do not overbeat.

Chocolate Zucchini Whoopie Pies:

Ingredients

1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa

3/4 cup cake flour

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. espresso powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 cups finely grated zucchini, squeeze to remove excess moisture

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, chopped

Directions

1. Make whoopie pies according to the above directions for the regular whoopie pies. The only difference: add in the cocoa and the espresso powder with the other dry ingredients. Then proceed as directed above. Sandwich with the Orange Cream Cheese Frosting and enjoy!