A fun and delicious recipe for chocolate chip whoopie pies, with sweet marshmallow filling sandwiched between soft cakes.
When my daughter turned six, her grandmother offered to make her cake and starting quizzing her about what she wanted. She said she wanted the sandwich cookies with the colored filling. Her grandmother agreed and said “okay great, that’s easy.” And on her birthday, she arrived with a bag of Oreos with yellow filling for spring.
But alas, what she wanted were these homemade delicacies. So the next time a little one in your life asks for something a little different for their birthday, give these a try. And if you put these on a platter at a party, be prepared for your guests to get excited.
What exactly are whoopie pies?
Whoopie pies look like sandwich cookies, but they are really cakes filled with marshmallow cream filling. My kids always get excited about them for some reason, probably something to do with the fact that they are sandwiches and that marshmallow filling is involved.
(If you’re interested in the history of Whoopie Pies, the Farmer’s Almanac has a good article. Many states claim that they invented them, but Maine seems to have the most convincing argument.)
The cakes are sweet, and the filling is very sweet, but that is how they are supposed to be! They are a kid-friendly dessert to serve. If you make both of the components ahead of time, it is also fun to have the kids help assemble them.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- They just feel special: When a cookie and a cupcake seem too boring, this is what you should make
- Easy to make: If you can make a cake and frosting, you can make these
- They’re delicious! Soft, sweet, and amazing
What you need for whoopie pies:
What you’ll need
- unsalted butter
- light brown sugar
- egg
- vanilla
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- salt
- milk
- chocolate chips
- powdered sugar
- marshmallow cream (such as Marshmallow fluff: this is usually in the baking aisle near the actual marshmallows or near the peanut butter)
You will definitely want parchment paper to line your baking sheet because the cakes are sticky and will be hard to remove from the baking sheet otherwise.
They are about as time-consuming as making cupcakes from scratch since you are basically making small cakes and frosting. They are just assembled a bit differently.
This recipe makes six large sandwiches, but you could always reduce the size of them and have more.
Step by step chocolate chip whoopie pies:
We begin by making the cakes, which are best done in a stand mixer because the butter and sugar need to be creamed. I did them with a hand mixer for the purposes of showing you the steps, but a stand mixer would have been better! Add the egg and vanilla.
Next, we mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add them to the butter mixture alternately with the milk.
The finished batter will look somewhere in between cake and cookie batter.
Scoop the batter onto parchment-lined baking sheets. You can use a large cookie scoop, or just scoop out 3 tablespoons and eyeball the rest.
Bake until the cakes are set but still soft, about 15 minutes.
While they are cooling, we begin working on the filling. It is made like a buttercream with marshmallow fluff added at the end.
Make sure the cakes have cooled completely before you assemble. Do a test one first, and if the filling is too soft, put it in the fridge for a few minutes. Once you assemble them, it’s best to either serve them immediately or refrigerate them so they hold their shape well.
Essential baking tools:
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- Parchment paper that lays flat will save you lots aggravation in the long run
- A large cookie scoop is useful for the cakes, as well as muffins and cupcakes
- A nice big piping bag comes in handy if you want to get fancy and pipe the filling.
Here’s the recipe and the video!
Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
The cakes:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
For the filling:
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow fluff brand
Instructions
To make the cakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with two racks, in the upper middle and lower middle positions. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Beat the butter and sugar in a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, or about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla and scrape down the side of the bowl.
- Combine the flour, salt, and baking bowl in a large bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand or on the lowest mixer speed.
- Scoop 3 tablespoons of batter onto baking sheets. (Meeasure out the first one and then eyeballl the rest.) Space them 2 inches apart in all directions. There should now be 16 cakes. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, switching the baking sheets halfway through. When fully baked, a cake tester will come out clean but the cakes will still be soft. Remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
To make the filling
- Beat the powdered sugar and butter together until light and fluffy using a stand mixer on medium speed. Add the salt and vanilla. Add the marshmallow cream and beat until fully combined.
To Assemble
- Spread 1/4 cup of filling onto the flat side of half of the cakes. Place the remaining cakes on top to make a sandwich. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
Notes
Nutrition
More kid friendly treats:
- Sugar cookies are fun to decorate with kids and this cut out sugar cookie recipe is delicious.
- Chocolate cupcakes with a creamy vanilla filling are a little more portable but still fun to make and eat.
- Any of these delicious birthday cakes will go over well with a crowd.
- Strawberry whoopie pies are a springtime classic.
Question: for the smaller whoopie pies – how much bake time please? I would like to make the smaller version as a decoration on a cake I am making!
super cute idea! 🙂 i’d check at 12 minutes, might be a bit longer.
The cake part is great! However the frosting is far too buttery for me. I will substitute for an alternative buttercream or shortening frosting next time.
How do you get the cakes to be fluffy? Mine keep turning out so flat!
Hi Amber! Try adding a tad more flour to the batter. Then scoop them out and chill them before you bake. Also make sure your butter is soft but NOT melted. 🙂
Can I use buttercream filling?
yes!
One of my good friends birthday was coming up and when I asked what her favorite cookie was she told me “chocolate chip”. I couldn’t just make boring chocolate chip cookies so I went on a quest to find a more interesting version and found this cookie. I am so glad I did!!!! Not only did they turn out wonderfully but the directions were spot on. My only note would be that the filling was a little sweet for my taste, maybe adding a hint of cream cheese? Not sure. Either way this will be a recipe I will be making again and again!
glad you liked the recipe Allison! I agree the filling is definitely sweet! 🙂