Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Fluffy Mint Frosting

Hello, it’s Faith from An Edible Mosaic!  Brandy and I are absolutely thrilled that our favorite time of the year is upon us again…and we can’t wait to see some of your favorite recipes for this time of year!  I love chocolate and mint together but for some reason I always think of it as a holiday combination, so I don’t really eat it any other time of the year (except in mint chocolate chip ice cream, which is of course delicious year round!). 

I usually make chocolate mint brownies at least once during the holiday season, but this year I decided to switch it up a little and make whoopie pies instead.  Whoopie pies are essentially cakes in cookie form, so to make mine I just adjusted my mom’s recipe for chocolate cake.  I had some Fluff in the pantry, which made a fast and delicious frosting.  (Just be warned that the frosting was quite sweet…if you prefer a less sweet frosting and you have the time to make a homemade mint flavored Swiss meringue buttercream, I think that would also be fantastic.)  I brought these to a holiday gathering and they were a huge hit with kids and adults alike.  They’re sure to satisfy your holiday sweet tooth!Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Fluffy Mint Frosting

(Yield:  13-14 whoopie pies)

Chocolate Whoopie Pies:

2 c all-purpose flour

1 c sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c cocoa powder

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp distilled white vinegar

1/2 c canola oil

1/2 c plus 2 TB cold water

Fluffy Mint Frosting:

6 TB unsalted butter, at room temperature

Pinch salt

1/2 to 1 tsp pure peppermint extract (depending on how strong you like it)

A few drops of green food coloring

6 oz powdered (confectioner’s) sugar (about 1 1/2 c)

1 1/2 c Marshmallow Fluff

Preheat oven to 350F; line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.  Make 3 wells in the mixture and to each separate well add the vanilla, vinegar, and oil.  Use a wooden spoon to stir together, then stir in the water.  (Batter will be thick and sticky.)  Drop slightly heaping tablespoonfuls of batter (this is easiest to do using a 1 1/2 TB ice cream scoop) onto prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie.  Bake 10-12 minutes (exactly 11 minutes was spot-on for my oven), rotating pans once about halfway through.  Let cookies cool slightly on the trays, then use a spatula to gently transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. 

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter until light and creamy; mix in salt, peppermint extract, and a few drops green food coloring (to reach your desired shade of green).  Gradually beat in powdered sugar, then beat in fluff. 

To make whoopie pies, once cookies are cool, pipe or spoon some frosting onto the bottom of half the cookies, then top with the remaining cookies to form sandwiches.

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