Anyways, I've been very, VERY, busy this week, it's not even funny. It's my last call week for 2011, and it has been insane. Not only busy for me, but also for Mr. Pillow. His family is in town from Indonesia, and I've finally had the pleasure to meet his mum. It went well (I was nervous as heck). I haven't been spending much time with my love but it's ok, I rather have him spend time with his family (according to him, this is the first time in 11 years he reunited with his mum & sister all together). This Christmas weekend they're spending time bonding at Las Vegas (I'm jealous. If only I was not on call, I would go). So before they left, he insisted to meet up with me to give me my Christmas gift from him. And I went giddy when I saw that infamous Tiffany blue bag in his hand. Weeeeee... He gave me this...
It's sooo pretty :) I would say this is the most expensive gift I've ever received from a person. Gotta love my man.
So while everybody is getting busy preparing for tomorrow's festivities, I'm spending my Christmas Eve by myself (and Chimmy). Opening my fridge I found left-overs of my Cream Cheese Custard Frosting, so I had the mood of baking. But this time, I decided to go whoop whoop and made Whoopie Pies. I haven't made these in awhile, so I busted out my new KitchenAid hand mixer and got busy.
I recommend the Whoopie Pie book by Sarah Billingsley & Amy Treadwell. The book is very fun and cute and makes you want to eat each pages.
I decided to make Mocha Whoopie Pies, in honor of my new Keurig (thanks to my brother, Austin, and his gf, Kat). The pies were so fluffy, I ate 3 (guilty as charge). Here I will give you the recipe, adapted from the book. As for fillings, you can use any fillings you want. From buttercream to marshmallow fillings, go ahead and whip your own (or if you are lazy, you can even use those store-bought frostings, but what's the fun in that?)
Mocha Whoopie
adapted from Whoopie Pie book
What you need:
- a mixer, of course
- 3 tbsp of instant espresso powder or instant coffee
- 2 tbsp of water
- 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature please
- 4 tbsp vegetable shortening
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar (LOVE it)
- 1 large egg, room temperature too please
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (thanks to my friend, Chuckles, I use the oh so great Mexican Vanilla)
- 1 cup of milk (on this particular case, I used condensed milk with water, since that's the only milk I have around ahaha)
Position the rack of your oven in the center and preheat your oven to 375F. Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with parchment paper (if you use wax paper, it's fine, but it gives you a weird smell around your kitchen when you bake. Or maybe it's just me).
In a ramekin or mini bowl, mix the espresso with water. Let it hang out and set to the side, mkay.
Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda & salt in a bowl and set a side.
Since I was using my hand mixer, I use the whip attachment. In a large bowl, whip the butter, shortening, and brown sugar on low speed until just combined. Bump up the speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes. It should be fluffy and smooth (it's so FLUFFY!) Now add them egg and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes.
Now, add half of the flour and half of the milk to the sugary butter mix and beat on low speed until incorporated. Grab a spatula and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the espresso water mix and the rest of the flour and milk and beat until completely combined. By this time you are tempted to put a finger in and lick it off. a;lskdjfaYUM;alskjfals.
I used a cookie scooper and drop a scoop of batter onto my baking sheet and repeat. I usually have 12 scoops per sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for 10 minutes. You will see the whoopies puff up and you will get excited. Remove the baking sheet from oven and let them cool on the sheet for another 5 minutes then you can transfer them to a rack until they cool completely.
When the whoopies are all cool down and ready to go, grab your cream/frosting and start spreading them on one and stack another one on top of the cream, creating what I call a sinful sandwich.
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| pac man |
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| tower of terror |
You will get approx. 23 - 24 whoopie pies and it's a great snack on a cold day (and very dangerous for them hips). Oh and they are pretty moist and it can stick on top each other if you stack them up, but like the book said, it's part of the beauty of whoopie pies.
So I hope all you have a great Holiday Season! Stay warm!
moonbeams and bunny kisses,
Rima
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