Adventures in Taste

I made these last year as part of a tasty good basket for everyone in our family (and believe you me, that is a lot of people). These Whoopee Pies were by far the most wide spread favorites. Even my 85 year old grandmother who is quite an amazing baker herself called to tell me how great they were! I thought for sure she'd have enjoyed the Kourambiedes the best - but in all reality, who doesn't love Whoopee Pies? Even saying the word whoopee is fun.

Whoopee Pies - makes just about 18

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin (the recipe called for using parchment on a cookie sheet, I found that using a muffin tin helped keep the cookies more uniform in size and shape. )

Put 2 oz unsweetened (I use the highest quality stuff I can find to ensure super tastiness - Even the really good stuff goes on sale sometimes!) and 4 oz semisweet chocolate, both chopped and 1/2 c. (that's 1 stick) butter(unsalted of course, but is there anything else in baking?) in a medium microwave-safe bowl; heat at 75 percent power until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir, and continue to microwave until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. (Alternatively, put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching the water, and stir occasionally until melted and smooth, we know how I feel about cleaning dishes so I often go with the least dirty option)

Whisk:
1 c sugar, 3 large eggs and 1 t. pure vanilla extract into the chocolate mixture until smooth.

Sift:
1 c. AP flour, 1/4 c. natural cocoa powder, 1/2 t. baking powder and 1/2 t. fine salt into another bowl. Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until moistened. Switch to a rubber spatula and finish folding the batter together; take care not to over-mix.

Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to drop a heaping tablespoon of batter onto the prepared pan. Repeat to make 36 cookies (spacing them about 1-inch apart if not using muffin tin) Bake until the cookies spring back when lightly touched, about 6 minutes.

Cool the cookies slightly. Transfer half of the cookies to a rack. Turn the remaining cookies on the pan over, so they lay flat side up. Place a marshmallow on top of each flipped cookie (that's 18 marshmallows folks, and the big ones, no skimping here!) and return pan to the oven. Cook just until the marshmallow begins to soften and puff, about 3 minutes. Cool marshmallow topped cookies slightly, about 2 minutes. Top with the remaining cookies, pressing lightly to make sandwiches. Cool whoopee pies completely on wire racks.

After completely cool eat your fill before everyone else in your family does. How sad would it be to miss out on such tastiness?!