Ginger Apple Whoopie Pies

5 Sept 2017

While we were in Maine this summer, we discovered that whoopie pies are a thing there and had the most perfect classic chocolate whoopie pie at Two Fat Cats Bakery in Portland. They had quite an array of other treats, but the hubs had to reel me in once I started asking him how many pies (as in whole fruit pies) we could transport back on the plane later that evening. Everything looked amazing, so if you find yourself in Maine, head to Portland, which is a foodie paradise and try ALL THE PIE at Two Fat Cats.

I did come to the realization that I had never made a whoopie pie. However, thanks to my wonderful SIL (who always gets perfect gifts because she pays attention and cares about people) I actually own a whoopie pie baking pan and did not have an excuse for this. I decided to experiment and came up with this ginger, apple concoction, as it is now that time of year?!

I swear time just keeps getting faster and I often think of something a yoga instructor said (I'm sure I've mentioned this before) - that time flies by because we are not present and to think how slow time was as a kid, because kids are in the moment, foot-loose and fancy free. I despise her for saying so much truth and also because I am not sure what to do about it (le sigh). But I guess finding ways to eat two cookies at once is a good start.



Ginger Apple Whoopie Pies

Recipe for ginger apple whoopie pies.
By

Ginger Apple Whoopie Pies

Prep time: - Cook time: - Total time:
Yield: 12 piesS

Ingredients

Apple Cookie
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 t cinnamon
- 2 t ground ginger
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 T apple juice
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 t baking soda
- 1/2 t baking powder
Boiled Icing (Flour Buttercream)
- 5 T flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 t vanilla
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
Apple Ginger Glaze
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3 T butter
- 3 T apple juice
- 2 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 t ground ginger (optional)
- chopped pecans and crystalized ginger (optional)

Directions

Apple Cookie
Preheat oven to 350F. Beat butter and sugar until slightly fluffy and color has turned a pale yellow. Next add an egg at a time and beat until completely combined, then add applesauce and apple juice and mix until fully incorporated.

Sift in flour and leveaners and stir until just combined (do not over mix).

Stick batter in fridge and prepare baking sheets or whoopie pie pan (keeping batter cold will help prevent spreading). I baked the cookies both ways (photo comparison below) and preferred the whoopie pie pan, but still doable with just a parchment of slipmat lined baking sheet, they just won't be as perfectly shaped. For baking sheet, I used about a 2 T cookie scoop and used the same for the whoopie pie pan, but spread it evenly around the cup, otherwise it will not fill it evenly. Also, kept the batter cold in between rounds.

Bake for about 8 - 10 minutes, my oven was a consistent 8 minutes. You want the cookies fully cooked, but not brown.

Boiled Icing (Flour Buttercream)
Add flour, sugar, and milk to a medium sized sauce pan and heated over medium low until it began to bubble, then cooked about 1-2 minutes, stir constantly. Remove from heat and pour on a plate and immediately cover with oiled plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.

Allow to cool to room temperate, then beat butter until fluffy, whip in vanilla and add cooled icing to butter one spoonful at a time. Place in fridge until ready to assemble pies.

Apple Ginger Glaze
Combine brown sugar, butter, apple juice and ground ginger in a medium sized pot over medium heat. Once sugar has dissolved, stir in powdered sugar and heat until fully incorporated. This glaze sets up fast, so you can keep reheating it as you are glazing the cookies. Sprinkle chopped pecans and crystalized ginger over glaze before it sets up.

Final Notes:
Glaze cooled cookies and only the top cookie, then dollop buttercream in between two. Keep in fridge to store, but eat at room temperature. If you are not a ginger fan, then it can easily be omitted from all parts. Also, I stopped spraying the whoopie pie pan with oil because it did not need it and it made the bottoms of the cookies too brown.





whoopie pie pan (right) - baking sheet(left)
Enjoy!

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