Last night we had our Evening of Excellence for the young women and I was in charge of the treat so I decided to make whoopie pies.  I found this recipe in a magazine (can’t remember which one).  It was meant for Halloween as they had rolled the edges of the pies in orange sanding sugar but I saw it and thought that I could do the same thing for the girls with all the value colors.  I had to make a lot of whoopie pies so I tried out 2 different recipes (2nd one to follow), these were the definite favorite, there weren’t even any left so I didn’t get to try them!  They were flatter and softer and bigger but I used the same filling for both.

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup nonpareils or sanding sugar for decoration

1  Preheat oven to 375.  In medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

2  Beat 1/2 cup butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg and beat until smooth.  Alternately add flour mixture and applesauce, beginning and ending with flour.  Mix just until smooth (do not overmix).

3  Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, 2″ apart, onto 2 baking sheets (I lined mine with parchment paper).  Bake until toothpick inserted in center of a cookie comes out clean, 10 – 14 minutes.  With a thin metal spatula, immediately transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool completely.

4  Meanwhile, make filling:  Beat vanilla and remaining butter until light and fluffy.  Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.

5  Spread bottom of half the cookies with 1 tablespoon filling each; sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing gently so filling oozes out slightly.  Sprinkle exposed filling with nonpareils (I poured some sugar in a bowl and then rolled the edges of the pies around in the bottom of the bowl, it was easier than trying to sprinkle the sugar on).  Let rest 15 minutes to set.  (Store cookies in airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.)

Just a note from me – I used the filling from the other whoopie pie recipe (“Make Some Whoopie Pies”) in both these pies and in the other ones.