Oreo Cakesters, meet your nemesis: Megan’s Whoopie Pies. I can only imagine what my life would have been like years ago if I would have had these during lunch in elementary school. Amazing, probably.

The traditional whoopie pie is usually made with a shortening based vanilla filling. I find that too sweet and sometimes too grainy, so I used a recipe for marshmallowy frosting to fill these pies. I like lots of filling, and with this variation, I can fill these nice and high without worrying about a toothache. It is fluffy, gooey, and soft. It tastes like melted marshmallows. Everything you touch while making the frosting and filling these little pies will be sticky, I guarantee it.

But the result…

I already have some experimental variations on this recipe swirling in my head: red velvet whoopie pies with a sweetened cream cheese frosting (filling), pumpkin gingerbread whoopie pies, whoopies pies with chocolate mallow filling or with coffee mallow filling…this could become a new obesession. Whatever the variation, they are delicious. The chocolate cake recipe calles for buttermilk, which makes these extra moist.

This evening I ate another half of a whoopie over the kitchen sink, probably looking very attractive, and I decided to add a swipe of peanut butter on top of my pie. It was delicious. If peanut butter is your thing too, just spread smooth peanut butter over one half of a whoopie pie before sandwiching it on top of the frosted other half.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies ( recipe from www.teriskitchen.com)

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Marshmallow Filling (from The Pastry Queen Christmas by Rebecca Rather)

• 2 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the whoopie pies: preheat the oven to 400 F. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In another large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla; beat until well-combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing after each addition until combined. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons, about 3 inches apart, on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake about 10-12 minutes or until the tops spring back to the touch. Let cool slightly before removing to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before filling.

To make the marshmallow filling: whisk the egg whites, sugar, water, cream of tartar, and salt in a large, stainless steel bowl until thoroughly combined. Place the bowl over a saucepan filled with 2 inches of simmering water. Using a hand beater or handheld electric mixer, continue beating the egg white mixture for 4 minutes. The mixture should be hot. Add the mini marshmallows in 2 increments while continuing to beat. Wait until the first batch of marshmallows has melted before adding the second. Continue beating for 2 to 3 minutes more, until stiff peaks form. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and continue beating until the frosting is thick enough to pipe.

To assemble pies: for a neater look, fill a plastic pastry bag with marshmallow filling and use a large round tip tip to pipe circles of filling on the whoopie pie. You can also spread the filling on the pies with a spatula or butter knife, although it will be a little more messy.  Top with another whoopie pie to make a sandwich and press down lightly.