By Tracey
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Whoopie Pies
cookies adapted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
Cookies
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cookie Dough Filling
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (12 tablespoons), at room temperature
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup + 1 1/2 teaspoons milk (I used 1%)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl. (Note: I usually just whisk, but you really want to make sure you don’t end up with lumps from the cocoa powder.) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, beating to incorporate, then mix in the buttermilk and vanilla until combined (the batter may look curdled, mine did). With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom of the bowl and ensure the batter is uniformly mixed.
Using a small cookie scoop (mine measures about 1 1/2 inches across – you’ll need to adjust the baking time accordingly if yours is larger), portion the batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 8 minutes (rotating the baking sheets halfway through), or until the cookies spring back when gently pressed. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes then remove the cookies to the racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
To make the cookie dough filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the milk and vanilla until combined. Gradually add the flour, beating until incorporated, then increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. If the batter seems especially thick, beat in just a little more milk (I did about 1 1/2 teaspoons). Use a rubber spatula to stir in the mini chocolate chips.
Match the cookies in pairs by size. Transfer the filling to a piping bag – make sure the tip you use (or the opening you cut if you don’t use a tip) is large enough to accomodate the mini chocolate chips. Pipe a small amount onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair. Sandwich the cookies together. (Note: I usually pipe the filling in the center and push it out toward the edges when I sandwich the cookies, but the combination of a stiffer filling and soft cookies here made it difficult. Instead, I piped the filling in a spiral pattern almost entirely covering one of the cookies and just topped it with the second.)
Makes 20-24 whoopie pies.
