Vanilla Cinnamon Whoopie Pies With Caramel Buttercream Food

SALTED-CARAMEL WHOOPIE PIES

Steps:

• Cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, kosher salt, cinnamon, and allspice. In another bowl, combine milk and vanilla.
• In a large bowl, beat butter with granulated and brown sugar on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; beat until pale, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in flour mixture in two batches, alternating with milk mixture. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until just combined, about 10 seconds. Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch round tip (such as Ateco #808).
• Pipe 2 1/2-inch-diameter mounds onto 3 parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 3 inches apart (no more than 8 per sheet). Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies spring back when lightly pressed, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks; let cool completely.
• Caramel: In a small high-sided saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, salt, and 2 tablespoons water, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook, without stirring, and washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming, until caramel is a deep amber, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Carefully whisk in cream (it will spatter), then butter, until combined. Let cool completely, about 45 minutes.
• Buttercream: Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium; add sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating after each addition, until combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla.
• Beat caramel into buttercream on medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, until smooth, about 3 minutes. Makes 2 cups.
• Put buttercream in a pastry bag fitted with the 5/8-inch round tip. Pipe 2 tablespoons onto flat sides of half of cookies, then sandwich with remaining cookies. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl, stir together rock salt and sanding sugar. Roll edges of sandwiches in sugar-salt mixture. (Whoopie pies can be refrigerated in airtight containers up to 3 days.)

VANILLA WHOOPIE PIES WITH CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and lightly coat with cooking spray.
• Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat together the granulated sugar, butter and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk in 2 batches, beating after each addition until just combined.
• Scoop 2-tablespoon mounds of batter onto the baking sheets about 2-inches apart. Moisten your fingers and gently form each mound into a round and slightly smooth the top. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bake the cookies, rotating the trays halfway through, until the tops bounce back when gently touched, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Put the confectioners' sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until just incorporated, about 1 minute. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until smooth and fully incorporated. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the dissolved cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Turn the mixer back on to medium speed and beat until everything is well mixed, 1 to 2 minutes. With the mixer off, add the milk. Mix together on low speed until just incorporated.
• To assemble the whoopie pies: Flip half of the cookies over and spread the bottoms with the filling. Top each with another cookie--bottom facing in--to make a sandwich.
• Put the sprinkles on a plate and roll the edge of each whoopie pie in the sprinkles to coat.
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MOCHA WHOOPIE PIES WITH CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and lightly coat with nonstick spray.
• Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the brown sugar, butter and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk in 2 batches, beating after each addition until just combined.
• Scoop 2-tablespoon mounds of batter onto the baking sheets about 2-inches apart. Moisten your fingers and gently form each into a round and slightly smooth the top of each mound. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bake until the tops of the cookies bounce back when gently touched, rotating the trays halfway through, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add half of the confectioners' sugar, beating. Beat in the milk 1 tablespoon at a time, then add the remaining sugar and beat until incorporated, smooth and creamy, scraping the bowl as needed, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla. Beat in the dulce de leche until smooth.
• Flip half of the cookies over and spread the bottoms with the filling. Top each with another cookie--bottoms facing in--to make a sandwich.
• Yield: 12 whoopie pies
• Active Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours (includes chilling and cooling times)
• Ease of preparation: easy

CHOCOLATE WHOOPIE PIES WITH VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FILLING

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift together flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Slowly add dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
• Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop, place dough onto a parchment-lined baking pan, 12 per pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.
• Make the vanilla buttercream: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 3 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining cup sugar to reach desired consistency.
• Transfer buttercream to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe 2 tablespoons buttercream onto the flat side of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies.