Chocolate Whoopie Pies

I made whoopie pies for the first time today. I also ate a whoopie pie for the first time today, so I can't tell you if my whoopie pies turned out like whoopie pies are "supposed" to, but I can tell you they turned out delicious! Whoopie pies are not really pies at all, the dough is made and baked like cookies would be, but the result is a very soft and cake-like cookie. When you sandwich two of these giant cookies together with some sweet filling, the result is almost like a pastry. I have also heard whoopie pies described as "a cupcake in sandwich form". A brief history on whoopie pies: they originated in the depression era. Apparently, one cook had some leftover cake batter and decided to bake it in cookie form. Since cake and pie tins were interchangeable in those days, the cook called them pies. When they came out of the oven, she yelled, "Whoopie! Pies!" and that is the simple story of the origin of whoopie pies. Today, whoopie pies are found in many different flavors, chocolate, vanilla, pumpkin, and red velvet are all flavors I have heard of. The filling also varies greatly too, and can be anything from whipping cream, to buttercream, or ice cream, melted chocolate, chocolate hazelnut spread, cream cheese, peanut butter, a gelatin mixture, yogurt, pudding, fruit, or a combination. For an extra special touch, roll filled whoopie pies on their sides into a shallow dish of sprinkles, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, or chocolate chips.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies
1/2 cup unsalted butter or hard margarine (1 stick), softened
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, mix well.
In a separate small bowl, gradually whisk the milk into the cocoa until smooth. Set aside.
Add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the butter mixture, along with 1/3 of the flour. Stir until combined. Mix in half of the milk mixture. Add another third of the flour, followed by the rest of the milk mixture, then the rest of the flour, mixing well after each addition until completely combined.
Drop heaping two tablespoonful of dough onto prepared baking sheets (I used a medium-sized ice cream scoop for this, which worked very well and made nice round shapes). Place dough at least three inches apart, bake eight cookies per cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until cookies are set and tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool on cookie sheet for two minutes, then remove from sheet to cool completely.
Once cool, sandwich two cookies together with filling (be generous with the filling).

For the filling: I used a simple icing filling that mostly consisted of confectioner's sugar flavored with a little vanilla extract, and it was delicious, and the perfect texture to balance with the cake-like cookie. My whoopie pies also reminded me a bit of an Oreo cookie.