Vanilla and Salted Caramel Whoopie Pies

Remember when I made Salted Caramel Frosting?  Of course you do, it was only a few days ago.  Well, somehow I managed not to eat every morsel of leftover frosting in my fridge and use it for another recipe.  I know you're proud of me.  I'm proud of me too.

I didn't want to make any more cake so I opted for whoopie pies (which are really just little cake sandwiches).  Everyone loves whoopie pies AND I've had this whoopie pie pan for months and haven't used it yet.  CA saw it and asked, "Is that new?"  I just said, "No, I've had it for a while."  ;)

Lucky for you, a whoopie pie pan is not required to make these.  In fact, the cakes didn't even spread out enough to touch the sides of the pan so feel free to just scoop them out and bake them on a cookie sheet.  You're welcome.

I opted for a pretty simple vanilla sandwich base so as not to compete with the salted caramel frosting.  It's so good you don't want to mix it with anything too crazy.

Truthfully the frosting was probably a little bit too soft to use in a whoopie pie.  I probably should have added some powdered sugar to it to stiffen it up because it shot right out the side of the whoopie pie when I bit in it.  That, of course, didn't stop me from scooping up the fugitive frosting and smearing it right back on my pie.

We don't waste frosting around here, it's the rules.



Renegade frosting aside, I'm very pleased with my choice.  These whoopie pies were super tasty and CA's coworkers gobbled them up right quick like.

Vanilla and Salted Caramel Whoopie Pies
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:
1 cup Sugar
2/3 cup (11 T) Butter, at room temperature
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 T Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp Almond Extract
2 Eggs
3 cups All Purpose Flour
2/3 cup Milk

2 cups Salted Caramel Frosting

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.   Lightly grease two baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter together until creamy.  Add the baking powder, salt, vanilla and almond extract and beat until combined.  Add the eggs and beat until just combined.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the flour and milk alternately, beginning with about 1 cup of the flour and 1/3 cup of the milk. Beat well after each addition. The final batter should be fairly thick and fluffy.

Scoop the batter onto the prepared baking sheets in heaping tablespoonfuls.  Leave about 2" between each scoop.

Bake the cakes for 7 to 8 minutes, or until they're springy to the touch and feel set. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely before filling.

Spread the flat side of half the completely cooled cakes with a heaping tablespoon of the frosting.  Top with the remaining cakes, flat side towards the filling.

Enjoy!

Julie