American Chocolate Week: whoopee for whoopie pies

March 22, 11:34 AMOrlando Cooking ExaminerDawn Viola

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It's not a pie. It's not really a cookie. And although characteristically cake-like, it's not a cake. The whoopie pie (or whoopee pie), a retro treat indigenous to New England with Amish roots, has officially made a modern-day comeback thanks to a handful of specialty bake shops throughout the U.S. 

No matter how you spell it, the fluffy sweet whipped cream, sandwiched between two dreamy dark chocolate puffs of cake, is a perfect way to kick off American Chocolate Week, celebrated annually, the third week of March.

Even more cause to celebrate, chocolate contains those free-radical fighting flavonoids our bodies crave, as well as three good-mood enhancing chemicals: Anandamine, the "giggle" chemical, can trigger feelings of happiness and make you laugh more often. Phenylethylamine revs up your  blood pressure and blood sugar just enough to make you more alert and level-headed. And theobromine, similar to caffeine, acts as your muse, increasing your brain activity. 

Why let the bake shops have all the fun? Feel-good chocolate whoopie pies are easy to make at home. And despite the whoopie pie's identity crisis, we classify them as simply delicious.

Chocolate whoopie pies

Servings: Approx. 24, 2" cookies; 12 whoopie pies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
Using an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa and egg. Mix in the milk and vanilla until well blended and fluffy. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add 1/2 cup of flour mixture at a time to the cocoa mixture until all of the flour mixture is combined. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 400 F. Drop teaspoon size balls of chilled dough onto a cookie sheet, 2 " apart. Bake for 7-9 minutes.

Whipped Cream:
Whip 1 cup heavy cream with an electric mixer on medium speed. When the mixture becomes thick, add 2 tsp of sugar and 1/8 tsp of vanilla. Continue to whip until firm peaks form (you've just made what's called Chantilly cream - whipped cream with sugar and vanilla) Sandwich between two cookies and shove directly into your mouth!

What the kids can do:
Making cookies is the ultimate family time project on so many levels. Measuring ingredients helps kids to visualize fractions. And if you're impressed by those who can cook without measuring, your little ones will be well on their way once they're familiar with what a tablespoon of a liquid looks like, or what a cup of flour looks like. Then, they can transfer that into fractions used in every day life. Drop style cookies, like the recipe above, are quick and easy - the perfect "lets spend time together" activity after dinner. 

Now what do I do with it:
Chocolate is the perfect base for so many flavors - try rum, coffee, pumpkin, orange, raspberry or a hint of mint. Experiment with your favorite flavors. And, for something exotic and inexpensive, add 1 tbs. of cinnamon and 1/8 tsp of Cayenne pepper (more if you like a super kick) for Mexican hot chocolate cookies.

If you like to keep your chocolate plain-Jane, experiment with different flavors of whipped cream.

Dawn Viola is a nationally recognized artist, competitive cook and food writer. Read more of Dawn's Examiner articles, or follow her blog, Wicked Good Dinner, and onTwitter.