Makin' Whoopie (Pies)

It's Mono Monday and the topic is ecstacy.

Definitions:
1. Intense joy or delight.
2. A state of emotion so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control.
3. a state of elated bliss.

This was kind of hard for me, since it's such an intense emotion, and I was having a hard time figuring out how to properly convey that in a photograph.

Then we baked these.

These, my friends, are Whoopie Pies. Intensely decadent, cake-y, chocolate cookies with ooey-gooey marshmallow centers. Heaven. Bliss. Ecstacy.

Here's the recipe:
Even though it seems as though there are a lot of steps, it was incredibly easy.

Ingredients
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup natural cocoa powder, such as Hershey's or Scharffen Berger

1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoons fine salt

18 large marshmallows, (not minis)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet.

Put the unsweetened and semisweet chocolates and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl; heat at 75 percent power until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir, and continue to microwave until completely melted, about 2 minutes more.

Whisk the sugar, eggs and vanilla into the chocolate mixture until smooth.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt into another bowl. Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until moistened. Switch to a rubber spatula and finish folding the batter together; take care not to over-mix.

Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to drop a heaping tablespoon of batter onto the prepared pan. Repeat to make 36 cookies, spacing them about 1-inch apart. Bake until the cookies spring back when lightly touched, about 6 minutes. (It took about 7-8 minutes for - DO NOT under-bake).

Cool the cookies slightly. Transfer half of the cookies to a rack. Turn the remaining cookies on the pan over, so they lay flat side up. Place a marshmallow on top of each flipped cookie and return pan to the oven. Cook just until the marshmallow begins to soften and puff, about 2-3 minutes. Cool marshmallow topped cookies slightly, about 2 minutes. Top with the remaining cookies, pressing lightly to make sandwiches. Cool whoopee pies completely on wire racks. Serve. (Do not top the marshmallows too soon, or the cookie will slide off as it cools.)

These are superbly chocolatey goodness that is so rich and yummy you will want to eat them all. Thankfully, I had the good sense to share some with a friend, otherwise we would have!

I'm also linking up to Just Something I Whipped Up