Nutella Whoopie Pies

I made some red velvet whoopie pies around this time last year, so maybe it will become an annual tradition to make some sort of whoopie pie each February! I saw these posted on Tastespotting, and I knew that these had to be the next ones to make. The world recently celebrated World Nutella Day (February 5) but I’m always a day late and a dollar short. I always see these great Nutella recipes a couple of days after the big celebration.

Andrea, who originally made these, added chopped hazelnuts as well as the Nutella filling. I tried this on a couple of cookies and it was quite messy, so I decided to go the simple route and simply fill them with Nutella. This recipe made about 3 dozen whoopie pies, and I used almost an entire jar of Nutella. Of course the hazard of my kitchen means that not all of the baked cookies made it all the way to being whoopie pies. Some got consumed before they were filled, so if your kitchen is different you may end up using the entire jar.

These may seem really small when you are scooping the batter onto the cookie sheets, but don’t make the mistake of making these too big. When they are sandwiched together, you don’t want them to be very large. I didn’t let mine cool all that long before I sandwiched them together, so they were quite soft. Next time I will let them set longer. I tasted the ones with chopped hazelnuts in the filling and also the plain ones, and I think I like the plain ones. Sometimes less is more!

2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
Nutella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Combine the buttermilk and the vanilla, set aside.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined. Reduce speed to low and add 1/3 of the flour mixture and half of the milk mixture, mix until smooth. Add another 1/3 of the flour, then the rest of the buttermilk, and ending with the rest of the flour mixture, scraping between each addition. The final batter should be thick and smooth.

Using a small cookie scoop (about a teaspoon), scoop batter onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-13 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets after 5 minutes. Bake until puffy and the cake springs back when touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

To assemble: spread a rounded tablespoon of Nutella on flat sides of half the cakes, then top with remaining cakes.

Recipe from Andrea’s Recipes