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Whoopie Pies are the soft, cakey sandwich cookie of childhood dreams, two pillowy chocolate rounds hugging a cloud of marshmallow filling, and when I made a batch on a snowy Saturday with Maddie manning the peppermint bowl, they vanished before they finished setting. They are the old fashioned cousin of our pumpkin whoopie pies.
This version bakes the classic chocolate and marshmallow base, then rolls the edges in crushed peppermints for a festive finish you can skip any other month of the year.
Whoopie Pies Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 13 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 60 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 whoopie pies
- ⚡ Calories: 747kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Deep chocolate cake with sweet marshmallow cream and a cool peppermint crunch
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, simpler than our Smores Whoopie Pies
Quick Answer
Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then cream brown sugar with butter and oil and mix in eggs and vanilla. Alternate adding the dry mix and buttermilk, scoop 2 inch dollops onto parchment lined trays, and bake at 375 degrees for 11 to 13 minutes. Whip shortening and butter with powdered sugar, extracts, and marshmallow creme, sandwich the filling between two cooled cakes, and roll the exposed edges in crushed peppermints if you want the festive finish.
Jump to:
- Whoopie Pies Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Whoopie Pies
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Whoopie Pies FAQs
- Other Recommended Cookie and Sandwich Treat Recipes
- Whoopie Pies (Chocolate Peppermint)
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Butter plus oil gives the softest cakes. Butter brings flavor while oil keeps the crumb moist for days, the signature pillowy whoopie pie texture that pure butter recipes struggle to hold.
- Buttermilk is doing the heavy lifting. Its acidity activates the baking soda and tenderizes the crumb, which is why the cakes dome up soft instead of spreading into cookies.
- Alternating wet and dry prevents tough cakes. Adding the flour and buttermilk in halves keeps the batter from being overworked, so the gluten stays relaxed and the rounds stay tender.
- Shortening stabilizes the marshmallow filling. Half shortening and half butter means the filling holds its shape at room temperature without ever tasting greasy.
- The tops dry, they do not brown. Pulling the cakes when the tops just look dry keeps them fudgy soft, deep browning is how whoopie pies go dry.
- Peppermint goes on the edges only. Rolling just the exposed filling in crushed candy gives crunch in every bite without overpowering the chocolate, and skipping it turns the same batch into the year round classic.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are a cookie, a cake, and a frosting sandwich all in one handheld package.
- The marshmallow creme filling is stable enough for cookie trays and lunchboxes, no refrigerator required.
- One batter, two personalities, roll them in peppermint for the holidays or leave them classic like our cream cheese cookies platter partner.
Key Ingredients
Pantry baking staples build both the cakes and the fluffy filling.
- Cocoa powder: Unsweetened cocoa gives the rounds their deep chocolate color and flavor without extra sweetness.
- Buttermilk: The secret to the tender, cakey crumb, it reacts with the baking soda for the classic domed tops.
- Brown sugar: Two packed cups bring moisture and a soft caramel depth that white sugar cannot match.
- Marshmallow creme: The heart of the filling, whipped with butter and shortening into a fluffy stable cream.
- Crushed peppermints: The optional festive edge, crushed candy canes work exactly the same here.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
The classic base takes every seasonal spin.
- Skip the peppermint entirely for the timeless chocolate and marshmallow whoopie pie.
- Swap the peppermint extract for extra vanilla and roll the edges in mini chocolate chips or rainbow sprinkles.
- Add a half teaspoon of espresso powder to the dry mix to deepen the chocolate flavor.
- Tint the filling with a drop of gel color for birthdays, pastel pink and mint green look bakery level.
- Love the pumpkin and marshmallow combo? Our pumpkin whoopie pies are the fall counterpart to this recipe.
How to Make Whoopie Pies
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line sheet trays with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the brown sugar, butter, and oil until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, fully mixing in the first before adding the next, then stir in the vanilla.
- Add half of the dry ingredients and stir until combined, then half of the buttermilk. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Place 2 inch dollops of the cake batter onto the prepared trays at least 3 inches apart. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes until the tops appear dry and a toothpick comes out clean, then cool completely on a wire rack.
- For the filling, whip the shortening and butter until smooth, then add the powdered sugar a little at a time. Mix in the salt, vanilla, and peppermint extract, then whip in the marshmallow creme until fluffy.
- Spread the filling on the flat side of half the cakes, sandwich with the tops, and gently press so a little filling peeks out. Roll the edges in crushed peppermints and serve.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use a cookie scoop for even rounds. Matching sizes matter more here than anywhere, every pie needs a twin of the same diameter.
- Leave 3 inches between dollops. The batter spreads and domes, crowded trays bake into one giant cake sheet.
- Watch the tops, not the timer. The instant they look dry and spring back, they are done, deep browning means dry cakes.
- Cool completely before filling. Even slightly warm cakes will melt the marshmallow filling into a puddle.
- Crush the peppermints fine. Big candy shards fall off the filling, a few pulses in a food processor gives the perfect sticky crumble.
- Press gently when sandwiching. You want the filling to just reach the edges, squeezing hard squishes the soft cakes.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Stack them on a cake stand for holiday parties, the peppermint edges sparkle next to our sprinkle cookies on any cookie tray.
They are the showpiece of a cookie exchange box alongside buttery shortbread cookies and classic cream cheese cookies, sturdy enough to travel and impossible to mistake for store bought.
Serve them slightly chilled with cold milk or hot cocoa for dunking, and keep a pan of chocolate chip cookie bars nearby for the chocolate purists.
Store them in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, or refrigerate for 5. They also freeze beautifully for 2 months, wrap each pie individually and thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Whoopie Pies FAQs
Whoopie Pies are a classic American treat of two soft, cakey chocolate rounds sandwiched around a fluffy marshmallow filling. They are baked like drop cookies but taste like little handheld cakes, and this version adds an optional crushed peppermint edge for the holidays.
Tradition says Amish farmers would shout whoopie when they found the treat in their lunch pails. They are a beloved staple of Pennsylvania Dutch and New England baking, and Maine even named the whoopie pie its official state treat.
Flat whoopie pies usually mean the buttermilk or eggs were too warm, the baking soda was old, or the batter was overmixed. Use fresh leavening, mix just until combined, and if your kitchen is hot, chill the batter for 15 minutes before scooping.
Yes, the cakes can be baked a day ahead and stored airtight at room temperature, and the filling keeps refrigerated for 3 days. Assemble the day you serve for the freshest texture, or freeze filled pies individually wrapped for up to 2 months.
Keep them in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days or in the refrigerator up to 5 days. The marshmallow filling is stable at room temperature, but a quick chill firms them up nicely for stacking on trays.
Absolutely, just leave the peppermint extract out of the filling and skip the crushed candy edge. Everything else stays exactly the same, and you get the timeless chocolate and marshmallow whoopie pies that started it all.
Made these Whoopie Pies? Leave a comment and a star rating below, and tell me if you went classic or peppermint!
Whoopie Pies (Chocolate Peppermint)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
For the filling:
- ¾ cup shortening
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 7.5 ounces marshmallow creme
- ½ cup crushed peppermints
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line sheet trays with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with an electric hand mixer (low mixer speed) mix together the brown sugar, butter, and oil until smooth.2 cups light brown sugar, ½ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup vegetable oil
- Add the eggs one at a time, fully mixing in the first before adding the next.2 large eggs
- Stir in the vanilla.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add half of the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
- Then add half of the buttermilk and stir it in until combined.1 ¼ cups buttermilk
- Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Place 2-inch dollops of the cake batter onto the prepared cookie sheet, at least 3 inches apart.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes until the tops appear dry, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let them cool on the sheet tray for 5 minutes, and transfer them to a wired rack to cool completely.
- While they are cooling, make the filling. Place the shortening and butter into a large bowl and whip until smooth with an electric hand mixer.¾ cup shortening, ½ cup unsalted butter
- Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully mixed in.1 cup powdered sugar
- Add the salt, vanilla, and peppermint extract and stir until combined.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- Whip in the marshmallow creme until smooth. Taste, add more peppermint extract if needed to your taste.7.5 ounces marshmallow creme
- Evenly distribute the filling among half of the whoopie cookie bottoms on the flat side.
- Add a top and gently press down, you want some of the filling to come out around the whole thing.
- Place the crushed peppermints into a shallow bowl, and roll the sides of the whoopies in the peppermints so they stick to the filling. Repeat with the remaining whoopie pies and serve immediately.½ cup crushed peppermints
Notes
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients: This helps the batter come together smoothly and ensures even baking.
- Don’t Overmix the Batter: Mix until just combined to keep the cookies soft and tender.
- Use a Cookie Scoop: A medium cookie scoop ensures evenly sized cookies for matching pairs.
- Line Baking Sheets with Parchment Paper: This prevents sticking and makes cleanup easier.
- Cool Completely Before Filling: Make sure the cookies are fully cooled on a wire rack to prevent the filling from melting.
- Adjust Peppermint Flavor: Start with a small amount of peppermint extract and adjust to taste; a little goes a long way!
Nutrition
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