Banana Whoopie Pies with Peanut Butter Filling

Whoopie pies seem to be one of the current rages on the blogosphere. The Wicked Whoopie website has a long list of flavor combinations, each more yummy sounding than the last. Gingerbread, maple, and orange creamsicle all sound good right about now.


I originally saw a banana-peanut butter whoopie pie on Abby Sweets. Peanut butter on banana is one of my favorite snacks - why not make it into a cookie? I liked the idea of a peanut butter filling, but didn't think one that was cream cheese-based would work for me. Martha's recipe for the cookie looked amazing, and I already had all the ingredients on hand.


There was a slight incident between Hubs and I over the banana. There were 2 ripe bananas left and I asked him to save me one. I got home from work, ready to whip up cookie dough, only to discover no ripe banana. Instead, there was a new bunch of green-tipped bananas perched on the counter. I almost went ballistic, when he texted that he hadn't eaten the last ripe banana, and would bring it home so I could use it for the cookies. This meant that I was up until 11:00 making whoopie pies, but they were totally worth it.



Banana Whoopie Pies
From Martha Stewart

2 c flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ c mashed banana (about 1 large banana)
½ c sour cream
½ c butter (1 stick)
½ c granulated sugar
½ c packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Combine banana and sour cream in another bowl.

Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, beating until incorporated. Add flour mixture and banana mixture in alternating additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with a large opening. (I used a number 12). Pipe batter into 1-inch rounds, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool a few minutes and then transfer cookies to a wire rack.

Peanut Butter Filling:

1 c creamy peanut butter
1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 c powdered sugar

Beat peanut butter, butter, and vanilla into a medium bowl. Beat in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until mxture reaches desired consistency. There may be some sugar leftover.

To assemble cookies, spread or pipe filling onto the bottom of half the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies.