Introduction: 3.14 Whoopie Pies for Pi Day

3.14 Vanilla Whoopie Pies with Orange Blossom Water Buttercream

Alright, whoopie pies are borderline in qualifying as pies for Pi Day. But c'mon--3.14 of them? Sounds like a good deal to me!

I made the vanilla whoopies from Sarah Billingsley's and Amy Treadwell's book, Whoopie Pies: Dozens of Mix 'em, Match 'em, Eat 'em Up Recipes , substituting evaporated cane juice for the granulated sugar, heavy cream for milk, and  the scrapings from 1 vanilla bean pod for the vanilla extract.  Then I took the rosewater buttercream recipe and substituted orange blossom water for the rosewater and skipped the food coloring.

To make the .14 whoopie pie, I cut one pie into thirds and then one of the thirds into half again. It's not *perfect*, but it's pretty close. Lastly, I took some of the buttercream and tinted it with food coloring, then used my Pampered Chef decorator kit to remove all doubt that these whoopie pies were for Pi Day--I wrote 3.14 on them.

Vanilla Whoopies
adapted from Whoopie Pies: Dozens of Mix 'em, Match 'em, Eat 'em Up Recipes

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
4 Tbsp Spectrum organic shortening  (non-hydrogenated)
1/2 cup evaporated cane juice
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 vanilla bean, scraped into the buttermilk to sit until combined
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, shortening, and both sugars with the paddle attachment until light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the buttermilk with the vanilla bean scrapings. Beat until fully incorporated.

In a liquid measuring cup, mix together the cream, baking soda, and vinegar. Add the milk mixture to the wet ingredients with the flour mixture and beat on low until fully incorporated.

Using a cookie scoop, drop batter onto baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes, or until the cakes begin to brown. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Orange Blossom Water Buttercream
adapted from Whoopie Pies: Dozens of Mix 'em, Match 'em, Eat 'em Up Recipes

2 cups confectioners' sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp orange blossom water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp fine sea salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the confectioners' sugar and butter with the paddle attachment until the mixture is crumbly, about 1 minute. Add the heavy cream, orange blossom water, vanilla extract, and salt, then beat on high until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.

To assemble: Take a whoopie and spread buttercream on the flat side. Apply the flat side of another whoopie to the frosted whoopie and press together gently. These can be stored for a few days in a cool place or frozen for a few months, if individually wrapped and then put in a zip top freezer bag.

Easy!

Serious Eats Pi Day Pie Contest

Participated in the
Serious Eats Pi Day Pie Contest