Vanilla Creamsicle Whoopie Pies

I have recently discovered a love for making sandwich cookies.  I’m not a big cookie person.  I’d rather enjoy a nice brownie or a piece of cake, and my favorite part of cake is the frosting.  Sandwich cookies give you the opportunity to be able to enjoy some frosting with your cookies as well, and they look so cute when they are filled.

These Vanilla Creamsicle Whoopie Pies were so much fun.  The cookie was great on its own, but even better with frosting.  It was very soft, which is perfect for cookie sandwiches.  I loved the orange flavor of the filling, and the orange-vanilla combination is a great one, and one that I should use more often.  I don’t make that many orange-flavored desserts, but I think this has convinced me that I need to do it more often!  My husband loved these, as he is a huge fan of citrus desserts.  The original recipe made quarter-size sandwiches, but I made mine the size of your average cookie, so I had to increase the baking time to about 15-16 minutes.

Creamsicle Whoopie Pies

Vanilla Bean Whoopie Pies

2/3 cup vegetable oil
½ cup full fat sour cream
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 vanilla beans, cut and seeds scraped out
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of ½ a medium orange
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, set aside.
Using a stand mixer (or a bowl and beaters) using the paddle attachment, beat together the oil and sour cream for 1 minute until combined.
Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, making sure to scrap down the bowl after each addition.
Add the vanilla bean seeds, extract, and zest and beat for another 30 seconds until completely combined.
With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined, you don’t want to see any flour but you don’t want to over mix it.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Using a piping bag, fill the bag with batter. Pipe the batter to about the size of a quarter (I made mine the size of your average cookie) onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake at 350F for 6-7 minutes (about 15-16 minutes for larger cookies). Remove from oven and let cool on sheet for 5 minutes. Remove and move to wire rack to cool completely.
When cooled, match up two cookies of the same size. Take one cookie, and with the flat side up, pipe or spoon on the orange vanilla filling. Top with another cookie.
Repeat until you run out of cookies.

Creamsicle Filling

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons orange extract
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Source: Culinary Conctions by Peabody