Cherry Lime Margarita Whoopie Pies

Here's something I learned for 2012 - if you need to bake, leave yourself plenty of time to do it.  Because you do not want to be rushing.  And that could be a good life lesson for me as well, because I never leave enough time to do things and therefore am always rushing.  

Here's what happened.

There were only a few hours left in 2011 and I was making these whoopie pies for a New Year's party.  We'll come back to where I got the idea for these whoopie pies in a bit.  So, the first batch of whoopie pie chips came out a little flat.  I realized my recipe did not have nearly enough baking powder, so I threw about another teaspoon in and remixed my batter.  I say "about" because what I actually did was take the baking powder container and sprinkle some in to the batter.  Why would I do such a careless thing?  Because I was rushing.  Oh, did I mention the bottom rack in my oven was actually on the bottom and not the middle, burning all of my little chips?  Yeah, I could have moved it, but I wasn't thinking about it because I was rushing.  


I have no idea how long my second batch was in the oven because I was rushing and forgot to set the timer.  Luckily I remembered them when I went over to eat one of the thin chips and was able to pull them out of the oven before I had to discard another batch of whoopie pie chips.  After pulling the second batch out of the oven I decided they still weren't fluffy enough so in went another maybe 1/2 tsp of baking powder.  I could have learned from my previous mistake and stopped to measure it but I didn't because I was rushing.  I also threw in some flour, just for good measure.

The third batch came out better.  After that I was ready to fill.  Which brings me to where I got the idea for these whoopie pies in the first place...

My friend had some leftover frosting from the cookie swap and asked if I could do anything with it.  I couldn't turn down free frosting, so I happily agreed to take it off her hands.  The idea of making whoopie pies was suggested at the party and I immediately began thinking of margarita flavors (the frosting was tequila-lime buttercream).  I thought of cherries and lime and decided to incorporate those flavors into the cake.

I wasn't sure if I was going to post these until I brought them to the party and people seemed to really like them.  I tried one myself and they were pretty good, even though they didn't puff up like my other whoopie pies.  They're sweet and tangy and the acidity in the buttercream is balanced out by the fruit in the chips.  You can omit the tequila completely if you'd like these to be kid friendly.  Also, refer to my other whoopie pie post about making evenly sized chips.

In the end, I wanted to include this recipe because both the cake and the frosting were delicious independently as well as together as a whoopie pie.  Next time, I may actually use cherry filling instead of fresh cherries to get a richer flavor.  And make I leave enough time to prepare my batter so I'm not rushing...

Also, I just entered this dessert in Sweet As Sugar Cookie's Sweets for a Saturday!  If you enjoyed reading this recipe, please click on my submission!  I'm # 224.

Cherry Lime Margarita Whoopie Pies

Yield: 24 whoopie pies

Prep Time: 25 min

Bake Time: 8 min

Ingredients

For the whoopie pies:

- 3 c cherries, pitted

- 2 c + 2 tbsp flour

- ½ tsp baking soda

- 1 ½ tsp baking powder

- ½ tsp salt

- 1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature

- 2/3 c sugar

- 1 lg egg

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1/4 c milk

- zest of 1 lime

For the filling:

- ½ c unsalted butter, room temperature

- ¼ c vegetable shortening

- 3 c confectioner's sugar

- ½ tsp vanilla extract

- ¾ tbsp merengue powder

- 1/4 tsp salt

-  juice from 1 lime

- 1 tbsp tequila

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.

Pour cherries into a blender and puree.  Pour puree into a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl.  Set aside to allow the liquid to drain out.

To make the whoopie pies, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar.  Add in the egg and vanilla extract and combine.  Alternate adding the dry ingredients about 1 c at a time and the milk, combining completely after each addition.  Fold in the lime zest and the cherry puree. 

Affix a pastry bag with a round, open tip and fill with batter.  Pipe the batter onto the silicone baking mats, making circles about the size of a quarter.  Be sure to space the circles about 3 inches apart.  Place baking sheets in the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on pans for about 5 minutes before transferring them to wire racks.

To make the filling, cream together the butter and the shortening.  Add in the confectioner’s sugar about 1 c at a time and combine completely after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla extract, merengue powder, salt, lime juice, and tequila.  Beat for about 10 minutes.

Match the whoopie pie chips up by size and fill with frosting by either spreading it on one side with a spatula or using a pastry bag.  

Posted by Ali B at 8:56 PM