Apple Pie a la Mode Whoopie Pies!

written by Becky

Mmm... Granny Smiths!

Well it has been a LONG time since my last post. Between just the craziness of life and going away to the Mediterranean for two weeks, I haven’t had a chance to post anything! But now I have four – yep, FOUR, Whoopie Pie recipes that need to be posted! I guess that is what I get for getting behind. So my plan is one a week for October and then I get to make new (& seasonal ones) for November. This is actually probably a good thing since I have been enjoying desserts (and food in general) way too much! It is nice to have amazing cruise food and trying great food in Italy, Greece, Turkey & Spain, it is likely a good idea to take a little break from baking as much!

For those that wonder, yes I did have A LOT of gelato in Italy (and actually Barcelona & Greece for that matter). Oh and we even tried Turkish ice cream – it was really NOT good. But the pasta was amazing in Italy and the Baklava was incredible in Greece! Mmm… oh so good.

Anyways, on to this post! Since it is BC apple season, I figured I would go with posting the Apple Pie Whoopie Pies. I filled them with a creamy vanilla-bean buttercream as the “a la mode” part of the pie! Also, since my favourite apple pies have a crumble topping rather than a second layer of crust, I added some crumble to the top of half of the Whoopie Pies. Although next time I would definitely add more apples (the recipe I was sort of following said 2 grated apples – I grated one and chopped the other but next time I would add 2 chopped as well as the grated one), I think they turned out pretty good and did have a good resemblance to apple pie.

Apple Pie Whoopie Pies

• 2 peeled apples – 1 grated, 1 chopped (I would add a 2nd chopped next time but I didn’t this time): after grating and chopping, mix with 1/2 tsp lemon juice to keep the apples from going brown
• 

  The batter & the crumble

  1/2 cup butter, room temp

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/3 cup flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp Poudre Douce (or pumpkin pie spice or any combo of that kind of spice)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and then the vanilla.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt in a separate bowl.
4. With the mixer on low, slowly beat in the dry ingredients. The batter ends up quite thick. Add the apple – it will then still be thick but much more workable.
5. Scoop the batter (about 1 tablespoon per whoopie if you don’t have a scoop!) onto  the prepared baking sheets. On half of the cookies, press about 1 tsp of the crumble (recipe below) into the top. Don’t squish the cookie but ensure it is going to stick to it.
6. Bake 10-12 minutes or until firm to the touch. After cooling a few minutes on the baking sheet, move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Unbaked Whoopies: tops on the left with crumble on top

Baked Whoopies: Tops on the left still!

Crumble Topping

• 1/4 cup butter, room temp
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 tsp Poudre Douce (or pumpkin pie spice or any combo of that kind of spice)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Mix all ingredients until crumbly. If it doesn’t look like loose crumbs (see picture above), add more flour.

Vanilla “a la mode” Filling

• 3/4 cup butter, room temp
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped (or 2 tsp vanilla)
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 1-2 Tb cream (or milk)

1. Beat butter until light and creamy. Add vanilla bean.
2. Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time.
3. Add cream (or milk) until it is a medium consistency: not too thick but not too thin!

Assembly

1. 

   Apple Pie a la mode Whoopie Pies

   Find two cookies of approximately the same size: make sure one is a “top” with crumble and one is a “bottom” with no crumble.

2. Scoop filling (I use the same scoop I use to make the cookies so approximately 1 tablespoon) onto the bottom cookie.
3. Put the top on! Smoosh down a little and enjoy!