Zucchini Whoopie Pies have become a yearly tradition in my home, born out of my husband’s love for all things zucchini bread, and my love for all things whoopie pie. When we first got married I realized that my cooking was very different from the style he was raised with, so I asked him if there was anything from his childhood that he wanted me to try and master. His immediate response was “zucchini bread.” He had little other requests, which made things easy for me!
Aside from a few select dishes, Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, admittedly, has never been my favorite. It involves a little too much carbohydrate, way too few vegetables, and not enough spice for my taste… But there are a few dishes that I will shamelessly and repeatedly rave over, one of which is whoopie pies. Truth be told, I never tried a whoopie pie until I was in my 20s, while visiting my then finance’s parents in central Pennsylvania, where PA Dutch cooking abounds. As a kid, I remember seeing whoopie pies for sale at a fair, where I begged my parents for one, but was denied because I had already indulged in cotton candy. 10 odd years later my wish became true due to the excellent idea of my mother-in-law to serve the delicious little cakes you can hold when we came to visit! Ever since, I’ve been hooked on all things whoopie pie, which can come in all different sizes and flavors, of which Zucchini Whoopie Pies are a favorite.
Now onto some hints for making amazing zucchini whoopie pies…
One of the most important things is to make sure that your zucchini is well rung out. I do this using a cheese cloth and press it until the cloth is just about to break. You’ll end up with dense, dry zucchini, which makes room for more buttermilk. Oh yeah!
When you mix the dry ingredients and the buttermilk into the batter, alternate between the two, by adding a little dry ingredients until smooth, and then adding a little buttermilk until smooth. Continue doing this until all of the ingredients are combined. This method will prevent clumpy batter (and no one likes clumpy batter).
Fold your zucchini into the batter at the end with a spoon, instead of using a mixer, so that it doesn’t become puree. Gross!
I use a Tbsp to measure my batter onto the cookie sheet. This is all about portion control. I used to use an ice cream scoop, but that equaled a whopping 500+ calories! These whoopie pies are about the size of a cookie and are just over 200 calories, so you can have your cake and eat it too.
Be sure to use a cooling rack for your whoopie pie cakes and don’t stack them one on the other. They’re more cake than cookie, so they’ll stick together if stacked. Also, be sure not to add the frosting until they’re completely cooled!
I’ve played with the icing for this recipe a bit and settled on adding a little lemon to it. This makes it taste a lot like Cinnabon icing, if you’re familiar with that out-of-this-world yumminess!
When I was photographing these I accidentally spilled my milk… but I hear you’re not supposed to cry about that…
When eating whoopie pies, it’s good to give them a little squish between your fingers, because they taste best with the icing oozing out! Well, at least I think they do…
A final note from Dan: To achieve the optimum texture and temperature for a perfect whoopie pie experience, place one in the freezer just before dinner. When you’re ready for dessert, it will be just right! Zucchini Whoopie Pies - lovely little spiced cakes you can hold in your hand, sandwiching homemade cream cheese frosting with a touch of lemon! To store: Individually wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator up to a week.
Zucchini Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
Cakes
Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
Notes
Lucy says
I have been toying with the idea of a peach-cornmeal whoopie pie. (I’m all about the seasonal whoopie pies.) This looks delicious! Yummed, Stumbled, and Pinned 🙂
Rachel says
A peach-cornmeal whoopie pie sounds out of this world! Thanks for sharing on social media!
These look so delicious! What a great way to use up zucchini! That cream cheese filling looks amazing!!
When a girl has too much zucchini the best option is to make some dessert out of it!
Such an awesome, creative way to eat whoopie pies! Love it!
Thanks Sam!