strawberry whoopie pie recipe

I just finished a very successful first batch of Strawberry Whoopie Pies. This time I defrosted frozen strawberries and used the puree for flavoring. The pies came out so much lighter the the jello batch and I didn't even wait for them to cool properly before testing, shooting and tasting.

the new kitchenaid pulverizer works great...

Whoopie Pies Test Batch #1

First mix 1.75 cups gluten free flour (artisan blend used here)

with .5 of each baking soda, salt and xantham gum

set aside

then puree strawberries and set aside. I let frozen ones defrost and used the berries and the juice.

In a separate bowl mix .25 cup of butter (Nature's Balance for me!)

.5cup of sugar when it's blended add 1 large egg, .5 cup milk (soy for this batch) and .5 teaspoon vanilla

Blend well by hand or with a mixer.  Add in .5 cup of strawberry puree.

Mix in flour blend and chill for 10 minutes in the fridge

and let your oven preheat to 375 degrees

this seems to help the batter set up so don't skip the chill time

make even dollops of dough

bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes (this is for 9,400 feet above sea level- you may want to go with 350 for 13 minutes then test for doneness)

let stand until cool (or get impatient because they smell so good and get one ready for a photo shoot)

Looks pretty but how's the flavor?

SUCESS! To test the recipe I made them again with two slight changes,

food coloring for added pink color and .25 cup less flour for a density test. 

Batch #2 Batter

Batch #1 on the left and Batch #2 on the right

Batch #2 used 1/4 less flour and added food coloring

which resulted in a fluffier and pinker cake

I had a few folks test both pies and grade them on taste, texture and color. Batch #2 (with less flour) won on 3 votes on taste and texture and 2 on color. I had one tester who preferred the natural look... which one do you think is more appealing?

Camper's Strawberry Gluten-Free Whoopie Pies

(makes 12 cakes, 6 pies)

1.5 cups Artisan Flour

.5 teaspoon of each- xantham gum, salt and baking powder soda (whoops!)

Mix above and set aside

In a separate bowl mix

.5 cup sugar

.25 cup butter (Earth's Balance)

Then mix in

.5 cup milk (soy has been tested)

1 egg

.5 teaspoon vanilla

Then puree

.5 cup defrosted strawberries in their juice

and add to the wet mix.

Slowly combine wet and dry mixes

Optional- 6 drops of red food coloring

Chill dough for 10 minutes or more while the oven preheats to to 375 degrees

Bake for 15 minutes

(this is for 9,400 feet above sea level- you may want to go with 350 for 13 minutes then test for doneness)  

I'm suffering from sugar shock after all this whoopie pie testing. I'm hoping the jitters go away eventually...