Growing up in South Central Pennsylvania, I've had my fair share of whoopie pies. Traditionally an Amish dessert, you can now find them sold throughout the United States. Sometimes called a gob, both Pennsylvania and Maine stake claims to having made the first whoopie pies (obviously I'm partial to Pennsylvania, so I'll say we made them first).
My love affair with root beer whoopie pies began last year at a craft show held in Harrisburg, PA. A woman set up a fabulous booth of assorted whoopie pies, breads and cookies. I've had about every flavor of whoopie pie you can imagine but I was intrigued by the idea of a root beer float whoopie. I also bought the less unusual flavors such as red velvet, pumpkin and chocolate peanut butter. Surprisingly, out of all of the whoopie pies I sampled that day, the root beer float was by far the best. I could almost taste the fizz of the root beer inside the filling.
I found this recipe for a very similar whoopie pie a few months ago. It seemed like the perfect choice for my first post. The cakes are perfectly moist and the filling is light, creamy and delicious. I only wish it had a little more root beer flavor. Next time I might try using root beer extract rather than the root beer flavoring. I'm pretty impressed with myself for perfecting my first Swiss Meringue Buttercream. So much so, that I might never make a traditional buttercream again!
Recipe follows after the jump!
