Dark Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Chocolate Chip Cookie Butter Filling

Ever have one of those days (or weeks) where you just need to curl up on your bed with a fluffy pillow and a big fat spoonful of cookie dough and watch a couple episodes of The Biggest Loser or The Next Food Network Star? Yeah, I totally understand. Life's been a little rough around here, lately.

But good things have been happening, yes. Jars of cookie butter. Mountains of whoopie pies. Discovering the existence of white chocolate cocoa powder (what!). Getting a new position at work. All very good and exciting!

But other life issues have been stressing me out, so it was a lucky thing that I got these whoopie pies out of the house before I finished them off on my own! It was very tempting. And to you skinny minnies who eat two cookies and moan about overdoing it, you have no idea who you're dealing with.

The whoopie shells are nice and soft and moist and not overly sweet, striking a perfect balance with the thick layer of cookie butter stuffed between them. Yummers!

Dark Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Chocolate Chip Cookie Butter Filling [click to print]
Makes about 24 pies

• 1-2/3 c. flour
• 1/2 c. cocoa powder
• 2 T. plus 1-1/2 tsp. black onyx cocoa powder*
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1-1/2 c. Chocolate Chip Cookie Butter

*I realize normal people don't have black onyx in their pantry (or bookshelf shoved back behind their dining room table, in my case), so you can use 2/3 c. total cocoa powder instead of the combination of cocoa and black onyx, they just won't be as dark.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or coat generously with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Whisk together flour, cocoas, soda and salt; set aside. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, beating until completely incorporated. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream in about 3 additions, beginning and ending with flour. Continue mixing until just combined.

Scoop tablespoons of batter onto prepared sheet, spacing each batter blob two inches apart. Bake about 10 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed.

Allow cakes to cool about five minutes on baking sheet before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. Spread flat side of half of cakes with cookie butter and sandwich with remaining cakes.

Source: Adapted from The Novice Chef