chocolate whoopie pies reduced sugar with vanilla cream cheese filling

This is a recipe for whoopie pies I found on the box of a sugar-free cake mix. It looked good so I knew I had to try it.

Reduced-sugar…well, yes it is reduced sugar but it still has carbs so don’t lull yourself into thinking, great I can eat all I want of these! Well, you can, but you might as well eat a big ole piece of chocolate cake too. So, just keep that in mind. Reduced-sugar doesn’t mean calorie-free)))

Whoopie Pies Recipe

Ingredients you’ll need for this recipe

1 Box Pillsbury Zero Sugar Devil’s Food Cake Mix
3 Eggs
3/4 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
8 oz Cream Cheese Softened
Tub of Zero Sugar Vanilla Frosting (I used Keto Friendly Vanilla Frosting)

Do I really need to use zero-sugar cake mix and frosting?

The next time I make whoopie pies, I’ll probably just use regular cake mix and frosting. I’m not sure the trade-off in reduced calories is worth the price difference for the products.

The price difference came to about $6.19 if I had used a regular cake mix and frosting versus the zero-sugar cake mix and keto-friendly frosting that I chose.

The difference in calories in the cake mix was 120 for the zero sugar and 160 for the regular. The carbs were 30 for the zero sugar and 35 for the regular.

The keto-friendly frosting had 130 calories and the regular had 140. The carbs were 13 compared to 22.

So, all in all, not a huge difference in sugar/carbs for the price difference. So next time, I’ll go with the regular products and just try to eat less))).

Did you know?

Whoopie pies have a rich history in American baking. The classic chocolate and vanilla cream combination is believed to have originated in Pennsylvania Dutch and New England Amish communities. These delightful treats consist of soft cake-like cookies sandwiched together with a creamy vanilla filling.

Whoopie pies were often packed into lunch pails for workers. Legend has it that when children found these delightful desserts in their lunch, they would exclaim, “Whoopie!” – hence the name. I don’t know if this is true or not….but..

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350° and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Step 2

Beat the cake mix, eggs, water, and oil in a medium bowl with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes. Don’t forget to scrape down the bowl a couple of times.

Step 3

Make the whoopie pies by dropping 2 tablespoons of batter onto the cookie sheet, 2″ apart. Spread the batter into circles of about 2.25″ Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until centers are set. Test with a toothpick. If inserted in the center of the pie and comes out clean, they are done. Cool on the pan for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack until completely cool.

Step 4

Beat softened cream cheese in a small bowl until light and fluffy with an electric mixer. Add frosting and mix until well blended. Place half of the whoopie pies flat side up. Spread with 2 tablespoons filling in the center of each. Top with remaining pies, rounded side up. Press gently to spread the filling. Chill until ready to serve.

spread vanilla cream cheese frosting to flat side of whoopie pie

Storage

You can wrap the whoopie pies individually with plastic wrap, but I just put them in a snack-size plastic bag. Store in the refrigerator. They will keep for several days if they last that long))

store whoopie pies in individual bags in the refrigerator

Tips

Line more than one cookie sheet to save time and when pies have been transferred to the cooling rack, just wipe off any excess crust and reuse the parchment paper again.
If you have trouble getting the whoopie pies to bake nice and round, draw a circle on your parchment paper as a guideline. They taste good even if they are not perfectly round!
Try baking for the full 9 minutes if your oven will allow. I took mine out at 7 and they were done, but after they cooled, they were a little moist on top. I think baking longer would have helped.

Next Time

I’ll use a regular cake mix and frosting and try to be more exact with my 2 T measurements. Some of mine puffed up pretty good in the center. Next time I’ll spread the batter out more consistently. I’ll also bake them for the full 9 minutes and see if this help dry the tops better. And I’ll definitely use the frosting recipe for other things! It would be great between almost any kind of cookie, or frosting for brownies.

Jeannie

Did you make this recipe?

Mention me @jeannie38863 or tag me using #jeannie38863 so I can see how yours turned out! You can also leave a comment below!

For even more delicious recipes, you may like these:

Fresh Coconut Cake

Ranger Cookies

Honey Roasted Caramel Corn

whoopie pies chocolate with vanilla cream cheese frosting

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