Whoopie pie

I often turn to unrefined sugar to sweeten my cookies because I love the crunchy texture it provides. But when it comes to whoopie pies, agave nectar works much better. The reason is simple: Traditionally, whoopie pies are built with cookies that are fairly squishy and cake-like by comparison—way more so than a typical sandwich cookie. For the filling I prefer Ricemellow Creme, the marshmallow concoction made by Suzanne’s Specialties (see below), but you can fill it with Vanilla Icing for equally wonderful results.
Ingredients

• 1-1/2  cups Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour
• 1/2  cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2  cup arrowroot
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup melted refined coconut oil or canola oil
• 2⁄3 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups Ricemellow Crème (see below)

Directions
1  Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2  In a medium bowl, whisk together the fl our, cocoa powder, arrowroot, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. Add the coconut oil, agave nectar, applesauce, and vanilla and mix with a rubber spatula until the mixture forms a smooth dough.

3  Drop the dough by the teaspoonful onto the prepared baking sheets about 1. inches apart. Using the palm of your hand, gently flatten each cookie to help it spread. Bake for 7 minutes, rotate, and bake until the cookies are firm to the touch and golden brown on the outside, about 7 minutes more. Let cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheets.

4  Spoon 3 tablespoons of Ricemellow Creme on the flat side of a cookie. Top with a second cookie. Repeat with the remaining Ricemellow Creme and cookies.

SUZANNE’S SPECIALTIES: RICEMELLOW CRÈME
I will admit that the entire idea of a marshmallow replacement is completely new to me, but I was unimaginably grateful to find Suzanne’s Specialties’ Ricemellow Creme so early in my searches. But please be warned: This product contains soy protein, and as such, you will not find it featured at my bakeries, only at my dinner parties.

Makes 12.

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Excerpted from Babycakes Covers the Classiscs by Erin McKenna. Copyright © 2011 by Erin McKenna. Photographs Copyright © 2012 by Tara Donne. Excerpted by permission of Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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