GF Fluffernutter Whoopie Pies, Version 2.0

Fluffernutter, for those that may not know, is a sandwich made with peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff.  It's apparently a New England thing, and very much a favorite of Massachusetts kids.

Hubby was very excited to find out that Marshmallow Fluff is naturally gluten-free, and emailed this recipe to me which he found on the Fluffernutter website.  All I had to do was swap out the flour for GF flour, and here it is!

You'll notice that I call this recipe "Version 2.0" -- that's because this is my second attempt at it.  The first time around I added some Xanthan Gum in addition to swapping out the flour, because I thought it was necessary.  When I did that, I found the dough/batter to be incredibly thick and sticky and it wasn't spreading in the oven like the recipe said it would.  It made for whoopie pies that were somewhat oddly shaped, and more cookie-like than cake-like in texture.  Here is a picture of Version 1:

Overall, Version 1.0 was good and they tasted great....even a friend at work really liked them.  The filling, in particular, is to die for and absolutely addictive (it would also make a wonderful cupcake frosting).  Personally, though, I didn’t think the cake part of these whoopie pies was quite right.

Fast forward to when I made my Gluten-Free Brownies last week, whose recipe didn't call for any Xanthan Gum at all.  The brownies turned out spectacularly, so I thought: "Maybe I don't need to add Xanthan Gum to all baked goods; maybe it's only essential in breads."  And so whoopie pie Version 2.0 was born.  This is what Version 2.0 looks like: 

I should note that I’ve never made either version of this recipe with regular flour (or any homemade whoopie pies for that matter), so I don’t know how either compares to how the cakes would have turned out with regular flour....and I don't really know whether Version 1.0 or Version 2.0 is closer to how the folks at Fluff intended them to be.  Either way, I prefer Version 2.0 for sure (and Hubby says they're better than any storebought whoopie pies he's ever had, gluten-free or not -- and he's a whoopie pie connoisseur).

:)  Here is the recipe:

CAKE INGREDIENTS

• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups multi-purpose GF flour (I used about half King Arthur Gluten Free Multi Purpose Flour and about half Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour, because that's what I had on hand)
• ½ - 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum (only if you want Version 1.0 whoopie pies)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
• 3/4 cup milk (we always use a lactose-free variety)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

CAKE DIRECTIONS

1.  Heat oven to 350 F

2.  In a large bowl with mixer at medium speed beat egg and vegetable oil. Gradually pour in sugar and continue beating until pale yellow in color.  In another bowl, sift together the flours, (xanthan gum if you are going for Version 1.0), cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

3.  In a measuring cup combine milk and vanilla.

4.  Add the flour and milk mixtures alternately to the egg/oil/sugar mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.

5.  Let sit 10 minutes.

6.  Drop by tablespoons onto a cookie sheet lined with Silpat (I used a melon ball scooper -- spray the scooper with Pam if you are doing Version 1.0 to make sure it lets go of that sticky xanthan gum dough).

7.  The original recipe indicated that the cakes would spread a lot during baking, which was certainly true with this Version 2.0, so make sure to leave plenty of room for that to happen (i.e. don't put more than four pie halves on one cookie sheet).  For Version 1.0, they didn't spread out at all and basically kept the shape they were when plopped onto the cookie sheet.  What this tells me is that the more Xanthan Gum you use, the taller and smaller diameter your whoopie pies will end up.  It's also worth nothing that there was no crumbling problem at all, even in Version 2.0 with -0- Xanthan Gum.

8.  Bake about 8-9 minutes.

9.  Remove to wire racks or waxed paper to cool.

10.  You may find that the cakes seem to stick to the pan or Silpat.  Just dig under them carefully until they release from the pan.  Then, scrape off anything left behind stuck to the pan and move on to your next batch.  (I found it's not a good idea to grease the Silpat/pan because the batter spreads too far and unevenly if you do).

FILLING INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Teddie All Natural Organic Peanut Butter because that's what we had on hand and because we love Teddie PB)
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• One 7 ½ oz. jar Marshmallow Fluff
• 3-4 tbsp. milk

FILLING DIRECTIONS

1.  Bring butter and peanut butter to room temperature.

2.  In a medium bowl with mixer at low speed, beat butter and remaining ingredients until light and fluffy. (And try not to eat it all with your fingers before putting it into the sandwiches!)

3.  When the cakes are cool, which they should be by the time you have the filling made, use filling and two cakes to make sandwiches.

You should get about 18 (three-to-four-inch-diameter) whoopie pies, each with:

• 320 calories
• 4 grams protein
• 52 grams carbs
• 11 grams fat
• 1 gram fiber
• 139 mg sodium

Here are a couple more pictures, just for fun....

PS -- I would suggest storing any uneaten pies in the fridge, since the filling contains both milk and butter.