I have a thing for whoopie pies. To me, they are a perfect snack. Little chocolate cakes sandwiched together with filling. Unfortunately, they are usually disappointingly not chocolatey and the filling is super sweet. But I just keep trying new recipes, hoping to find the perfect one.

I snagged this recipe off the NY Times website. You can find the recipe here, although you may have to create a free user login to get to it. It is based off of a recipe from Zingerman’s Bakehouse in Ann Arbor, MI. Having once lived in Ann Arbor, I can attest to the goodness that is Zingerman’s. And these whoopie pies did not disappoint. I refuse to admit the exact number of pies that I ate, but I will say that Bryan was lucky to get any.

These whoopie pies were so good that I made another batch within two days. I exercised a bit more restraint (actually, the restraint came from the waistband of my jeans that were so tight that they simply stopped me from eating any more) and gave most of them away.

The cake part is moist and dense. Instead of using the marshmallow fluff filling that is part of the recipe, I made a cream cheese filling. The cakes were pretty sweet, so the tanginess of the filling was a nice contrast. I kept the pies in the refrigerator which made the cake part almost fudgy. I also made the pies quite a bit smaller than the recipe calls for. Instead of getting 6 pies, I used a tablespoon scoop and got 15 pies. They were the perfect size.