How To Make Chocolate Stout Whoopie Pies

How do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Living near Holyoke, Massachusetts, we have a large parade full of marching bands, clowns, jugglers, horses, floats, and tons of St. Patrick's Day spirit. Each year, a quarter of a million people attend to keep this sixty-plus year tradition going and to celebrate Irish heritage.

Click here to see the Chocolate Stout Whoopie Pies Recipe

I wanted to create a treat that we could eat out of hand while celebrating the flavors of the day so I created these stout whoopie pies, which are cake-like but sturdy enough to keep their shape. The confectioners' sugar-based buttercream filling has enough stout to give them a bit of stout flavor. I played with reducing the stout to create a bolder flavor profile but found the results too bitter.

These are simple to make. Just open up a bottle and get baking. The pies are best if served the same day they are baked, but they can be held overnight in which case I would assemble them and individually wrap in plastic wrap. Wrapping them first makes it easier to get them to the parade route, as well.