Every Christmas my girls and I have a baking day where we create gifts for all the people we love. We don’t spend a lot of money, but we spend a lot of time creating these gifts from the heart, and it has become a great tradition.
The Hot Chocolate Bread I created a few years ago was such a hit nearly everyone who tried it asked me for the recipe. It was delicious as is, but over the past couple of years I’ve tweaked it a bit, and the final (and my favorite) result is Peppermint Hot Chocolate Whoopie Pies. They are scrumptious, whether filled with whipped cream, ice cream or even canned frosting!
You can make either whoopie pies or loaves of hot chocolate bread with toasted marshmallows. Recipe makes roughly 18 whoopie pies, two 8″ disposable bread pans, or 5 mini loaf pans.
Peppermint Hot Chocolate Whoopie Pies
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Total Time: 1 hr
Ingredients
- 1/2 c cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 c butter, room temperature
- 1-3/4 c sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1-1/4 c cocoa powder, sifted
- 1-1/4 c buttermilk, divided
- 2 c whole wheat flour, sifted (can substitute with 2 1/4 cups AP flour)
- 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup each M&M’s White Peppermint and M&M’s Hot Chocolate flavors, mixed (can use more or substitute with any variety of M&M’s… or you can use chocolate chips and mint chips. I have also made these with no candy and they were just as good.)
- Mini marshmallows (omit marshmallows if making whoopie pies)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add cream cheese, butter, and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream thoroughly.
Mix in the egg and vanilla.
Add the sifted cocoa powder and about 1/2-2/3 cup of the buttermilk, just enough to mix until smooth, but not too liquid-y.
Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a separate bowl.
Add to wet ingredients with remaining buttermilk.
Mix until just combined; do not over mix.
Add M&M’s and blend for about one minute (depending on your mixer, you may need to fold in the M&M’s® by hand). Dough will be thick like a cookie dough.
Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough in each section of the greased whoopie pie pan and cook for approximately 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. (You can bake these like cookies on a sheet pan if you do not have a whoopie pie pan).
Cool and right before serving add fresh, extra thick, whipped cream in between two rounds.
If using ice cream for the filling:
Soften ice cream slightly and place a scoop in between two whoopie pies.
Press together softly and place on a wax paper covered cookie sheet.
Place in freezer for 15 mins or until you are ready to use.
To make a loaf with toasted marshmallows:
Place loaves in the oven.
After about 30 minutes remove from oven and top with mini marshmallows.
Cook for about 20 more minutes until a toothpick inserted into the loaf comes out clean.
The marshmallows should be a toasted golden brown.
This holiday whoopie pie recipe is just an example of the delicious ideas Kate Kelly shares over on her blog, My Mommy Brain.
