(Have you noticed, by the by, how successfully Channel 10 has trained us in the binge-diet reality television cycle? A season of Masterchef follows The Biggest Loser, which in its turn followed Masterchef, which was preceded by The Biggest Loser, ad infinitum...)
My contribution was nutella whoopie pies. The whoopie pie seems to be a concept native to America. I know I'd never eaten one before making this recipe. They're much more cakelike than cookie, despite appearances, and they turned out much larger than I expected - just about the same size as a cupcake or a mid-ish muffin.
Nutella Whoopie Pies
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup of Nutella
2/3 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla essence (or hazelnut liqueur)
1/2 teapsoon salt
Preheat oven to 180 C.
In a large bowl, beat the nutella, butter, and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add cocoa, egg, salt, buttermilk, and essence/liqueur and mix well.
Add baking soda and flour. Mix well
Line baking sheets with paper and place 1.5 tablespoons of dough in rounds.
Bake for approximately 10-13 minutes, until cookies are set and the top appears slightly dry. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Frosting: as it turns out, I used about half of the frosting, so you may want to reduce the quantities listed here.
2/3 cup Nutella
225 g cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon coffee-infused vodka (or hazelnut liqueur or espresso coffee)
3 cups icing sugar
With a mixer, whip cream cheese, vodka, nutella, and whipping cream.
Slowly add sugar and beat for 2-3 minutes. Adjust consistency by adding up more powdered sugar, or more whipping cream.
When cookies have cooled, place up to 1 tablespoon frosting on the bottom of one cookie, and gently press another cookie on top of the frosting, creating a sandwich.
From Twisted Kitchen
