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Vegan Food, Family & Travel

UPDATED! Pistachio Whoopie Pies & The Bake & Destroy Cookbook Contest!

MeetTheShannonsBakeDestroy
*This Contest is Closed*

UPDATE! Natalie has given me permission to share the recipe behind these wonderful whoopies! So the recipe as been added to this post. Just scroll down to get it and enter to win a copy of her new book Bake & Destroy if you haven’t already. We’ll be choosing the winner tomorrow – So Scoot! 

I’ve been lucky enough to have traveled around the world meeting vegans* and yet in all my journeys I have yet to meet one really adorably awesome one – Natalie Slater.

Natalie isn’t just a gamer with a pro-wrestling obsession – she’s a famous vegan baker who’s been on The Food Network and Cooking Channel. She’s also been a judge on Cupcakes Wars – which you all know is one of my favorites and not just because I love Doron Petersan. We were lucky enough to get a copy of her new cookbook Bake And Destroy – Good Food for Bad Vegans to review and give away!

This book is not just full of the cutest punk rock doodles. It has some really creative and delicious recipes like Shepherd’s Pie Pizza and OCD Chips & Dip that were celebrated in our home like they were Mozart in Salzburg. Especially the whoopie pies. Now you guys know I love a good whoopie pie. Even more than cupcakes – GASP! But yeah – more than cupcakes. So that’s what we made first.

The cake part of these whoopie pies have perfect texture and included cardamon – which is a spice that I know I love with chocolate but always forget to play around with. This recipe has inspired me to explore that relationship more. Actually the hardest part about this recipe for me was sitting down long enough to shell the pistachios. Luckily the new season of Face Off ** is on to keep me company.  The recipe below has been cut and pasted from Bake and Destroy: Good Food for Bad Vegan by Natalie Slater – Page Street Publishing; August 2013 and printed with permission from the publisher. I can tell you it’s easy and wonderful and everything you ever wanted in a handful of cake and frosting.

But you don’t want to hear me wax all romantic about watching the SyFy channel and chocolate. You already know those things rock. You also probably don’t want to me go on and on about how much I love this book because I love it. LOVE IT. Do you need to hear more? You want to win this book!

Keeping with the spirit of Natalie’s love of pro-wrestling and also because I read an article once that anyone who was a kid in the 80s*** can name 10 pro wrestlers in under a minute (I’ve tested it and it’s true) today’s contest is pretty simple. Leave a comment naming your favorite pro-wrestler. It must be someone we can google. No making up stuff. We will randomly choose ONE commenter from the comments below this Friday Sept 20th 2013 to win a copy of this book. Be sure that the email address you leave is valid so we can contact you when you win.

So dig deep in your memories of G.I.Joe and Jem and tell us which pro-wrestler you were cheering for on Saturday afternoons after cartoons were over!

Pistachio Whoopie Pies

Rather than using a traditional marshmallow filling, I fill these with pistachio buttercream—fancy! I felt compelled to color the filling green. Skip that step, if you prefer.

Makes 24 whoopie pies

Whoopies

1 2⁄3 cups (207 g) all-purpose flour
2⁄3 cup (79 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ cup (57 g) vegan margarine
¼ cup (57 g) unhydrogenated vegetable shortening
1 cup packed (225 g) dark brown sugar
¼ cup (60 g) blended silken tofu or vegan soy yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups (295 ml) soy milk
¼ cup (25 g) finely ground pistachios

 

Filling

¼ cup (57 g) vegan margarine
¼ cup (57 g) nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening
3 cups (375 g) confectioners’ sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons (45 to 60 ml) soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (50 g) finely ground pistachios
Green food coloring (optional)

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use an actual whoopie pie pan.

To make the whoopie pies: In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cardamom.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the margarine, shortening and brown sugar on low speed until mixed, and then beat for 3 more minutes on medium speed. (You could also do this with a handheld electric mixer.) Add the tofu and vanilla and beat for 2 more minutes.

Add half the flour mixture and half of the soy milk and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture and soy milk and beat until completely combined. Add the ground pistachios and stir to incorporate.

To make about two dozen 2-inch (5 cm) whoopie pies, drop the batter 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time onto a lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. I use a whoopie pie pan, which makes about sixteen larger whoopie pies.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the whoopies spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove from the pans to cool completely.

To make the filling, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the margarine and shortening just until mixed. Add the confectioners’ sugar, beat on medium for about 1 minute, until the mixture is crumbly. Add the soy milk, vanilla and salt and beat on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the food coloring now, if using. Stir in the pistachios.

To assemble: When the whoopies are cool, match them up as best you can. Plop a dollop of filling on the underside of one (I use a pastry bag to do this, but you don’t have to) and sandwich it together with another whoopie.

*Yeah – Best job ever.

**If you like monsters and special effects as much as I do – please check out this show. Every time I like something it gets canceled. So the fact this show is still on  – makes me nervous and happy – so many feelings.

***I know this is going to give my 30 something peers an edge but there has to benefits to being 30… this is one. But to be fair – if you’re little or have blocked out this part of your childhood – you can google ‘Cyndi Lauper Goonies’ and there are a bunch in there that might help you out.



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