Vanilla whoopie pie recipe with buttercream filling

I am very excited to share one of my favorite treats for birthday parties – vanilla whoopie pie. A delightful take on everyone’s favorite chocolate whoopie pies. These delicious whoopie pies are nothing but tender, cake-like vanilla cookies filled with creamy vanilla buttercream.

These bite-sized treats are ideal for any occasion, whether it’s a kid’s night out or any other event or gathering, or your next bake sale. This a great alternative to vanilla cupcakes frosted with vanilla buttercream or layered vanilla cake and will surely satisfy your cravings.

Let’s not wait any further and make them right away.

Why you will love this vanilla whoopie pie?

1. Quick and easy to make treat
2. A perfect bite-sized dessert
3. Kids favorite
4. Perfect for any occasion
5. Customizable

How to make a vanilla whoopie pie recipe?

I have provided step-by-step recipe below but let’s quickly understand the overview.

Sr. No.	Steps
1	Make cake-like vanilla cookies
2	Prepare creamy filling
3	Assemble, decorate, and Serve

Vanilla whoopie pie ingredients

Vanilla cake ingredients

Here is a list of ingredients required for vanilla cake. I am sure you will have all of these items in your pantry. If not, you will easily get them in your local grocery store.

Milk – Use full-fat milk. This adds moisture to the muffins. Please stay away from low-fat milk as it can affect the taste and texture of cookies.

Lemon juice – You can either use store-bought or homemade lemon juice.

All-purpose flour – Any brand of plain flour will work. This gives our cookies a texture and structure.

Baking powder – This will give a perfect rise to our little whoopie pies. Just a teaspoon is enough.

Baking soda – Another leavening agent that reacts with lemon juice and helps the whoopie pies rise.

Salt – As always, little bit of salt is needed to enhance any dessert. Do not skip unless you are using salted butter.

Butter – Use your favorite unsalted butter. If you are using salted butter then please skip out the salt otherwise it will become too salty.

Sugar – Use regular caster sugar or granulated sugar. I would not recommend using icing sugar or powdered sugar here.

Egg – Use a free-range large egg. Make sure it is at room temperature

Vanilla extract – Use either pure vanilla extract or vanilla imitation based on your choice or what is available in the pantry. Just a teaspoon of vanilla extract is more than enough to achieve that deep vanilla flavor.

Buttercream ingredients

Here is a list of ingredients for the vanilla filling 

Unsalted butter – I prefer unsalted butter since I can control the amount of salt that goes into the recipe but if you do not have any, use regular salted butter.

Icing sugar – You can get this in any grocery store as icing sugar, powdered sugar, or confectioners sugar. Although you can make your homemade powdered sugar, I prefer to use store-bought for smooth buttercream consistency.

Vanilla extract – Use either vanilla extract or vanilla imitation. Both will work here.

Please note that this is just a list of ingredients. Please refer to the recipe card for exact measurements.

Any substitute?

Lemon juice – You can substitute lemon juice with vinegar in equal quantity.

Tools needed

1. Mixing bowls
2. Weighing scale
3. Measuring spoons
4. Measuring cups
5. Baking pans
6. Cookie scoop
7. Piping bag
8. Piping tip

Vanilla whoopie pie (step-by-step) recipe

Vanilla cake step-by-step recipe

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F (180 C) for at least 10 minutes. Along with that, also prepare your baking trays with a single layer of parchment paper. 

2. Add lemon juice to a cup of milk, and let it sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir with a spoon and keep it aside.

3. In a large bowl, prepare your flour mixture by combining the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). Once combined, sift at least once. 

4. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Start with low speed and gradually increase it to medium speed after a minute. This will take about 3 to 5 minutes. If you are using a stand mixer, add these into a bowl of a mixer and beat with a paddle attachment.

5. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until properly combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

6. Slowly add the flour and milk mixture, and beat on low speed until it is just mixed. DO NOT OVERMIX.

7. Repeat until they are finished and our smooth cake batter will be ready. Scrape the bowl if needed.

8. Using a small cookie scoop, drop the batter onto prepared baking sheets. Keep some space between them as they will expand while baking.

9. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes on the middle rack of the preheated oven at 350 F or 180 C or until the top springs back when touched.

10. Once removed, let them cool down for a few minutes before transferring them to the wire rack.

PS: If you have any leftover cake batter, feel free to use it to make these soft and fluffy vanilla cookies. I have prepared these with my leftover vanilla cake batter.

Let’s prepare the filling until these soft cake-like cookies are cooled completely.

Buttercream step-by-step recipe

11. In a small bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy.

12. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until everything is well combined.

13. Mix in vanilla and mix again.

14. Add milk to adjust the consistency and the buttercream is ready. You can also use heavy cream as a milk replacement.

15. Fill in the piping bag that is attached with your favorite piping tip. I am not using any tip here, I just snipped the top . You can also use a large round tip or 1M.

Assemble vanilla whoopie pies

16. When your mini cakes are cooled down, take one. Add buttercream or vanilla filling on a flat side and then place the flat side of the other cookie on top. 

17. Press gently to form a sandwich.

18. Although optional, you can cover the sides of these sandwich cookies with funfetti, chocolate chips, or your favorite sprinkles.

19. Enjoy!

How to serve?

1. This pairs beautifully with tea or coffee.
2. Dust with powdered sugar and arrange them nicely on the serving tray.
3. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
4. To serve them at your next birthday party, wrap whoopie pies individually in transparent wrappers.

Watch us making (video)

Storing and freezing instructions for vanilla whoopie pie

These mini treats can be made ahead of and stored either plain or with frosting. In either case, make sure they are completely cooled down.

Storing instructions

Storing plain – You can keep them in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Storing with filling – Depending on the filling, you can keep them at room temperature or in the fridge. For example, if you have filled them with buttercream or ganache, store them at room temperature for up to 3 days. But, if you use a cream-based or fruit filling, store them directly in the refrigerator. It stays ok for up to 1 to 1.5 weeks.

You can use a layer of parchment paper if stacking them in the container, preventing them from sticking.

Freezing instructions

To freeze the whoopie pies, let them cool down completely before wrapping them individually with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. This will prevent them from freezer burn.

You can also keep these wrapped whoopie pies in freezer-safe bag or container.

Don’t forget to put the date on the foil. They stay ok for up to 2 months.

Thawing instructions

To thaw, keep them in the refrigerator overnight and for a couple of hours at room temperature.

PS: They taste better when served at room temperature. So give them enough time for that.

Variations

1. Decorate with a variety of options: Instead of sprinkles, use your favorite chopped nuts or coconut shavings. Be creative!
2. Swap the filling- Instead of buttercream, use ganache or flour frosting or marshmallow filling. For a fruity flavor, add your favorite fruit sauces to the buttercream. So many options to choose from, right? 🙂
3. Colorful whoopie pies – Add a few drops of different colors to the cake batter to make colorful vanilla whoopie pies.
4. Funfetti whoopie pies – Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of sprinkles into the cake batter and make funfetti whoopie pies.
5. Colorful frosting – Simply color the plain buttercream with your favorite colors and use it.

Secret tips to make the perfect vanilla whoopie pie

To master this classic dessert, follow my tips mentioned below.

1. Room temperature ingredients – Use room temperature butter, milk, and egg to ensure everything mixes together easily.
2. Quality ingredients – Pure vanilla extract will make a big difference in flavor.
3. Do not overmix – Mix Wet and dry ingredients until they just combined. Overmixing will form additional gluten, resulting in dense whoopie pies.
4. Use cookie scoop – Please use cookie scoop to drop batter onto parchment paper. This will help them bake evenly and look appealing when serving.
5. Do not overbake – Each oven is different and so is the total baking time. Bake until they are golden from the sides and the top should spring back when touched. So, keep a watch. They will continue to bake on cookie sheets even after removed from the oven.
6. Cool completely – Before you fill them with buttercream, make sure they are completely cooled, otherwise buttercream will melt.

FAQ’s

Why my whoopie pies dense?

Overmixing or using more flour are two main causes of dense whoopie pies. To accurately measure the flour, use a weighing scale rather and avoid overmixing dry and wet ingredients.

Want to try some other cake recipes?

If you like these vanilla whoopie pies, please try out my other cake recipes.

1. East and moist vanilla cake

2. My favorite red velvet cake

3. Chocolate cake

You can use the red velvet cake or chocolate cake batter to make those whoopie pie versions. Please try it out and let me know how did it turn out.

Did you make it?

It’s your turn to make these cake-like vanilla cookies filled with creamy vanilla filling AKA American buttercream and let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! I really love hearing from you, and your feedback is very much important to me.

If you post on Instagram, do not forget to Tag @DessertKatta or Hashtag it #DessertKatta

Recipe card