Halloween Whoopie Pies made with soft, cakey sandwich cookies that have a rich and intense midnight colour coming from the black cocoa powder and a silky and smooth chocolate buttercream enhanced with black cocoa for a deep flavour and a spooky touch. Add Halloween sprinkles to the mix, and you get a delicious Halloween treat that everyone will enjoy.
Black cocoa powder is an ingredient that I didn't know I needed until I first baked with it, and I have loved it ever since. Unlike regular cocoa powder, which has a lovely chocolate flavour, the black cocoa is rich and intense, and reminds me of Oreo.
Added to any dessert, it adds a depth of flavour and a wonderful black touch that makes it perfect for Halloween treats. I have used it before in Halloween Black Cookies, Halloween Black Cupcakes, Halloween Black Velvet Cake and Baileys Brownies and they were pure delight!
The classic whoopie pies are such a treat anyway, but add a touch of black cocoa powder to them, and you take them to the very next level. If you don't want a Halloween treat, omit the sprinkles, and use regular cocoa powder only, and you get the best chocolate whoopie pies!
The buttercream uses black cocoa powder too, for a hint of chocolate mud kind of treat, but you can use orange, green or purple buttercream for different Halloween options.
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Note!
Go to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions!
Ingredients overview
The sandwich cookies
- flour - I used regular plain flour
- dark brown sugar - adds deeper flavour to the sponge
- regular cocoa powder - gives a lovely chocolate flavour
- black cocoa powder - provides deeper colour, and a bold, Oreo-like touch
- baking powder - makes the sponges light and airy
- buttermilk - adds moisture
- butter - at room temperature, it has to be soft enough to be beaten well
- egg - a large egg and room temperature
- vanilla extract - it goes well with the chocolate flavour
The buttercream
- icing sugar - or confectioners' sugar, make it sure it's well sifted for a smooth texture
- regular cocoa powder - for a rich chocolate flavour
- black cocoa powder - adds a mud-like colour to the buttercream
- butter - soft, so it can be easily beaten
- milk - optional, use a bit in case the buttercream feels a bit dry
- sprinkles - for a Halloween touch
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- to make the whoopie pies, add the soft butter and dark brown sugar to a large mixing bowl, and use a hand mixer to beat them together until you get a creamy texture
- crack the egg in, and beat again until the egg is fully incorporated
- sift in the flour, cocoa powders, add the baking powder, vanilla extract and buttermilk and use a spatula to mix everything into a thick batter
- use an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon to drop mounds of batter onto the baking trays
- bake for 10-11 minutes at 190 degrees Celsius (375 Fahrenheit) for 10-11 minutes until the pies spring back slightly when pressed gently
- leave them to cool down completely
- to make the buttercream, add the soft butter and icing sugar to a large mixing bowl, and use a hand mixer to cream them
- add the rest of the ingredients to get a smooth and silky texture
- pipe buttercream onto the flat side of a pie, and top with another pie
- roll the edges in sprinkles
Expert tips
Make sure the whoopie pies have cooled down completely before piping the buttercream on, it can be very messy if the buttercream warms up and starts melting.
You can fill the whoopie pies using a spoon too, but using a piping bag fitted with a star noozle with add a neater finishing touch. You can leave the sprikles out if you wish, or use any other Halloween sprinkle mix.
If you leave out the cocoa powder, you can use food colouring for a different Halloween touch: green, orange or purple are great colours, but make sure you increase the amount of icing used, so the ratio butter to icing is 1:2.
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Halloween Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
- 210 g plain flour ( 1 â…” cup)
- 30 g regular cocoa powder (2 tbsp)
- 30 g black cocoa powder (2 tbsp)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 110 g salted butter, soft (1 stick)
- 200 g dark brown sugar (1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 300 ml buttermilk
For the buttercream
- 150 g soft butter (â…” cup)
- 250 g icing sugar ( confectioners' sugar, 1 ½ cup)
- 30 g black cocoa powder (2 tbsp)
- 15 g regular cocoa powder (1 tbsp)
- 15 ml milk ( 1 tbsp)
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Instructions
- To make the whoopie pies, preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius (375 Fahrenheit).
- Add the soft butter and dark brown sugar to a large mixing bowl, and use a hand mixer to beat them together until you get a creamy texture.
- Add the egg and beat again until it's fully incorporated.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powders and baking powder, add the vanilla extract and buttermilk, and use a spatula to mix well to get a thick batter.
- Use an ice cream scoop of spoon to drop mounds of batter onto 2 baking trays, making sure you leave plenty of room between each pie.
- Bake for 11 minutes until the whoopie pies spring back slightly when they are pressed gently.
- Leave them to cool down completely.
- To make the buttercream, add the soft butter and icing sugar to a large bowl, and use a hand mixer to cream them together.
- Add the cocoa powders and milk, and beat again to a smooth texture.
- Add the buttercream to a piping bag fit with a star noozle, and pipe cream onto the flat side of a whoopie pie, then top with another pie.
- Dust them with Halloween sprinkles.
Video
Notes
- Make sure the whoopie pies have cooled down completely before piping the buttercream on, it can be very messy if the buttercream warms up and starts melting.
- You can fill the whoopie pies using a spoon too, but using a piping bag fitted with a star noozle with add a neater finishing touch. You can leave the sprikles out if you wish, or use any other Halloween sprinkle mix.
- If you leave out the cocoa powder, you can use food colouring for a different Halloween touch: green, orange or purple are great colours, but make sure you increase the amount of icing used, so the ratio butter to icing is 1:2.
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