Gingerbread Whoopie Pies and Lemon Shortbread Bars and SUPER-FLY FAIL Crusty French Bread

And now I have a sugar headache.  Sigh.

I am having a couple I play football with over to dinner tomorrow night and the menu looks like:
Salad w/yummy homemade vinagrette
Lasagna (with homemade noodles)
Homemade bread (turned into garlic bread)

I love this cookbook.

Wine
Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
Lemon Shortbread Bars

So I can go to the gym tomorrow and not be too stressed, I thought I'd make the bread and desserts today, leaving the salad (oooh hard...) and the lasagna for tomorrow.  The bread was a super-fly fail, so I will have to remake another loaf tomorrow.  But at least the desserts turned out!

I love to bake. It puts me in a zone of oblivion where I don't have to think about anything other than the recipe and measuring and the food around me as I create. 

The problem is that I love to sample, and when I am making non-friendly WW recipe, it does a number on my gut.  I had a good amount of leftover whoopie pie filling that I couldn't see go to waste, so I had to eat most of it.  :(  I feel super-gross now, but it tasted so good!  Not worth it.  But the whoopie pies did turn out awesome. 

 Batter

Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
Source:  Good Housekeeping Best-Loved Desserts (pg. 37)

Cookies
2 C all-purpose flour
3/4 C light molasses (I use regular full-on dark)
1/4 C granulated sugar
6 TBSP butter melted
2 tsp. ginger (I used extra)
1 tsp cinnamon (I used extra)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Batter in pan

1 egg

Magic Whoopie Pie Pan

Marshmallow Filling
6 TBSP butter slightly softened
1 C confectioners' sugar
1 jar (7 ounces)marshmallow creme (about 1 1/2 C)
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350.

I flattened the heaping tablespoons

2. Grease 2 large cookie sheets (I used my whoopie pie pan from my awesome future step-sister-in-law!)
3.  Prepare cookies.
Large bowl with spoon mix until smooth:
flour
granulated sugar
ginger
cinnamon
baking soda
salt
butter
egg
molasses
4. Drop 12 heaping tablespoons batter 2 inches apart on each cookie sheet.
5.  Bake until puffy and toothpick inserted comes out clean--about 12 minutes.
Rotate the cookie sheets from top shelf to bottom mid-way.  When finished, transfer onto wire racks to cool completely. 

Final result..YUM.

6.  When cookies are cool, make filling.  In a large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat softened butter until smooth, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula.  At low speed, gradually beat in confectioners' sugar, marshmallow creme, and vanilla until smooth. (I used my KitchenAid mixer with the whisk attachment, and next time I think I would use the beater attachment instead).
7. Spread 1 rounded tablespoon filling on flat side of cookies. Top with remaining cookies.  Cover and refrigerate if not serving within 2 hours. 

**Be warned...whoopie pies leak filling.  I haven't figured out how to store them without stacking them, which also squishes out the filling. Which is irritating. 


Some photos of bread and lemon shortbread bars:

Shortbread Bar.  Lemony awesomeness!

F=Flat

F= FAIL