Peaches and Cream Whoopie Pies

Every season I love to take advantage of all of the fresh produce that you can find at the local farmers markets and grocery stores. Peaches are one of my favorite fruits. Every summer I anxiously wait for peach season to arrive. Biting into that first juicy peach of the season is just heavenly. I remember growing up every summer my parents would pack up the minivan and we would drive down south to visit my mom’s side of the family. As soon as we would pass the Alabama state line I would search for roadside stands selling boiled peanuts and Georgia peaches. I loved stopping at those road side stands! We would always stop to look at the delicious produce and would never leave without picking up at least a few bags of goodies. To this day, every time I see the first peaches of the season I always think back to that overwhelming joy I felt when we would stop at those roadside stands.

Maybe I went a little crazy at the farmers market last weekend but when I saw those incredible peaches I just had to buy a few bags. I have been throwing them into lunch bags, eating them out of hand, grilling and baking with them. I remember making some incredible Strawberry Whoppie Pies in May and knew that I had to make a whoopie pie with freshly chopped peaches baked right in. I went to work on tweaking the strawberry whoopie pie recipe to create these Peaches and Cream Whoopie Pies with a heavenly peach cream cheese filling sandwiched in between. The result was incredible! Fresh peaches are pureed and added to the whoopie pie batter and the filling making them a wonderful dessert for summer.

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Peaches and Cream Whoppie Pies

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For the Peach Whoopie Pies:

• 1 cup (5 ounces) peeled and quartered peaches (ripe but firm)
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 large eggs

For the Peach Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons peach schnapps
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped peaches (ripe but firm)

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse peaches in short bursts just until they are chopped into small pieces (not pureed) and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and oil. Mix well, breaking up any lumps in sugar. Mix in the chopped peaches and heavy cream until combined, then mix in eggs, one at a time, just until combined. Fold in flour mixture in two parts, being careful not to overwork the batter. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2-inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cookie comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To make the peach cream cheese filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add vanilla extract, peach schnapps and finely chopped peaches and beat until combined.
7. To assemble, turn half of the cooled cookies upside down, flat side facing up. Drop a large dollop of filling onto the flat side of the cookie, leaving a 1/4-inch plain edge. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all cookies are used.

Yields: about 24 whoopie pies

Source: A Sweet Pea’s Kitchen Creation, Inspired by Strawberry Whoppie Pies