Like Mother, Like Daughter: Chocolate Cherry Whoopie Pies

This is a chocolate cherry whoopie pie.....

This is my daughter Randi.....

A chocolate cherry whoopie pie......

Randi....

Randi has taken after my own heart. She loves to bake and experiment (usually sweet stuff). And she can make the best fried chicken ever!!

She did some searches on the internet, found some recipes, combined them all, and came up with this creation.

OMG!! I bet you cannot eat just one of these.....

And the sweetness and chocolate flavors are absolutely perfect.

You know how sometimes whoopie pies can be very sickening sweet, with too much filling, and not much flavor in the cookie?

These are not that way. PERFECT! PERFECT! PERFECT!

She is going to make her teacher proud when she starts chef training in a couple weeks.

Also, if I had a crystal ball.....this is what I see....Randi and I opening a cute little Vintage bakery/cafe, with lots of reds, plaids, and great pastries, soups, coffees, sandwiches, and salads.

What do you think? Does it sound like a plan?

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Foodie Friends Friday

Chocolate Cherry Whoopie Pies

*Created by Randi

The Cookie:

1/2 c. shortening

1 c. white sugar

1 egg

2 c. all-purpose flour

5 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder (Randi used Hershey's Special Dark)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheets (Randi used baking stones, which didn't have to be greased).

In a large bowl cream shortening, sugar, and egg.

In a separate bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well. Add vanilla extract at the end.

Drop by large spoonfuls on cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes (until tops crack). Let sit on cookie sheet for a few minutes, remove to wire cooling rack. Cool completely.

The Filling:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese (room temp)

1/4 c. butter (room temp)

1 tsp. almond extract

1/4 c. heaping cherry pie filling (Randi ran this through the mini chopper)

4 c. confectioners' sugar

Cream together the cream cheese, butter, and cherry pie filling. Add confectioners' sugar while mixing. Add the almond extract last.

Place a small amount of cream mixture on the bottom of the completely cooled chocolate cookie. Place another cookie on top (both bottoms together).

"He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written; 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men'"

Mark 7:6-7

Those are hurtful words. The Lord plunges right to the heart of the issue. He points out the effect of what the observance of tradition has upon our lives. It produces hypocrites. I am sometimes amazed, while I read the Bible, at the bluntness of Jesus' language. In Matthew it tells us that the disciples said to Him, "Do you realize that you offended those Pharisees?"

He is only pointing out the result of traditional "worship". Sometimes we use the right words, but use the wrong attitudes.

Have you ever heard a young adult make the comment, "I don't want to go to church because churches are filled with hypocrites."? I cannot see where there is any hypocrisy in a thoroughly Bible-centered church such as mine. But what the young adult is saying is, "You use great words - wonderful words - but you don't really mean them." Is that child right? Do we talk about love, but don't love? Do we talk about forgiveness, but don't forgive? Do we talk about acceptance, but don't accept?

That is what tradition can do. It externalizes, making religious beliefs and feelings outward instead of inward. Am I providing Randi with the right words, but wrong attitude? Do I expect her to carry on my tradition of baking without the true presence of love, forgiveness, and acceptance?