Description
Easy Santa Whoopie Pies are delightful holiday treats featuring soft, cake-like cookies sandwiched with a creamy vanilla filling. These festive whoopie pies are decorated with colored icing, shredded coconut, and edible markers to resemble Santa Claus hats and faces, making them perfect for Christmas celebrations and cozy gatherings.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Batter
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
Filling
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3–4 tablespoons milk
Colored Icing for Decoration
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- Red food coloring
- Shredded coconut
- Black and red edible markers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Set your oven to 355°F (180ºC) and allow it to fully preheat to ensure even baking.
- Prepare the cookie batter: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients—flour, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar. Add melted butter, egg, vanilla extract, and milk. Stir until just combined into a smooth batter.
- Shape and bake cookies: Using a tablespoon, scoop balls of batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until tops are set and lightly golden. Remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make the filling: In a separate bowl, beat softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and 3 to 4 tablespoons of milk together until creamy and smooth. Adjust milk quantity to get a spreadable consistency.
- Assemble the whoopie pies: Spread about one tablespoon of filling onto the flat side of one cookie, then sandwich with another cookie pressing gently to spread the filling evenly.
- Prepare the colored icing: Mix powdered sugar and water in a small bowl until you get a very thick paste. Adjust the water to achieve the right thickness so it stays firm when piped or spread. Divide the mixture in half and add red food coloring to one portion, leaving the other plain white.
- Decorate the whoopie pies: Apply the white icing to the bottom of the whoopie pies and immediately sprinkle shredded coconut to create a fluffy trim effect resembling Santa’s beard and hat. Use the red icing to create Santa’s hat on top, adding white sprinkles or additional white icing for the hat’s fluffy trim. Finally, draw eyes and a nose using black and red edible markers to complete the Santa face look.
Notes
- Ensure the cookies are completely cooled before assembling to prevent melting the filling.
- You can use store-bought frosting for quicker assembly, but homemade filling provides better flavor.
- Adjust the thickness of the icing by gradually adding water to achieve desired consistency for decorating.
- If edible markers are not available, use small candies or chocolate chips for eyes and nose.
- These whoopie pies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or refrigerated for up to a week.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Santa whoopie pies, holiday desserts, Christmas cookies, festive treats, soft cookies, creamy filling, holiday baking
