Rainbow Sprinkle Whoopie Pies

Rainbow sprinkles are all you need to brighten up an ice cream cone, a cupcake or a whoppie pie. These Rainbow Sprinkle Whoopie Pies are inspired by Funfetti cake mix – the rainbow sprinkle-flecked vanilla cake that I almost always enjoyed for my birthdays growing up. I think that I might have liked these whoopie pies even more than a traditional cake and might make them again for my birthday this year!

The whoopie pies are made with two discs of cake that sandwich a vanilla buttercream filling. I used my No Cook Meringue Buttercream recipe, which couldn’t be any easier. The cake is a quick and easy to make batter that uses vegetable oil instead of butter. Not only does this turn the cake into a one-bowl recipe by eliminating the need to cream any ingredients together, but the cake stays softer longer thanks to the moisture-retaining properties of the oi. That said, you won’t need these to last too long because the recipe doesn’t make a huge batch and you will go through them quickly!

I added rainbow sprinkles to the cake and sprinkled more on top of the rounds before baking. You could save a few sprinkles by only putting them on half of the rounds, but you will want them to look their best after baking, so I recommend giving them all an extra topping to be on the safe side. After the filling is piped in, the whoopie pies are rolled in more sprinkles to add color and make them really pop. These whoopie pies taste a lot like the birthday cake I used to eat as a kid – but they’re even more fun to snack on. Feel free to double the recipe if you need to serve a crowd!

Rainbow Sprinkle Whoopie Pies
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles
additional sprinkles, for topping

Filling
1/2 cup butter room temperature
1 7-oz container marshmallow creme
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
3-4 tbsp rainbow sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
In a measuring cup, whisk together vegetable oil, egg, buttermilk and vanilla extract until well-combined. Pour into the flour mixture and mix until no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Fold in rainbow sprinkles.
Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of batter, making them as round as possible, onto prepared baking sheet. You should have approximately 24 individual cookies in total.
Bake for 10-13 minutes, until cookies are set and spring back when lightly pressed. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cakes cool, make the filling.
In a large bowl, beat together all filling ingredients except the sprinkles. Place sprinkles in a shallow bowl.
Pair up the cake rounds and spread or pipe buttercream in between them, then sandwich them together firmly enough to push the buttercream towards the edges of the whoopie pies. Roll in sprinkles until the exposed filling is covered.

Makes about 12 sandwiches.