Whoopie Pies, Three Yummy Flavors

Whoopie pies are everywhere! I even saw a box mix for them at the store last week. I wondered how long it would take Betty Crocker to catch on to this phenomenon that's been swirling around the DIY, crafty blog world.

Remember the rainbow of whoopie pies we baked as part of my son's Rainbow Balloon Birthday party?

My cousin, Becca, helped me put these together and after we had them all laid out, she stopped and said, "It looks like a stoplight!" Haha.

Each color represented a different yummy flavor: Red Velvet, Lemon Cream & Key Lime, but all were delicious! Everyone had a different favorite by the end of the day. It was a tough decision!

We tried to keep things as simple as possible on the baking front, so for the Red Velvet pies, we used a basic red velvet cake mix, and for the lemon ones, a lemon boxed cake mix. The Key Lime flavor was a little trickier, but allrecipes.com came to the rescue with this easily adaptable key lime cake recipe.

To make the signature shape, we filled cupcake tins about 1/4 full and baked for 8-10 min each. I highly suggest keeping an eye on your first batch because these can burn quickly and your oven may be a little different. Cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

To create the eye-catching color, we used Wilton and Americana gel dyes. And, in the interest of keeping things simple, we relied on a few tubs of store-bought cream cheese frosting for the filling. Boxed cake mixes, store-bought frosting - and it couldn't have been yummier.

These are a simple treat that add a lot of color and whimsy to your buffet table. I have seen an incredible array of whoopie pie recipes floating around the blogosphere these days. What's your favorite take?