Pistachio Cream Whoopie Pies

For the whoopie pie:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together in a medium-sized bowl until combined. Set aside. In a small bowl, add buttermilk and vanilla and stir to combine. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add butter and brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add egg and beat until well combined. Reduce speed to low and add half the flour mixture and half the buttermilk, beating and scraping the bowl after each addition. Repeat with the remaining flour and buttermilk. Beat until smooth.

Butter 2 baking sheets. Spoon 2 tablespoon sized mounds of batter evenly to fit eight per baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes, until tops are puffed up. Transfer pans to a rack to cool.

Make the filling. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add pudding mix and whisk in the milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Add the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and almond extract. Using an electric or stand mixer, mix on low speed until the powdered sugar is incorporated. Turn the speed up to medium-high and beat until filling is fluffy. Add more powdered sugar if the consistency is not thick enough. Fold in the chopped pistachios.

Add the filling to a piping bag and pipe the filling onto the bottom of the whoopie pie then top with another whoopie pie. Repeat to make the rest of the whoopie pies.