Is buttermilk quintessential in a whoopie pie recipe?
Can it be replaced with something?
Are there recipes without buttermilk?

Rose’s recipe does have a few acidic ingredients- buttermilk and brown sugar, though there is also some baking soda.  Changing the acidity of the batter may result in the shape of the whoopie pie being more spread/flat, but I haven’t tried it so can’t say for sure.

Milk would be the easiest substitution, but you will probably need to replace a little of the baking soda with four times its volume in baking powder.  I don’t know how much exactly, a few test runs may be in order.

I’ve actually successfully make my own “buttermilk” - so to speak, by adding a few drops of vinegar to whole milk and letting it sit for a few minutes. I used this when making Rose’s Whoopie Pies with success. I also know some bakeries who “makes” buttermilk this way.

Thanks Julie!

Hey Jenn..its not that buttermilk is not at hand.. there is a brand that sells buttermilk.but i fear it has salt in it..it is sold as a drink.. in a carton. I know how to make buttermilk at home.. the problem is..im scared to use it, hence wish to replace the ingredient. The reason is that once i tried store bought yogurt in a cake recipe and the cake turned out super sour.. i should have used homemade curd which is not as sour..i still repent it. but since then..ive always been apprehensive about adding sour ingredients to any sweet recipe.

Hi, priyanka!

I would think the recipe was developed for store-bought buttermilk, so you are probably fine!  I’ve made sweet recipes with store-bought buttermilk, and they’ve been great.

As to yogurt, brands vary in their taste—some taste rather sour, some taste like sour cream, some taste like cream cheese—so you might simply have gotten one of the more sour-tasting brands. 

Happy baking!

—ak

Hey Anne! thanks for writing! I agree with you

I made the whoopie pies with milk yesterday!
They turned out great! Moist, soft and risen!
Just like biting into a cloud!

I wanted to post a pic.. but the site does not accept bigger resolution pictures! How do you guys upload the pics?

A picture of the whoopie pies

They look so perfect!!!  Thanks for posting!!!

Thanks Anne