A whoopie pie appears to be something out of a dream. Its chocolate soft cookies sandwich a light and fluffy sweet cloud of delicious crème. It can get me drooling just thinking about it. Not only does it remind me of a fantasy dessert, but it reminds me of a fantasy movie....one movie to be specific.

Tim Burton's "Big Fish" has always captivated me. There has never been another movie like it. Its soft focused yet dark look captures the beauty and depth of an old adult fairy tale. My whoopie pies....well they look like something the characters would be chowing down on.

The beautifully soft and light yummy chocolate cookies remind me of the sweet yet dark nature that Tim Burton brings to his fairy tale.

The fluffy and very smooth and sweet inside reminds me of all the fluff and floof that the main character puts into his bigger than life stories. This is what creates the central force in his life, just as the crème is the central force in the center of these cookies.

"Just a glorified Oreo," you may say, but nothing is further from the truth. It is so much better. Its soft creaminess matches no other cookie. I'm not telling a big fish, I swear....I've brought the recipe to prove it.

It is as follows:

"Tell a Big Fish Whoopie Pies"*

Ingredients: 1 cup buttermilk, 4 tsp vanilla extract, 1 and ½ cup softened butter, 1 cup water, 2 cups confectioners' sugar, ¾ cup sugar, ¾ cup Splenda, 2 cups marshmallow crème, ½ tsp salt, 2 eggs, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 cups all-purposed flour, 2 cups whole-wheat flour, and ¾ cup baking cocoa.

1) In a large mixing bowl cream 1 cup butter, sugar, and Splenda until light and fluffy. Add eggs and 2 tsp vanilla extract and blend well. In another bowl put together the flours, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, add to the creamed mixture alternating with the buttermilk and water, beating well after each addition.

2) Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart on baking sheets greased with a butter flavored cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

3) In a smaller mixing bowl, beat the marshmallow crème, confectioners' sugar, ½ cup of the butter, and 2 tsps of vanilla extract. Spread filling with a flexible metal spatula onto the bottom half of the cookie sandwich. Top with the remaining half of the cookies.

4) Enjoy with all the fantasy and richness of your own fairy tale laced with all the joy and glamour of your dreams come true.

* Base for this recipe is from Taste of Home and then I molded it from there.

granny cookies types of wines