A Cookie Boo Boo

I never professed to be a professional baker, but I do tend to do okay most of the time.  Unfortunately today was one of those "doh!" moments when I was making mistake after mistake.  I think someone was telling me I wasn't supposed to be making or eating cookies.

Here's the dough...

Here's the balls of dough waiting to be baked...

To look at them, you might not guess there is anything wrong, but you're just going to have to trust me that this is NOT the way they are supposed to be.  First of all, these are NOT chocolate chip cookies, even though it looks that way.  Secondly, that dough is supposed to be dark brown...as in, chocolate.  So what did I do wrong, you ask?
Well... it all started innocently with me wanting to make some of my FAVORITE COOKIES EVER...cookies that I haven't made in a long time.  The recipe calls for a whole cup of cocoa, which I didn't have...but I did have baker's chocolate.  So I substituted it.  It was a great idea until I added the melted chocolate to the nice, cold, dough and it all set up before getting mixed in properly.  Hence the look of chocolate chips... But by then the dough was made so I figured I might as well continue and see how they turned out. By the way, after all was said and done I realized I left out the HOT water completely...which might have made all the difference... *sigh*
The cookies seemed to bake okay, but they weren't fluffy like they were supposed to be.  Then, when I tried to remove them from the pan they were all sticking.  That's when I looked back at my measurements and realized I had only put in half as much shortening and baking soda as I was supposed to.  Oops.  So for the next batch I sprayed the pan.  Not a good plan...as that batch spread all over the baking sheet and turned into thin, crispy biscuits.  Ugh.  But the fun was still not over...
Next came the filling....and SURPRISE!  I didn't have enough butter OR shortening to make a full batch, so I had to cut it in half.  I guess this was just as well, since the cookies had become thin little disks anyway.
So, when all was said and done, they are still good.  They look weird, but they taste okay.  They should be poofy little cakes filled with delicious creamy goodness. (Technically, they are supposed to look and taste a little like a Suzy Q (only a TON better) and instead they look a little more like bakery rejects.)  I'm putting the actual correct recipe on here... and you're just going to have to trust me that they're delicious because normally they are.  I'm including the picture of my finished cookies...just ignore it and know if they look like this then you, too, have screwed them up! Someday when I make them again I will come back and add a better picture.

WHOOPIE PIES
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup cocoa
1 cup HOT water
2 eggs
1 cup milk
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

Cream sugar and shortening.  Add eggs, milk and vanilla and mix well.  Stir together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda.  Add to mixture.  Mix in hot water.  Drop by heaping teaspoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

FILLING
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup shortening
6 cups powdered sugar
6-7 Tablespoons milk

Cream butter and shortening, then add vanilla and sugar and beat vigorously.  Add milk one tablespoon at a time until frosting has a creamy consistency.  Frost cookies generously and sandwich them.