Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Okay, one more pumpkin recipe and I will move on. I found these in my Google Reader a week or so ago and knew I had to try them. I couldn't locate where I got the recipe, and a quick search did not turn up a blog that sounded familiar. As near as I can tell they seem to have originated with Martha Stewart. Figures. These look like something she would invent. Don't take that the wrong way. I love Martha.

I almost didn't make these, cute as they are, because the ingredients list is such that for anything but pumpkin and spice, I wouldn't even have considered it. Typically, the shorter the list, the more likely the recipe will make it into my box.

But I did try them.

And now we are all happy here.

Start with the spices and flour in a medium sized mixing bowl.
Let The Boy whisk this all together, even though you told him he had to get dressed first. Less laundry, you know.
While he is doing that, combine the brown sugar and oil in a large mixing bowl. The recipe calls for dark brown sugar. You could substitute light brown if that is all you have. I actually have dark in my cabinet because that is what is needed to make butterscotch pudding. I'll let you know how that turns out. I also substituted half of the oil with applesauce. Then add in the pumpkin puree.
Whisk that together and add in vanilla and an egg.
Mix well and add the flour mixture.
Use a small ice cream scoop to spoon the cookies onto a baking sheet. You can use a 1/8 measuring cup in place of the scoop if you don't have one. If you don't have one, put it on your Christmas list. Or just go buy one. These are great not only for projects like this, but you can actually use it to scoop out ice cream. My kids love having tiny little ice cream scoops in their bowl. It might even force you to moderate your ice cream intake. Not in my house, you understand, buy you might have more willpower than I do.
Bake these at 350 for about 15 minutes. I wasn't sure how far apart to space the scoops since I didn't know how much they would spread out. Now I know. They do not spread out. They turn out to be very thick cookies. Mmmm...
While these are cooling, start mixing up the frosting by creaming the butter and cream cheese.

Add in powdered sugar and vanilla and cinnamon.
I love the addition of cinnamon to this...
Use a regular table spoon to dollop the filling onto the flat side of an upside down cookie. Do this fast, because children will come out of nowhere to sneak tastes of this stuff.
Top with another cookie. Odd number of cookies? No problem. You can use the extra cookie to scoop out the scraps in the filling bowl.
You are supposed to refrigerate these for 30 minutes before serving. I tried. A good number of them did not make it that far.

These are good. Really good. I need to go make another batch right now.

Even though I loved this version, I have also located a filling made with whipping cream. I must try that.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
3 c all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
2 c packed dark-brown sugar
1 c vegetable oil
3 c pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Vanilla Bean Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling
3 c powdered sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, applesauce and oil until combined. Add the chilled pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. Add the flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated. Using a small ice cream scoop, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are set, about 15 minutes.

Sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter until smooth. Add the cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; beat until smooth.

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. When the cookies have cooled completely, spoon a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.