Thursday, November 4, 2010

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Halloween has come and gone, but pumpkin lasts forever.
I have this friend, Ashley. We met in class this year. She says I'm a dork because I have a blog but guess what? She does too. She, like me, is a personal trainer/exercise instructor. She, like me, is a sugar fanatic. She, like me, loves pumpkin. Basically a match made in heaven!
When she shared this recipe with me, I about died. I haven't had the chance to make it yet but I had hers and it was amazing. I loved it. I love love loved it. Rich. Perfect. And just in time for your Thanksgiving dinner menus.
You will want to try this. It's amazing alongside a steamy hot cup of coffee or just on it's own. Whatever you do, eat them before someone else does!!


What ya need (for the whoopie cookies):
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 TBSP cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground fresh nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup canola oil
3 cups chilled pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract


What ya do (for the whoopie cookies):
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare to baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk to sugars and oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.
4. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined. Use a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism to drop healing TBSP of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.
5.Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on the pan while you make the filling. They will look more like mini cakes then cookies, so don’t panic about that.


What ya need (for the maple syrup cream cheese):
3 cups powdered sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 TBSP maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla


What ya do (for the maple syrup cream cheese):
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese an beat until combined.
2. Add the powdered sugar, maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful no to overbeat the filling, or it will lose structure.
3.Turn half the cooled cookies upside down. Pipe filling (about a TBSP) onto that half. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spread to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoppie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm before serving.


Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.... Thanks Ashley!!


Enjoy!!!

4 comments:

Heather said...

Mmmm...how could anything about this be bad??

Christina said...

yumyumyum!! looks so good!

Monet said...

I'm sure that using real maple syrup makes such a difference! These look just delectable. I wanted to make a similar recipe today, but I was too lazy to run to the store. Now I wish that I had! Thanks for sharing, sweet girl!

Mackenzie @ The Caramel Cookie said...

I have never made whoopie pies. I know, I know! I should totally make these--I LOVE pumpkin anything!