Saturday, October 24, 2009

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies



Nutmeg, at least for this part of the year, is my favorite spice. I mean seriously, just look at it. It looks like it's got cave paintings inside it.

Appearance aside, nutmeg's aroma is tantalizing. I even prefer it to cinnamon which I believe too often overpowers fall foods. When nutmeg and cinnamon work together with the correct amounts, the results can be masterful.

Such is the case with these pumpkin whoopie pies. While nutmeg is my favorite fall spice, pumpkin is my favorite ingredient. This recipe is from Martha Stewart's website who got it from Matt Lewis of Baked Bakery.

  • FOR THE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE COOKIES
  • 3 cups 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 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • FOR THE CREAM-CHEESE FILLING
  • 3 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 350, and line 2 (recipe says 2, but I halved the recipe and I needed 2 so see what works for you).

2. Whisk together all the dry ingredients except the sugar.

3. Whisk together all wet ingredients.

4. Fold dry into wet.

5. Using a small ice cream scoop, or just two spoons, drop the cookies onto the parchment paper and bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (I actually left mine slightly underbaked, and they were delicious.

For Icing

1. Beat butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer.

2. Add vanilla and sugar.

3. When the cookies are cooled, spread a dollop on the flat side of 1/2 of the cookies, then cover with another cookie. Enjoy

Keep for 3 days in the fridge.

My Comments

Cookies tasted good--I could eat them on their own no problem-- but I'm not sure they were the correct texture for a whoopie pie. I like my whoopie cookies dense and kind of chewy, to contrast the soft cream.

These were really soft and delicate and therefore made eating them with the icing a "uni-textural" experience.

That not to say these weren't absolutely delicious- they were- but there's some room for improvement.


5 comments:

Ryan said...

did you see this too
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/10/pumpkin-whoopie-pies-recipe-cream-cheese-filling-baked-red-hook-brooklyn.html

Kayla said...

Try using bread flour instead of AP and replace one of the eggs with one egg yolk and two tablespoons of milk... let us know how it turns out. :)

Unknown said...

speaking of nutmeg, my professor told us the other day that apparently if you're ever really riled up, nutmeg will calm you down. cut it in half and stick it between your bottom lip and teeth and just suck on it for a big. instant chill pill!

it works, too.

Barb said...

I would like to say that I made these this weekend and they were deeee-lish!!! But I do love me a pumpkin-fill-in-the-blank!

A few comments ... I had to hunt down the original recipe for clarification since it wasn't clear ... for instruction #1, it is supposed to say line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Also, in instruction #3 - it should be "all wet ingredients and the brown sugar."

Thanks for the great recipes! :)

Sherry G said...

These look really great. I've been planning to make them myself for quite awhile now and really need to get to it!