Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, but not for the obvious reasons.  I love sweets but not in the form of packaged candy so I try to go out of my way to prepare pumpkin flavored desserts around this holiday and throughout Fall for that matter.  The first time I made this recipe I used homemade pumpkin puree from roasting a pumpkin, but the hassle did not provide any better results.  Now I stock up on Organic Pumpkin Puree at the beginning of the season and spend my time baking instead of roasting pumpkins.

Ingredients:

Cream Cheese Filling
3 cups confectioners sugar - sifted
1/2 cup unsalted butter - softened
8 ounces cream cheese - softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whoopie Pies
3 cups AP 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 brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups pumpkin puree - chilled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Non-perils for decoration



Directions:
Prepare the whoopie pies: Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mat, set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. In another large bowl whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined.  Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined.  Add eggs followed by vanilla extract and whisk until well combined.  Sprinkle flour mixture over the pumpkin puree and whisk until fully incorporated.

Using a small ice cream scoop or two spoons, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets 1 inch apart.  Transfer to oven and bake 15 minutes, until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean. Let cool completely on baking pan.

Prepare the filling: Best butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until smooth.  Add cream cheese and beat until well combined.  Add sifted confectioners sugar followed by vanilla, beat just until smooth.

Assemble the whoopie pies: Fill piping bag with cream cheese filling and pipe a dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the pies. Sandwich with the remaining half of the pies, pressing down lightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the pies.  Roll in non-perils then transfer cookies onto a clean baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.  Refridgerate cookies for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart