Pumpkin whoopie pies from Rachael
Hi, I’m Rachael! Words don’t describe how honored I am to have been asked by our dear friend, Sweet Tater, to share some of my eats with you via this guest blog post! Truth be told, she asked me months ago, but I was just getting my arms around blogging – and I had NO IDEA why a) any of you would want to read what I write b) Tater would want me to botch up her blog or c) where to even begin!
But, thanks to Tates and another close friend Jessie, I started blogging, myself, and now, finally, I feel that I can appropriately capture the essence of one of my faves……
Tater, like me, has an affinity for sweets – which is strange for someone so dedicated to her dietetics studies….but anyway……… When we first met, or around that time, I had introduced her to my favorite “bring anywhere” sweet – better and more au current than a cupcake…..the WHOOPIE!
I’ve been making them for years, before they got popular and certainly before entire cookbooks were dedicated to them. DEFINITELY before Sur La Table started carrying special baking tins for them!
As a result, I’ve played around and think I have the best combo of cake to filling – not too sweet, not too mushy…..and they are absolutely delish. These are both festive for fall and thanksgiving and much more sophisticated than plain’ol chocolate…..ready?
What you’ll need for the cakes:
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda (DO NOT CONFUSE THE TWO: I’VE DONE IT – NOT GOOD!)
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup UNSALTED BUTTER (at room temp)
- 1 ½ cups solid pack pumpkin
- 1 egg (best to use when cold)
- 1 tsp vanilla
What you’ll need for the filling:
- 16 oz. tub of whipped cream cheese
- 1 small container of marshmallow fluff
- ¼ – 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Totally not vegan
If you want to get fancy, you can sift – I tend to just DUMP the following into a work bowl: flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg and salt. I THEN preheat the over to 350ºF and move the rack to the middle….whatever order you chose, don’t burn your hand….I do it regularly and it hurts!
Because my aunt is awesome and got us a Kitchenaid mixer for my wedding, I typically use that bowl for the brown sugar and butter – combining them with the paddle attachment. If you don’t have that luxury, any old electric beaters will do.
Once the butter and brown sugar are combined, you will add the pumpkin, egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Now, don’t fret, it will look lumpy until you add in the flour + spice mixture from the other bowl! So, go ahead and add in that other mixture – put your beaters to work on low and keep mixing until just incorporated….scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Using a cookie scooper (its like an ice cream scooper, but smaller), mellon-baller or just a Tablespoon, drop about ONE table spoon of the batter onto a prepared baking sheet. You can either use shortening to grease that bad-boy up or you can use parchment/wax paper – either way, you want to make sure that the sheets are lubed and protected so that your cakes don’t stick when they bake.
Also, please note – most recipes will tell you to use 2 tablespoons of batter – they are either fatties or belong in Wonkaland because these cakes are dense and rich – you don’t need to make them that big unless you want to die of sugar-shock!
Into the oven...
Now, here is where I also diverge from the recipe books – most tell you to bake the sheets ONE at a TIME for 15 minutes each (or until the cakes crack and are firm to the touch). I, however, think you can do 2 at a time…..make sure your racks are both towards the center and at 7.5 minutes, move the top sheet to the bottom and the bottom to the top. This helps a ton if you are working with smaller sheets and need to do more than 2 to make your cakes!
While the cooked cakes are cooking (that was a tongue twister!), make your filling:
Beat together the cream cheese, fluff and vanilla – adding the sugar as you wish to create the desired sweetess. You won’t need much to balance out the cake, but if you are making a more neutral cake you can always add more! I added in some extra spices to make it really taste like fall – but that’s up to you.
When the cakes are cool – and that’s important – you will assemble them into the min-sandwich bite cookies. You can adorn with a string around, put into a great glass jar or just plop onto a plate and serve with coffee, milk or any other liquid you chose!
You should get approximately 15 cakes out of this recipe and the frosting should be good for closer to 25/30. Want less cakes, make ‘em bigger. Want more, make ‘em smaller. You get to decide – but whatever you chose, enjoy!
Mmmmm
Thanks, Rach!
