Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

With fall in full swing, A & I decided to do some festive baking with the standard autumn ingredient: pumpkin. After several incredibly long blog posts, I'll try to make this one a bit shorter. This task will be pretty easy considering the recipe we used for the cookie portion of some deliciously amazing (if I do say so myself) pumpkin whoopie pies.



1) Mix together one box of spice cake mix and one can of pumpkin.



2) Blob large tablespoons of the mixture onto a well-greased cookie sheet, smooth a bit with fingers and/or the back of a greased spoon.



3) Bake 12-15 minutes at 350F, until the dough becomes slightly firm to the touch (ie not wet dough).



4) Done!

It comes out as sort of a cookie/cake mixture- fluffy and soft without a bit of crispyness. Incredibly moist (and with no oil!), full of spices and that delicious pumpkin flavor that always makes me think of sweaters, fireplaces, and fall foliage.

To balance the earthy, rich, spicy flavors of the cookies, A whipped up a cream cheese frosting to make the filling of the pies. Take out 4 ounces of light cream cheese and a half stick of butter and let them come to room temperature. Using a mixer, briefly beat the cream cheese until it gets fluffy.



Add the butter and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and mix that in. Slowly add 1 cup of confectioners sugar and beat until it is completely incorporated.



Using a mixer keeps the frosting airy and "light", meaning you can use a bit less for each pie. Of course, you can use more or less depending on how much you like cream cheese and sugar (I happen to love both... a lot).



The sweet creaminess is a great contrast sandwiched between two spice cake cookies- not too heavy or too sweet. Overall a great fall dessert meant to be shared with friends.