Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Merry Christmas Eve everybody!

Last year, Corey and I made pumpkin cupcakes. This year, we decided to continue the tradition with a twist. I had plenty of leftover pumpkin puree (from my awesome pie) and had that in mind while we browsed recipes. When we came across this one, I knew we had a winner. These made the house smell so good.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies slightly modified from Joy of Baking:

Makes far too many

For the cookies-
3 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tb. ground cinnamon
1½ tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
½ tsp. salt
1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
2 c. brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
15 oz. pumpkin puree

For the filling-
¼ c. vegetable shortening
¼ c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c. confectioners'sugar
1½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
½ c. light corn syrup (I tried finding golden syrup instead, but with no luck)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, nutmeg, allspice (the last two were our additions), and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree. Beat in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Drop heaping tablespoons of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2” apart. With moistened fingers or with the back of a spoon, smooth the tops of the cakes. Corey totally rocked this part. Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes or until the tops of the cookies, when lightly pressed, spring back. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cookies cool, make the filling. Beat the shortening and butter until soft and creamy. With the mixer on its lowest speed, gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar. Increase the speed to high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Then, with the mixer on low speed, beat in the vanilla extract and slowly drizzle in the corn syrup. Continue to beat until the filling looks like soft mayonnaise. It really did. It was weird.

After the cookies have cooled and the filling has been made, it’s time to assemble. Take one cookie and spread a heaping tablespoon of the filling on the flat side of the cake. Top with another cookie. The assembled cookies can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for several days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

These are so moist and delicious and wonderful. The only thing I think we would have done differently is make them smaller. They’re not quite unwieldy, but would be better from cookie plate distribution at a smaller size. Still, these are amazing and well worth the multi-step effort.