Cookie Carnival: Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

 

 Okay, so I totally ignored the “mini” part of this recipe. I wasn’t in the mood for mini. I wanted a nice full-bodied whoopie pie that I could stuff my face with.  After all, it is starting to get quite chilly out and I need to start adding a nice layer of fat to protect myself from the cold.  That’s a fat layer on top of the one that is already there. 

When I first read the title of this recipe I assumed that the cake part of the whoopie pie would be the pumpkin part… nope, I was wrong… these pumpkin whoopie pies have the traditional small devil food cakes but instead of a vanilla cream, they have a spiced pumpkin cream sandwiched between them.

The whoopie pies were easy to make. With my generously sized dollops of batter I ended up with  a total of 10 assembled whoopie pies. My husband thought that they weren’t quite sweet enough. I was intrigued by the filling but thought that it could have used more oomph.

 

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

          

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE COOKIES

    * 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

    * 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)

    * 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

    * 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

    * 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

    * 1/4 cup vegetable shortening

    * 1/2 cup granulated sugar

    * 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar

    * 1 large egg

    * 1 cup whole milk

    * 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE FILLING

    * 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

    * 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

    * 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

    * 1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin

    * Pinch of cinnamon

    * Pinch of nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

   1. Prepare cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

   2. Place butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.

   3. Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.

   4. Prepare filling: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

   5. Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.