I do! The glorious smells of fall: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice. Basically my favorite smells ever (I also love the smell of mens cologne and Bounce sheets, but this is a cooking blog and not a smells blog).
Sidenote: a few weeks ago, my sister & I were at Safeway in the plant section. We smelled something really nice in the general vicinity, and started sniffing the foliage around us. Turns out it was these broomsticks. They smelled like CINNAMON. Cinnamon-scented broomsticks. Fuh-an-cy! How awesome would it be if Harry Potter’s broomstick smelled like cinnamon? I bet Hermione’s smells like library books. And Ron’s probably smells like The Burrow. Second Sidenote: A special shoutout to my sister, aka Lady GaGa. Here are the whoopie pies!
Anyway. These smells. They make me smile. They warm my soul. And you too can experiences these glorious smells if you decide to make some Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. They are so good. Oh so good. If you are one of those pumpkin haterz, you can make the chocolate whoopie pies. But come on now. Savor the flavors of fall!
I got the recipe from Serious Eats and it is fantastic. Instead of using the cream cheese filling in the recipe, I used a marshmallow cream filling, which is what’s used in the original chocolate whoopie pies (recipe is below).
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
- makes 24 whoopie hamburgers or about 40 sliders -
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
2 cups packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups chilled pumpkin purée
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves together and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar and oil together until combined. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.
4. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.
5. Use a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism to drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto prepared baking sheets, about one inch apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on the pan while you make the filling.
(This is how I normally bake. Laptop with recipe out on the screen, sweets to the side, singing and dancing along with the bangin’ tunes. Click on each of those links. You will not regret any of them.)
Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients
3 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Procedure
1. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter until it’s completely smooth, with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.
3. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful not to overbeat the filling, or it will lose structure. (The filling can be made one day ahead. Cover the bowl tightly and put it in the refrigerator. Let the filling soften at room temperature before using.)
Marshmallow Cream Filling (via Epicurious)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Assembling the Whoopie Pies
1. Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down (flat side facing up).
2. Use an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon to drop a large dollop of filling onto the flat side of the cookie. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whooopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up before serving.
3. The whoopie pies will keep for up to 3 days, on a parchment-lined baking sheet covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator.
A sidenote about whoopie pies and how they got their name: According to food historians (& Wikipedia), Amish women would bake these and put them in farmers’ lunchboxes. When farmers would find these treats in their lunch, they would shout “Whoopie!” SO CUTE.
Life has been a crazy whirlwind for the past few months, and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, I think I should simma down now and do a bit ‘o’ reflecting. Cuz life is definitely grand and my Pal Jesus has blessed me with lots. Ready? Go.
1. The best family in life. Kind-hearted beautiful Mama, hilarious & sweet Big Poppa, and the two greatest most beautiful sisters & BFFFs any gal could ever ask for. Lady GaGa, MYA, you are my most favorites in the entire Milky Way.
2. Pals. Yes, you commenters of this blog. Thank you for making my life so bright. And for making me laugh until I cannot breathe.
3. My pup. Sweet baby Bear who kisses my nose then lets me try to stick my fingers up her nose. (For the record, it never works, cuz her nostrils are too tiny even to fit my pinky. But she still lets me attempt the impossible. Cuz she so sweet like candy.)
4. The Shoppe. I talk too much about it, but it really is good. Example. I was supposed to work Wednesday, but strained my wrist on the job the previous day, so I texted my boss to apologize for the inconvenience. This is what she texted back: “No prob. We want you to be a pastry queen for a long time!” Warms the heart. And, eating spoonfuls of ice cream is the only way to start the day.
5. Good health. Swine flu, regular flu, salmonella poisonings, etc etc etc. My sister had the swine flu and miraculously I did not catch it. Why? I’m strong. Like ox. She is even stronger cuz she kicked H1N1 in its butt.
6. Live music. It’s good for the soul.
7. Socks. Cuz there is a chill in the air and the only way to cure it is with socks on the feet.
8. Obama. Change is good. Aaaand that is all I know about politics.
9. The Lonely Island. Give me that Chronic-what!-cles of Narniaaa!
10. Glittery nailpolish. Obviously.
And now, I am off to Hawaii for some glorious sisterly bonding, delicious eatings, and a nice book on the beach with an alcoholic beverage to my right.
Have a very wonderful Thanksgiving, sweet sugarpies. Safe travels. Eat lots. Be thankful for everything. And cook something nice for someone you love. It will touch their soul. And they will definitely be thankful to have you in their lives ;]










