In the spirit of October I was wanting to try out a new pumpkin recipe this year. At Hunter’s request these whoopie pies were the winner for our weekend baking adventure. These are insaaaanely good! Make sure you have somewhere / one to take some too so you’re not stuck eating them all because it just might happen 🙂 This makes a decent sized batch so they would be perfect for sharing at a Halloween party. Plus they are really cute.
PUMPKIN COOKIES:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 Tablespoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups (about a can and a half) chilled pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
CINNAMON MAPLE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
3 cups powdered sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl then set aside. In a separate large bowl whisk the sugars and vegetable oil together. Then add in the pumpkin and continue to whisk. Lastly, add the eggs and vanilla until combined. Then sprinkle in the flour mixture and whisk until completely combined. Drop spoonfuls of dough about one inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. This makes a lot of cookies so I prepared an extra baking sheet so I could pop them in and out of the oven while working on the frosting. For the frosting use a large bowl with an electric mixer to beat the butter. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Add in the powdered sugar, make syrup, vanilla and cinnamon and beat until smooth and combined. Do not over beat so that the mixture stays thick. After the cookies are completely cooled turn half of them upside down. Spoon frosting into the center and place another cookie on top (flat side down) pressing lightly to even out the frosting. Refrigerate for an hour or so to make them firmer, although we served them right away and they were perfect. (this recipe is adapted from a couple other standard whoopie pie and cream cheese frostings I read online)
Happy baking! XO