The whoopie pie is not quite a cookie and not quite a cake. In fact, it seems to be the perfect marriage of the two. It is said to have been created by the Amish, it is the official state treat of Maine and there are even whoopie pie festivals. We’ve seen them often in our travels. So, I thought that fall and Halloween would be the ideal time to celebrate the whoopie pie, incorporating one of Autumn’s superstars, the pumpkin. These pumpkin whoopie pies have the perfect balance of sweet with a combination of pure cane and dark brown sugars, they have a hint of spice and a cream cheese filling that has just a whisper of maple, making it the perfect grown-up treat.  Perfect for a Halloween party, an afternoon snack with a cup of tea, or served for dessert after Sunday Supper. Be sure and make plenty, they’ll be asking for seconds!

INGREDIENTS 

PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES 

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cloves
• 1 cup firmly packed Dixie Crystals dark-brown sugar
• 1 cup  Dixie Crystals pure cane sugar
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

CREAM-CHEESE FILLING WITH A HINT OF MAPLE

• 3 cups Dixie Crystals confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 8-ounce package of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup

DIRECTIONS 

1. Prepare the whoopee pie mixture: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with a nonstick baking mat (love these).
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cane sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; put to the side. In a separate bowl, mix, oil, vanilla, and eggs until blended. Add in pumpkin puree. Incorporate in flour mixture with wet ingredients until fully incorporated.
3. With a small ice cream scoop (make sure it has a release mechanism) drop evenly rounded scoops of the pumpkin dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Put in the oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top. Insert a toothpick into the center of each cookie it and when comes out clean (12 to 15 minutes) they’re done. Let them cool completely.
4. Filling: Sift confectioner’ sugar into a bowl; set aside. Use an electric mixer (I couldn’t find my attachments so I used my vitamin and it worked great), beat butter until smooth. Slowly add in cream cheese and mix until well incorporated. Slowly add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla, and maple syrup (or maple extract for deeper mapper flavor) and beat just until smooth.
5. Assembly:  Put the cream cheese filling in a pastry bag and snip the end. Pipe a decent size dollop of filling onto cooled whoopie cakes (the flat side of half of the cookies). Sandwich together with remaining cookies, press down slightly so that the filling covers the cookie to the edge. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes (an hour or two is even better) before serving. They last refrigerated up to 3 days.

Wishing y’all a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Disclosure:  This post is sponsored by Dixie Crystals in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own.

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