Well these were supposed to be posted in the middle of October. And then I thought, “These would make a great Halloween treat with black and orange frosting!” Hence the picture.
I’m quite sure you are all aware, well unless you are still in a sugar induced coma from the weekend, that it is now November and Halloween has come and gone.
Recipe post fail. However, I am one lucky girl that pumpkin is a flavor that lasts clear through December. Oh man, just writing that made me consider procrastinating this recipe post even longer and getting some laundry done…I do have until December…
No! Focus. It’s time to get back on the posting horse and share with you lovely readers my queue of yummy goodies and occasional “real food” posts. I’ve been a bit of a slacker lately with actually sitting down at my computer and posting a recipe.
I get to engrossed in creating and making recipes, that I end up with almost a dozen backed up recipes with pictures by the time I sit down at the computer and decide which lucky duck gets posted that day. Maybe someone could create a WordPress version of Siri so I can just sarcastically (as always) read off my recipes while I am baking.
Come to think of it, Siri doesn’t have the greatest track record. You may end up with something like Bumkin Poopie Ties instead of these Festive Pumpkin Whoopie Pies if that were the case. I’ll stick to typing the good old fashioned way.
I literally made 4 batches of these cookies in less than 24 hours. I wish I could say it was because people polished them off so quickly, but really it was because I was trying to get a perfect consistency with the cookie. I didn’t want a real cakey pumpkin whoopie pie. Yes, I did want a soft cookie, but not a muffin top cookie that most pumpkin recipes yield.
So 4 batches, that’s what it took. I experimented with more pumpkin, less pumpkin, no egg, all butter, all shortening, you name it. Finally, finally I had the whoopie pie that was my dream.
This cookie is super soft, but with just a slight crisp around the edges. Because I flatten them while baking and as soon as they come out of the oven, they are not super thick either. Give them a real good smash before and after baking so you don’t get a huge mouthful of cookie with every bite. Remember, you are doubling these babies up with a layer of frosting in between.
By the time I figured out the cookie, I was plain old tuckered out of being in the kitchen. I didn’t even want to make the frosting. Say what? Not want to make frosting??? Yeah, I was that done. I ended up grabbing some leftover chocolate frosting and orange colored vanilla frosting in the fridge from decorating Halloween cookies a few days earlier and slapped those in the middle of my cookies.
It was actually a pretty great idea because I got two totally different flavor profiles. The pumpkin and chocolate was rich and deep in flavor, and the pumpkin and vanilla was sweeter with more of the pumpkin flavor being highlighted.
I couldn’t decide which one I liked better, so the rest of the batch got half and half. Why limit yourself when the world is your oyster…as far as frosting choices go.
So my apologies that you couldn’t add these cookies to your smorgasbord of Halloween treats, but hopefully they will make their debut on your Thanksgiving feast display.
What do you tend to procrastinate doing?
- 1 stick butter, melted
- ½ cup canned pumpkin
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1½ cups plus 1 tablespoon Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 for 1 Baking Flour*
- half recipe for vanilla frosting (link in post)
- half recipe for chocolate frosting, omitting sour cream and adding additional 2 tablespoons milk if needed (link in post)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat. Set aside.
- Melt butter in microwave for 45 seconds to one minute. Allow to cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer beat together canned pumpkin, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract and melted butter.
- In a separate smaller bowl, sift together salt, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and 1 for 1 baking flour. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix together until incorporated. Beat together for additional 2 minutes.
- Drop walnut sized scoops of dough on cookie sheets, two inches apart. Dough will be sticky. Using a butter knife, spread balls out into flat discs about ¼" thick and 2" in diameter. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes or until edges are browning. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks to continue cooling. If cookies are slightly puffy when removing from oven, immediately flatten with spatula before cooling.
- Once completely cooled, turn half of the cookies over and frost with half chocolate frosting and half vanilla frosting. Place remaining cookies on top to make whoopie pies.
