Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Delicious sandwich-style cookies made with spiced pumpkin cake-like rounds filled with cream cheese frosting and candied pecans. These seasonal treats combine the warm flavors of pumpkin pie spices with a creamy, bourbon-optional filling.
Ingredients
- •1½ cups all-purpose flour
- •½ teaspoon baking powder
- •½ teaspoon baking soda
- •½ teaspoon salt
- •1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- •½ teaspoon ground ginger
- •¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- •¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- •1 cup packed light brown sugar
- •½ cup vegetable oil
- •15 ounces pure pumpkin
- •1 large egg
- •1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- •2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- •⅛ teaspoon salt
- •½ tablespoon water
- •½ cup pecans
- •6 ounces cream cheese
- •6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- •⅛ teaspoon salt
- •1½ cups confectioners sugar
- •equipment
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
5 min
- 2.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices in a bowl.
3 min
- 3.
Whisk together sugar, oil, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla in a separate large bowl until well combined, then stir in flour mixture.
5 min
- 4.
Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop or tablespoon measure, drop a scant scoop's worth of batter or 2 scant tablespoons of batter onto a lined baking sheet to form 1 mound. Make 15 more mounds, arranging them 2 inches apart until baking sheet is full (you will have batter left over).
10 min
- 5.
Bake until springy to the touch, 12 to 18 minutes. Transfer cookie-cakes to rack to cool.
15 min
- 6.
Form and bake remaining batter on the other parchment-lined sheet. You should have a total of 32 cookie-cakes.
15 min
- 7.
Leave oven on.
1 min
- 8.
Line a small sheet pan with parchment paper.
2 min
- 9.
Stir together sugar, salt, and 1/2 tablespoon water in a small saucepan. Heat over moderate heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil. Stir in pecans.
5 min
- 10.
Spread mixture on lined sheet pan and bake until coating is bubbling and golden brown, about 10 minutes.
10 min
- 11.
Cool completely on pan on a rack.
20 min
- 12.
Coarsely chop candied pecans.
3 min
- 13.
While cookie-cakes are baking, beat cream cheese, butter, and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and bourbon and mix on low speed until smooth.
5 min
- 14.
Chill filling until firm enough to hold its shape when spread, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
45 min
- 15.
Spread 1 heaping tablespoon of filling each on flat side of half the cooled cookie-cakes, then top with other half of cookie-cakes. If necessary, chill whoopie pies just long enough to firm up filling again, about 30 minutes.
15 min
- 16.
Gently press pecans onto filling around middle of each whoopie pie to help them adhere to filling.
5 min
