Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed yet, but I’m not that big into baking. I do it every once in a while, but not all the time. Why? Well, first of all, I don’t particularly enjoy it. It’s too technical. I like the creative freedom that I have with food. Baking on the other hand, it’s very scientific. You need to follow the recipe to the tee, otherwise, it won’t come out right. Also, it makes a huge mess. Not that cooking doesn’t. But baking, I just feel like there are the measuring cups, spoons, bowls, the mixer, the gazillion ingredients. And lastly, most importantly, it’s just so fattening! I’d rather eat food! With that said, I did make some really yummy pumpkin whoopie pies yesterday. I halved the recipe, because who needs all that temptation lurking.

Based on my experience, I’d like to make a suggestion. If you decide to halve a recipe, do yourself a favor, and rewrite it, because chances are, if you work off the original, and you think you’re gonna make the calculations in your head, halfway down the line you suddenly forget and you screw up the entire recipe and have to start from scratch all over again!

Now being as I have a daughter who’s severly allergic to milk, I decided to make these parve, using toffuti cream cheese. I also substituted smart beat light margarine for the butter. This resulted in a runnier filling (see pics). I would suggest going with the original dairy recipe, or, see my other alternative below.

To make the pies, I used organic pumpkin puree that I found at Pomegranate around Thanksgiving time. I think it adds that extra richness of flavor to the pumpkin. (Trust me, I’m no organic addict, I just find that when I do buy organic, the flavors are more full-bodied) The pies come out so incredibly moist, with that kick of spice you get from nutmeg and ginger, and the warmth of the cinnamon. Really yummy on a cold winter day. B’teavon!

ALTERNATIVE TO CREAM CHEESE FILLING (PARVE):

Now, as an alternative to the cream cheese filling, I must tell you about this DELICIOUS maple butter I bought recently (available at Benzs Gourmet). It was sitting in my pantry, waiting to be paired with the perfect match. And I have to say, pumpkin whoopie pies is it! The butter is like thick creamy maple syrup, sticky and sweet! I couldn’t resist spreading it on a few sandwiches. The result was extremely rich-tasting, too much for more than a couple of bites.

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12 thoughts on “Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

  1. How’d you get them to be so perfectly rounded?? They look delish! I’m very into de-guiltifying baked goods, any tips from the pro?

    1. That’s why I love this recipe, it has oil in the batter, no butter, and you can go light on the filling. Plus, it’s pumpkin – no guilt there! To get them perfectly rounded, I used a 2-tablespoon measuring spoon. I level the spoon, then take another spoon, and scoop it out. Measuring your batter this way gives you perfectly even cookies. (You can buy a cookie scoop for this but it doesn’t work with the whoopie pie batter because it’s too cake-like). So…my advice to you? Use an ice cream scoop (if it isnt too large), level it off, use a second spoon to scoop it out, and voila! perfectly measured whoopie pies.

  2. Wow!! These look yum :) I’m running to buy some Maple Butter it sounds like just the ingredient my pantry is missing. I would love it if you’d shared an inspiring craft, recipe, or any other ideas with my readers at Savvima.com

  3. I had a problem making pareve cream cheese frosting, too. I had to make adjustments. I ended up with something that is basically the buttercream from Couldn’t Be Pareve’s website (see the red velvet cupcakes).

  4. I made these for Shabbos (used only 3/4 cup each sugar) and used the following filling:
    1 Tofutti cream cheese
    2 tablespoons honey
    2 tablespoons confectionary sugar

    It was a real hit!!!!

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