Pillow Soft Whoopie Pies from the Pumpkin Patch

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These delicious "sandwiches" are a riff on the chocolate version that most folks are familiar with. According to food historians, Amish women would bake these desserts (known as hucklebucks, or creamy turtles at the time) and put them in farmers' lunch pails or lunch boxes. When farmers would find the treats in their lunch, they would shout "Whoopie!". Hence the name. It is thought that the original whoopie pies may have been made from leftover cake batter. As the harvest season draws to a close, the appearance of pumpkins in farmer's markets is a sure sign that it's time to put the heady spices associated with fall to work, and there is no better way to do that than to whip up some pumpkin treats. Duly motivated, I pull out my pumpkin recipes, of which there are an admittedly ridiculous number, and start to work my way through the lot. We, of course,  have favorites, and, if there are young boys or teenagers around, these pumpkin whoopie cakes, known to the grandchildren as poltergeist pies, are always among the first of the recipes to be made. The pies are a bit more work than cookies, but anyone sitting at your table will love them, and you may even garner you a round of applause when they appear on your table. They are not a pretty treat but they are enormously flavorful and will please those who like sweet treats. These pies are filled with a marshmallow buttercream rather than the more common cream cheese filling, so you will find them to be quite rich and filling. The pies are not hard to make and you can have them on the table in about an hour. Here is how they are made.


Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Marshmallow Buttercream...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Cook Like James

Ingredients:
Pies
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs, room temperature
1-1/2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup buttermilk
Marshmallow Fluff Buttercream Filling
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
5 heaping tablespoons Marshmallow Fluff
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease cookies sheets with oil or line with parchment paper.
2) Sift flours, soda, powder, and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.
3) Cream butter, brown and white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, ginger and vanilla in bowl of stand mixer set on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1-1/2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl once or twice. with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy,
4) Add eggs, one at a time, blending about 10 seconds after each addition.
5) Add molasses and pumpkin and mix about 10 seconds until blended. Scrape bowl, add buttermilk and beat for 5 seconds.
6) Fold in flour mixture by hand, then beat on low speed for about 5 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl and beat for another 10 seconds until smooth and velvety.
7) Drop batter by generous rounded tablespoons (or use small ice-cream scoop) about 2 inches apart. Bake about 12 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Yield: 28 cookies to make 14 pies.
8) To make filling: Place unsalted butter, Fluff, confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla in bowl of an electric mixer, beating on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes
9) To assemble pies: Sandwich cookies with 2 generous tablespoons filling for each pie. Makes 14 servings.

                    

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