pumpkin whoopie pies.see? i told you i would blog about it. actually, im trying to be disciplined and be serious about blogging. as time consuming as it is, im going to make it work! so i've been wanting to try making whoopie pies for awhile and since i have a meeting at work tomorrow night, i thought, what a perfect time to bring something in. well all the managers are bringing something, but i decided to put my skills to the test! i found a pretty great recipe on another bloggers site (Bake at 350), but i did change it a little.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
(adapted from Martha Stewart & Baked cookbook)
3 cups AP Flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground cloves*
2 cups packed dark brown sugar**
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract***
* i didn't want to buy a whole thing of ground cloves and bought whole cloves in the bulk spice aisle. and then realized that i don't have a coffee grinder (i know, im in seattle and i don't have a coffee grinder?! or a coffee maker for that matter...i own a tea kettle, though! does that count for anything??) so i ended up trying to mash/ grind them with my marble rolling pin. hence, i didn't get a whole tablespoon out of them. and i added a couple pinches of ground nutmeg.
** i also didn't have enough dark brown sugar, so i had a cup of dark brown and a cup of light brown sugar.
*** and for me, i loooooove vanilla extract, and even though i know a little goes a long way...i added two teaspoons!
- combine flour, spices and salt.
- in another bowl combine sugar and oil and wisk until well mixed.
- add pumpkin to sugar mixture, then eggs and vanilla.
- add flour to pumpkin...i like to do it in 3 batches, so not to overmix and that everything is well combined.
i used a silicon mat and tried different ways to bake them. I did the ice cream scoop method and i did the piping method...and then i used the ice cream scoop and flattened them with my fingers. all three methods work, so choose whichever one you like better! just keep each round about an inch away from on another and everything is all good. bake at 350 until the center is cooked through, remove and cool on a cooling rack. once they're all baked, it's frosting time! i don't really use any recipe for frosting, but i love my cream cheese frosting!
Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting
(my version)
1 whole vanilla bean, scraped
1/2 a stick of butter (4 tbsp)
1 block of cream cheese (i prefer philly original)
1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
and
powdered sugar
i don't have an exact amount because you add the powdered sugar to your desired consistency of frosting. for me, i like it a little thicker, so i add a bit more powdered sugar and less butter. i want to taste that cream cheese!
then put your frosting into your piping bag and pipe it onto each half of the pies. or just grab an offset spat and have at it! and for an added touch i melted some white chocolate and drizzled it over the top. now my sister is one of my favorite people to give my bakings to because i know how honest she will be with me. and she loved it! so i'm really excited to take them to work tomorrow!!
Label: pumpkin whoopie pies.
