Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I was really looking forward for this month’s cookie carnival – Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, it sounded so cool to me. Steve was a bit weary when I told him about this month cookies, the idea of adding pumpkin in the cookies sounds “Yuck” to him.

Well, I got myself all set up today. Yeah, I simply can’t wait to try this recipe. I couldn’t find the solid pack pumpkin in the supermarket, hence I replaced it with ½ cup of mash pumpkin (Smart me, hey ;-p). I replaced the vegetable shortening with butter as I don’t have any shortening handy. The result was ….. Da-Lah .. another kitchen disaster. All the cookies are now “resting peacefully” in my rubbish bin.

The cookies turned out rather dry and thick, as you can see in the pictures. Sandwich two of those cookies together will give you a giant ball. The filling tasted ok to me, but a bit “watery”. It was impossible to sandwich the filling in between the cookies.

Well, my dear cookie carnival gang, please tell me where I went wrong. My “smart ass” ideas of replacing the butter and mashed pumpkin or .. hehe.. We can blame my kitchen “feng shui” again ;-))


Makes about 20.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE COOKIES

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
* 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
* 1 large egg
* 1 cup whole milk
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE FILLING

* 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
* Pinch of cinnamon
* Pinch of nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Place butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.
3. Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.
4. Prepare filling: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
5. Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.

**** This is my entry for this month Cookie Carnival held by the clean plate club ******