As we are in the midst of fall, we get to experience the beautiful fall foliage, chilly weather, and digging our dusty fall clothes out of the bottoms of our drawers. And with all of that comes the food! Our Instagram and Pinterest pages are full of different fall recipes… some that sound amazing and some not. However, I was lucky enough to find an amazing one! I found a recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with a cream cheese frosting in the middle. If you are unfamiliar with a whoopie pie, it is an American classic dessert that consists of a cake-like cookie (that is traditionally chocolate flavored) with a vanilla cream frosting in the middle sandwiched by two of those delectant chocolate cookies. Since it is fall, I took it up a notch.
To make these pumpkin whoopie pies, I had to gather my ingredients. It was a very fun trip to the grocery store since it was all decorated with fall leaves and fall-themed baked goodies and food. Canned pumpkin and pumpkin spice, which were my two key ingredients, were very easy to find. My other ingredients for the pumpkin cookies included dark brown sugar, white granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, salt, pumpkin spice, vegetable oil, baking soda, and baking powder. The ingredients that I used for the cream cheese frosting were unsalted butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, salt, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and half and half cream. Now it was time to put it all together!
To start off, I combined the sugars and vegetable oil in a bowl. Then I mixed in the canned pumpkin. To that mixture I added the vanilla extract and eggs. In a separate bowl, I whisked together my flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin spice. Then, to the pumpkin mixture I added the flour mixture in two parts to ensure that all the ingredients are fully incorporated. The batter was then complete! I preheated my oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, scooped the batter onto parchment paper lined baking sheets in two tablespoon portions, and baked them for 11 minutes.
Then to make the frosting, I combined the butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, and maple syrup. I added the powdered sugar in three parts. To thin out the frosting, I added a splash of half and half cream. After the cookies had cooled, I then assembled the whoopie pies. I put my frosting into a piping bag with a round tip. I turned one cookie over and frosted the inside in a circular motion until the cookie was covered. I then took a second cookie and sandwiched the two together to finally complete the whoopie pies! Whew!
All bakers need feedback, and I am lucky enough to have amazing classmates and an amazing teacher that will give me that feedback. So, I brought my pumpkin whoopie pies into class and had everyone try them! Overall, everyone seemed to really like them. Junior Oba Aofolaju said that it was “a riveting experience” and she “didn’t like pumpkin until [she] tried this.” Senior Benji Gutierrez-Cordova, who seemed very excited to try a whoopie pie, explained,“the texture is very soft… the aftertaste is pleasing, and the flavor is superior! This recipe is perfect for a Thanksgiving family dinner dessert!” So far, the feedback has been very positive. My English teacher, Ms. Veltre, provided some constructive feedback about the frosting: “The cream cheese frosting is nice because the butter inside of it is very good and tones the flavor perfectly.” I appreciated the feedback that I received, and it made me very happy to see my classmates enjoy something that I enjoyed making!
Overall, it is safe to say that these pumpkin whoopie pies were a huge success! It was an easy and fun recipe to make, people enjoyed them, and it really boosts the happiness of the fall season. The fall season is a great time to explore new recipes and share with family and friends. I am happy to have been able to share the happiness and cheer of fall with my classmates and teachers! Stay tuned, as there is more to come from Becca Bakes!
If you would like to try to make this recipe yourself, here is the link:
The Scroll 