Pumpkin-Chocolate Whoopie Pies

(22)
pumpkin-chocolate-whoopie-pies-med107616.jpg
Yield:
3 dozen

These whoopie pies may be small, but they pack big flavor. Intense chocolate filling enhances the cakey pumpkin cookies.

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger

  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves

  • 2 cups granulated sugar

  • 1 cup safflower oil

  • 3 cups solid-pack pumpkin puree, chilled

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

  • ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

  • cup unsweetened cocoa powder

  • 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Directions

  1. Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment or a nonstick baking mat.

  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree, and whisk until combined. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture; whisk until fully incorporated.

  3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Smooth tops with a wet fingertip. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies just start to crack on top and a cake tester comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks, and let cookies cool completely.

  4. Make the filling: With an electric mixer on medium-high, beat butter, cream, cocoa, and confectioners' sugar until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

  5. Spread filling (about 1 scant tablespoon) on flat side of half the cookies; sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing to adhere. (Whoopie pies are best eaten the same day but can be refrigerated in airtight containers overnight.)

Cook's Notes

A small ice-cream scoop with a release mechanism makes it easy to form uniform-sized cookies.

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