About the Recipe
Fall has arrived and I’m inspired to make something fun for the upcoming holidays. Today I’m making my version of pumpkin flavored Whoopi pies. Wait ‘til you see how cute they are when they’re done. I’ll show you how to make them next!
Ingredients
For the cookie
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups solid pack pumpkin puree
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
½ tablespoon ground ginger
½ tablespoon ground cloves
For the Filling
1 stick, plus 7 Tbsp Butter, at room temperature
2 ¼ cups Powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
10 oz. marshmallow creme (aka marshmallow fluff)
orange food dye (12 drops of yellow dye + 4 drops of red dye)
6-7 Watermelon AirHeads or Apple Laffy Taffy
12 Tootsie Rolls
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350° F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Using a medium size bowl combine the brown sugar, oil, pumpkin puree, and eggs. Mix well and set aside.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground cloves. Mix well together and then combine with the pumpkin puree mixture.
Now that our dry ingredients are mixed well together, combine them with the pumpkin puree mixture. Stir until well combined.
Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop, drop your dough onto your pan and bake for 12 to 14 minutes.
Drop dough onto parchment lined baking sheets, using a cookie scoop (or with a tablespoon and make them just smaller than golf balls).
Bake at 350° F for 12 to 14 minutes. Let cookies cool and make filling.
Filling: Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and powdered sugar on low speed until well combined. Increase mixer speed to medium and whip until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Add vanilla and marshmallow creme, mix together until well combined. Add color dye if desired – 12 drops of yellow dye, plus 4 drops of red dye will produce an orange colored filling.
Chill mixture for about 20 minutes to thicken up. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
DIY method – use a sandwich bag and cut tip with scissors) and place back in the refrigerator.
To make your stems, roll your Tootsie rolls in your hands until smooth and a little elongated. Pinch with fingers to give it an hour-glass shape and bend to the side to make it seem more like a stem.
To make the stem leaves, heat AirHeads in the microwave (5-8 seconds, be careful because it can turn to hot putty really easily). Cut off about 1/2 of the AirHeads and flatten using fingers to make the shape of a leaf and use a knife tip to make "veins” in it. NOTE: I microwave only 1/2 Air Head at a time because it cools quickly.
To assemble Use a finger or a wooden chopstick and make a shallow hole in the middle of the cookie, and press the stem and leaf into the hole! (Stick leaves onto stems, they are both sticky so they don’t come apart.) If you want to make the "vines" simply microwave a piece of Airheads candy and place softened candy between your hands and then gently twist and pull to make a long snake, and then with the help of a toothpick make little loop-d-loops!
Pipe filling onto the bottoms of half the cookies and after you have decorated the second half, cover each cookie and create your pumpkin whoopies.
Happy Halloween!
Bakers Note:
Before decorating, store cookies in an airtight container set on parchment paper, in a single layer in the refrigerator for upto 3 days, or freeze for upto 30 days. Let rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before filling with creme and decorating. Once decorated, serve immediately.(or with a tablespoon and make them just smaller than golf balls). Bake at 350° F for 12 to 14 min