Soft pumpkin cookies, fluffy cream cheese filling, and a sprinkling of cinnamon spiced powdered sugar complete these Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. This mini version is just the right size, and the pumpkin and cream cheese combination is scrumptious.

Of course these are not really a pie at all, but a cookie. Whoopie Pies are essentially two cake-like cookies sandwiched with a generous helping of fluffy creamy filling.

Original Whoopie Pies, believed to have originated in the 1920s in either Maine, Pennsylvania, or by the Amish are large affairs, about 4 inches in diameter, and made with a soft chocolate cookie and marshmallow filling. The clever name is possibly from children that would squeal with delight and yell “whoopie” whenever they were getting one of these delicious treats. Modern versions include a cookie made with chocolate or other flavors such as pumpkin and red velvet, and fluffy fillings with all flavors imaginable.

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

½ cup pumpkin

¼ cup milk (preferably whole milk)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Spiced Cream Cheese Filling:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

2 cups confectioners' (powdered) sugar

Topping:

1 tablespoon confectioners' (powdered) sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Baking sheets may be ungreased, lined with parchment paper, or lined with a non-stick baking mat.
   
   Dough:
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves; whisk together to mix. Set aside.
   
   
3. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter and brown sugar; beat on medium speed until mixture is creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula so the mixture blends evenly. Add egg, pumpkin, milk, and vanilla; beat until thoroughly mixed, mixture may appear curdled. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, beat together until well mixed.
   
   Bake:
4. Drop batter by level tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes or until set and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean.
   

Tip: Use a measuring tablespoon, fill the spoon with dough and level off with a knife. Use a spoon or knife to scrape the dough out of the measuring spoon and onto the pan, keeping the dough formed in as round a shape as possible.

5. Remove cookies from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet 2 to 3 minutes. When they seem firm enough, remove cookies from baking sheets with a metal spatula and place on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
   
   Spiced Cream Cheese Filling:
6. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves; use an electric hand mixer or wooden spoon and beat together until mixture is smooth. Add powdered sugar; beat until filling is smooth and creamy.
   
   Assembly:
7. Spoon about two teaspoons of filling onto the bottom flat side of one cookie. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edges of the cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling.
   
   Topping:
8. Combine powdered sugar and cinnamon. Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust the tops of the cookies with the sugar mixture.
   
   
9. Place the whoopie pies on a baking sheet in a single layer and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to firm up the filling before serving.
   
   
10. The whoopie pies will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Place on a baking sheet in a single layer and cover tightly with plastic wrap.
    
    Makes about 2 dozen whoopie pies
    
    TheBakingPan.com
    
    Source:
    Land O’ Lakes
    Lewis, Matt and Renato Poliafito, Baked Explorations, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York, 2010
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