Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Cookies – A Recipe Review

Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Cookies

Baking Christmas cookies is something I look forward to this time of year, but baking Christmas cookies with my sister – that takes it to another level of fun!  Jill & I set aside time on Sunday afternoon at her house, & we had such a blast!  Talking, laughing, baking, listening to Christmas music & enjoying the beautiful decorations she has on display throughout her home.  We decided that this should probably become a yearly tradition for us…And oh yes, we made cookies…lots & lots of them!   My brother in law was gracious enough to be the taste-tester ((ahem)) & he gave them the thumbs up!

Jill & Jeanne

So here’s one of the recipes we made, which came from the Nestle site.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon (we also added a pinch of cloves)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 – 1/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup pumpkin pie puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:  We would recommend doubling the recipe below

4 oz. cream cheese

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla (we added a little more plus a small amount of almond extract)

1 – 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

For the cookies: Combine the dry ingredients, mixing well then set aside.  Cream together the butter & sugar, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add in the pumpkin & vanilla, & beat until smooth.  Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until it is combined.

 Drop by heaping measuring teaspoons (we piped ours, which worked very well) onto prepared baking sheets.

The original recipe states this makes 72 cookies (or 36 whole cookies – using 2 in each cookie) but our yield was only 52 cookies (or 26 whole cookies), piping them into the heaping teaspoons as per the recipe.

Bake in a 350 F oven for 10 to 13 minutes or until springy to the touch.

Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

For the Cream Cheese Filling:

Beat the cream cheese, butter & vanilla together until well combined.   Gradually add the powdered sugar & beat until light and fluffy.

Spread a heaping teaspoon of the filling  (we piped ours) onto one of the flat sides of a cooke, then top with the flat side of another cookie to form a sandwich.  Repeat with the remaining cookies & store in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes:

This turned out to be a really good recipe – tasted great & nice looking.  The main things we noticed – this didn’t make nearly as many as the recipe indicated, and the filling needed to be doubled. The addition of ground cloves to the dough, & a little almond extract along with the vanilla for the filling, were the perfect extra touches. We used silicon baking mats for some, & parchment paper for others.  The silicon mats worked like a charm, the parchment was a tiny bit sticky to remove. We agreed – we would most definitely make these again…a real keeper!