{ makin' [pumpkin] whoopie }

... pies, that is.

This is an easy, fail-safe recipe that I highly urge you try if you've been craving that soft, creamy, spicy pumpkin taste. For some reason, the taste kind of reminds me of a puffy carrot cake in cloud form. Except it's pumpkin, not carrot. And it's not cake. And, well, it's not a cloud. But other than that, the similarities are uncanny. ;)

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Frosting
(adapted from DreamyDesserts)

Ingredients
Pies
3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened

1 stick of butter, room temperature
1 16-oounce package of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of cinnamon

Process

Pies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat together brown sugar, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, shift together the dry ingredients. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.

Using a pastry bag with a large round tip (Wilton #12 works great), squeeze out concentric circles of batter, until the circles are about 2 inches in diameter. If a point is left where the tip was raissed from the pie, dampen a finger with water and gently pat down the point until batter circle is smooth.

Bake for 11 minutes and cool completely on a baking rack.

Frosting
Beat together cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Frost flat side of half the pies and top with remaining halves.

Enjoy right away or wrap individually with plastic cling wrap.

Makes 12-14 pies.