CC: Mini Chocolate, er I mean, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I was really excited when I read the title for this month’s cookie. Then I read the recipe and my excitement deflated. I was imagining a spiced pumpkin cookie with a cream cheese filling. Well, there is cream cheese in the middle, but there is no spiced pumpkin cookie here. These whoopie pies are chocolate with a pumpkin cream cheese filling. The chocolate in the cookie is so overwhelming though that I can hardly taste the pumpkin in the filling. Maybe my filling to cookie ratio is off? But as you can see, the filling oozes quite a bit.

I also thought the cookie was a bit dry. Eating these was certainly exercise for my mouth. If I make these again, I think I’ll cut the amount of cocoa in the cookie. I do enjoy the chocolate/pumpkin combination a lot. I love chocolate chip pumpkin cookies and I made some chocolate pumpkin cupcakes a bit ago, but there was no balance in this. Too much chocolate (I can’t believe I’m saying that) and not enough pumpkin.

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart
Makes about 20

FOR THE COOKIES

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
* 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
* 1 large egg
* 1 cup whole milk
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract\

FOR THE FILLING

* 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature– I only used 4 T…a whole stick seemed like too much
* 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
* 1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
* Pinch of cinnamon
* Pinch of nutmeg

1. Prepare cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Place butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.
3. Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.
4. Prepare filling: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
5. Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.