WHOOPIE!

For the Halloween party at Daycare I thought it would be nice to make a treat for the ladies who spend a good part of their day with Will. Everywhere around here I have been hearing/seeing Whoopie pies so I decided to try them out. According to food historians, Amish women would bake these (known as hucklebucks at the time) and put them in farmers' lunchboxes. When farmers would find these treats in their lunch, they would shout "Whoopie!

FOR THE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE COOKIES
•3 cups all-purpose flour
•1 teaspoon salt
•1 teaspoon baking powder
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
•1 tablespoon ground ginger
•1 tablespoon ground cloves
•2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
•1 cup vegetable oil
•3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
•2 large eggs
•1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE CREAM-CHEESE FILLING
•3 cups confectioners' sugar
•1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
•8 ounces cream cheese, softened
•1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2.In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
3.Using a small ice cream scoop, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.
4.Make the filling: Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)
5.Assemble the whoopie pies: Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.