Pumpkin Whoopie Pies and chocolate chip cookies from her daughter Jackie have been added to Mom’s Recipe Box.

Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies & “Of Course” Chocolate Chip Cookies from Jackie

To make redundancy redundant, autumn is my favorite season and I adore the beauty of October in New England. With that in mind, I am pleased to share my contribution for the “Mom’s Recipe Box” family project this month. I wanted to add not only the tried and true but something fun and new.

What could be more fun than making whoopee (?) – oops, that’s whoopie, as in Whoopie Pies.

It was during a visit to Belltown Hill Orchards in South Glastonbury, Connecticut two years ago that I first spotted Pumpkin Whoopie Pies in their bake shop. The idea tickled my fancy and it turned out they were delicious. When I came across a Whoopie Pie Maker recently at the local Christmas Trees Shops store, immediately I knew I wanted to try my hand at making a pumpkin version. I searched out recipes on-line and came across one that sounded especially good made with cream cheese filling.

Then I stumbled upon a Limited Edition DECADENT Duncan Hines pumpkin spice cupcake mix which also sounded good, and easier. I opted to use that. It came with pumpkin spice frosting I could have used for the filling but I wanted to try Marshmallow Fluff inside. The reviews have been positive.

Now for the cookies. Among my family and friends the baked goods I am best known for making are chocolate chip cookies. I began baking them to bring to family get-togethers in my early teens and they were enjoyed. In college, I would bake them for our (informal) 5/9 card ‘tournaments’. I am most proud to say that some of my chocolate chip cookies made their way to our soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, with care packages mailed from the “SEND HOMETOWN WINDSOR TO THE TROOPS” community service program out of Windsor, Connecticut.

Over time I have literally baked hundreds of chocolate chip cookies. Occasionally someone will say to me, “We haven’t had any of your chocolate chip cookies for awhile Jackie”. That’s my cue to pull out the cookie sheets.

Truth be told, I use the Toll House recipe that can be found on the back of packages of Nestle Morsels. I’m sure most anyone can make them as well as I. However, there are a couple of things that may set mine apart. When I began making them the recipe called for the dry ingredients to be sifted together – it no longer does – but I still sift. More importantly, I bake each batch with a pinch of TLC –tender loving care. – Jackie

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Marshmallow Fluff filling inside.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies – from Very Best Baking by Libby’s Pumpkin (Here’s the recipe I found, however, I have not yet tested it.)

Making whoopie pies.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 half teaspoon ground ginger; one half teaspoon salt; one half cup (1 stick) butter, softened; one and one fourth cups granulated sugar; 2 large eggs – at room temperature – lightly beaten; 1 cup Libby’s 100 percent Pure Pumpkin; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Cream Cheese Filling: 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature; 6 T butter, softened; one half t vanilla extract; one and a half cups powered sugar.

PREPARATION

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt in medium bowl; beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; add pumpkin and vanilla extract, beat until smooth; stir in flour mixture until combined.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease or line four baking sheets with parchment paper and drop by heaping spoonful onto prepared baking sheets; bake for 10 to 13 minutes, cool for 5 minutes then remove and place on wire racks to cool completely.

For the filling: beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl on medium speed until fluffy; gradually beat in powered sugar until light and fluffy.

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Or: Add 2 eggs, three fourths cup of water, and one fourth cup oil to Duncan Hines Pumpkin Spice Cupcake mix; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Baking time in an oven set at 350 degrees F is 18-23 minutes and the yield is a dozen, but with the Whoopie Pie Maker I found the baking time to be be shorter and the yield to be fewer. A can of cooking oil is needed to lightly spray the Whoopie Pie Maker before baking. Remove from the Whoopie Pie Maker, using only a wooden or plastic spatula, and let cool. Open 7 and a half ounce jar of Marshmallow Fluff then spread a heaping teaspoon onto one of the the flat sides, gently press together with the second flat side. Voila – a Whoopie Pie.

Original Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS

2 and one quarter cup all-purpose flour; 1 t baking soda; 1 t salt; 1 cup (2 sticks) butter; three fourths cup granulated sugar; three fourths cup packed brown sugar; 1 t vanilla extract; 2 large eggs; 2 cups (12 oz pkg) Nestle Toll House Semi Sweet Chocolate Morsels; optional 1 cup chopped nuts.

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F; makes about 5 dozen.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl (these are the dry ingredients that I sift together); beat butter (which I allow to soften slightly), granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl until creamy; add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in dry ingredients; stir in morsels; drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets; bake 9-11 minutes, cool on cookie sheets for  two minutes, then remove and place on wire racks to cool completely.

Look for Mom’s Recipe Box weekly on Fridays as family members add to and celebrate my mother’s collection of recipes – the Cecelia G. Bennett Collection. – JB