“Another reason, another season for making whoopee…”  Or if you aren’t making whoopee, at least you can seek comfort in the sweet decadence of whoopie pies.  For those of you who aren’t whoopie pie savants, the dessert is comprised of vanilla frosting sandwiched between two chocolate cake-like cookies.  Think Oreo with a softer shell and even more delicious cream filling.

Admittedly, I’ve never had a traditional whoopie pie, but after a barrage of cupcake posts I decided that it would be festive to turn the popular pies into a harvest dessert with a pumpkin twist.  After researching recipes, I became convinced that most were needlessly difficult.  Rather than making the pie component from scratch, I used a spice flavor box cake mix and omitted the vegetable oil and water.  This created a batter akin to cookie dough.  To capture the essence of Thanksgiving confections, I added a cup of pumpkin puree.

Finding buttercream and marshmallow options too saccharine for the pumpkin spice pie, I opted for cream cheese filling.  Infusing a little more lush, I browned the butter before mixing it into the frosting.  The evocative nutty flavor complimented the pumpkin perfectly.

These impish pies were so delicious I couldn’t stop myself from indulging in one for breakfast this morning.   At least I have a month to get myself off Santa’s naughty list.  xx tt

*TIP: refrigerate the pies and filling for fifteen minutes before assembling so that the filling isn’t runny and can withstand the weight of the pies.

FINISHING TOUCHES…

t+tSTYLE: treat yourself or your favorite Thanksgiving hostess to one of these impossibly chic half-aprons from Etsy.