Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Caramel Frosting

• Serves: makes 30 small Whoopie Pies
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours... will cooling time

Ingredients

• WHOOPIE PIE BATTER
• 2 cups Dark Brown Sugar
• 1 cup Vegetable or Canola Oil
• 1 2/3 cup Canned Pumpkin Puree
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 1/2 cups Unbleached Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Ground Ginger
• 2 tsp Ground Cloves
• CARAMEL FROSTING
• 1 cup Butter room temp
• 1/2 cup Caramel Topping for Ice Cream
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• 4 cup Powdered Sugar

Instructions

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Line Baking sheets with Parchment Paper

In a large stand mixer, combine sugar and oil... beat until it looks like brown soup.

Add pumpkin puree.. beat to combine

Add eggs, one at a time, beat, scrape down, add Vanilla then beat to smooth.

In a large measuring cup, combine Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Cinnamon, Ginger, and Cloves.... whisk the dry ingredients together.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture (slowly... or it will fly back up at you and get up your nose...)

Beat until combined... don't forget to scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula to get some of the bottom bits that hide.

Will be sort of thick when it's ready.

Now

Using a small ice cream scoop... about 1 1/2 inches across.... scoop out the batter onto the parchment paper... I get about 12 on a cookie sheet... so a few inches apart.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack (just pull the parchment paper off of the cookie sheet and on to a cooling rack) until COMPLETELY COOL. Don't even think about frosting these babies warm.... you'll have a melty mess on your hands.

CARAMEL FILLING
Put the room temperature butter into a mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer with a Whisk attachment, whip the butter until fluffy... add the powdered sugar a bit at a time. After adding about 2 cups, add the caramel.
Whip some more... add the rest of the powdered sugar and the vanilla.

If it is too stiff... add a few teaspoons of milk
If it is too loose... add a bit of powdered sugar

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

Put the Caramel Filling into a piping bag with a large tip - if you have one- if you don't have one, you can use a spreading knife, it will be fine.

Take one Whoopie Cookie in your hand.... pipe on filling.... top with another Whoopie Cookie... squish down a bit.

Ta Dah!!

now repeat.

Enjoy