Making Whoopie(s)!

It's been a little over a year since we were in Maine, but when we were in the planning stage of our trip, I noted the location of Wicked Whoopies. I wasn't about to go to the State known for its Whoopie Pies and not get one of the best.  I was not disappointed!  They were as delicious as they were immense, and since that day I've been telling myself that, one day, I'm going to make them myself.

As it turned out, today was the day.  I decided to go with something "Martha," and tried her recipe for Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, that can be found here.  I figured it would serve two purposes: 1) to satisfy my seasonal urge for pumpkin, and 2) to satisfy my curiosity about making Whoopies.  It succeeded on both counts.

These do not spread so can be piped close together.

This is an easy recipe to make.  It mixes up fast and, if you pipe the batter onto the cookie sheet using a pastry bag you'll have them ready for the oven in no time.  I did the same with the filling and had a stack of them piled up on the plate ready for tasting with a minimum of effort.  I use the disposable pastry bags that I get by the box at Michael's; it makes clean-up a breeze!

Pipe an ample amount of filling onto each half.

The recipe claims it makes 20, but following it closely I still came out with around 40.  Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but it was more than I expected.  Both cookie and filling are light, so you're not going to be bogged down when eating more than one of these.  The filling has a delicate pumpkin taste that, when I make them again, I'm going to alter a bit by using more than just a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg, and adding pinch of allspice.

The book Martha Stewart's COOKIES -- one I highly recommend -- has another recipe for Whoopie Pies with a peanut butter filling.  I think I'll try that the next time and then after that I'll try them with a vanilla cream filling, and then...