Pumpkin Whoopie Pies: I've died and gone to heaven!

Nothing says fall like my obsession with pumpkin. I never go the season without trying as many pumpkin recipes as possible. This weekend while at my parents for our weekly dinner together, we made a batch of delicious pumpkin whoopie pies for dessert with plenty of leftovers for the week!
These treats can be made mini as well by just decreasing the size of the cake and decreasing the cooking time. And of couse, any treat made without milk products is worth a try to be able to watch Gordon enjoy them along with us!

 Ingredients for the Cake:

• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (one 15-ounce can) pumpkin
• 2 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease two baking sheets or line with parchment paper or a silpat. Beat together the butter, oil, sugar, molasses, cake enhancer, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time, until fluffy. Stir in pumpkin. Add the flour in two additions, mixing well after each addition. Use a muffin scoop to deposit the thick batter onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2" around each mound. Bake until the cookies feel firm; a slight indentation will remain when you gently press them in the middle, about 16 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely.

Leave room for cakes to settle and bake!

Ingredients for filling:

8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature (tofutti brand for non-dairy)

4 tablespoons soft butter (soy butter for non-dairy)

2 cups glazing sugar or confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the filling: Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the sugar in two additions. Add the vanilla. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until very fluffy.

To assemble: Sandwich two cookies around 2 tablespoons of filling. For best storage, wrap each pie in plastic wrap.

Fall Heaven on a pretty plate!

Notes on this dish: You can use regular cream cheese in butter if you don't have dairy concerns. You can also opt for vanilla frosting instead as your filling. You can use white wheat flour as well. King Arthur has a great all-purpose white wheat flour. There are also some other ingredients such as crystalized ginger that you can fold into the filling or rolling the edges in nuts or brown sugar, but we kept it simple and I would not change a thing!! I have also made a red velvet version of these around christmas time and they were a hit at a holiday party. I will post the recipe when the seasons change and christmas baking begins :)