Pumpkin Moon Pies Recipes

PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.
• Combine the oil and brown sugar. Mix in the pumpkin and eggs, beating well. Add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix well.
• Drop dough by heaping teaspoons onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cookies cool then make sandwiches from two cookies filled with Whoopie Pie Filling.
• To Make Whoopie Pie Filling: Beat egg white and mix with the milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar. Mix well then beat in the shortening and the remaining cup of confectioners' sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.

PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES WITH CREAM-CHEESE FILLING

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together oil, pumpkin puree, eggs, and vanilla until well combined. Add brown sugar and whisk until combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
• Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.
• Make the filling: Sift confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)
• Assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.

PECAN-PUMPKIN SPICE MOON PIES

Steps:

• Line a half sheet tray with parchment paper so that it hangs over the edges on all sides by about 2" (this will make the marshmallows easier to remove from the pan). Spray paper with nonstick cooking spray and dust generously with powdered sugar.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, sprinkle gelatin over ? Celsius cold water and set aside to bloom. Meanwhile, combine sugar, corn syrup, and salt with ? Celsius water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and continue cooking syrup until it reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat.
• With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Increase speed to high and whip until very thick and glossy, about 15 minutes. Add vanilla and pumpkin pie spice and mix until thoroughly combined. Using gel paste food coloring, tint marshmallow mixture to a pale orange.
• Pour mixture into prepared pan, dust top generously with powdered sugar, and allow to sit for at least four hours. When marshmallows are set, turn out of pan onto a clean work surface dusted with powdered sugar, and peel off parchment. Using a 2 ½" ring mold or cookie cutter dusted with powdered sugar, cut out marshmallow rounds. Store wrapped in plastic or in an airtight container if not using immediately.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, finely grind the pecans together with the sugars. Add flour and salt to food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, then add egg and vanilla and process until the dough comes together.
• Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and turn the dough out. Form into a ball and then flatten into a disc, working in some of the flour from the table as needed. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill about 30 minutes in the freezer, or 1 hour in the refrigerator.
• Remove dough from plastic wrap and roll out to about ?" thick with a rolling pin, dusting work surface, dough, and rolling pin with flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Using a 2 ½" round cookie cutter or ring mold, cut out cookies. Space about an inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, then bake, rotating once halfway through, 8-10 minutes (cookies should be slightly undercooked).
• Allow to cool completely before decorating.
• When cookies are ready, heat candy melts in a medium glass bowl in the microwave in 15-30 second increments, stirring after each, until completely smooth, thinning with 1 T. melted shortening at a time until candy melts reach a nice dipping consistency. Dip half of cookies into mixture, allowing excess to drip off, then place on a wire cooling rack set over a parchment-lined half sheet tray. Allow candy to set slightly before decorating with assorted sprinkles. If desired, mix a little gold highlighter with a small amount of vodka in a small bowl and splatter cookies with "paint." Allow to set completely, at least 30 minutes.
• To assemble, carefully spread remaining undecorated cookies with 1 t. apple butter. Place a marshmallow round on top of the apple butter, then sandwich together with decorated cookies, using a dab of apple butter on the underside of each as glue. Moon pies are best served immediately once assembled.