Pumpkin Whoopie Pies - Sinfully Delicious!

This Halloween I wanted to make up a special treat for my nephew and niece and their friends when they embarked on this special night of tricking and treating!

These Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are decadently delicious and can be enjoyed all throughout the Autumnal season, not just on Halloween!

A whoopie pie is a baked good made of two round chocolate, cake-like, cookies with a sweet, creamy frosting sandwiched between them. While considered a New England phenomenon and a Pennsylvania Amish tradition, they are increasingly sold throughout the United States. According to food historians, Amish women would bake these and put them in farmers' lunchboxes. When the farmers would find these treats in their lunch, they would shout "Whoopie!"

You can get this simple recipe here: Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

The recipe is actually for a "Mini" version, but I made a larger, more regular sized version by using 2 Tablespoons of batter for each cookie instead of 2 teaspoons. The baking times remain the same. I also doubled the batch of filling.

First step is to get your oven preheating to 375° and then sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, shortening, granulated sugar & dark brown sugar until smooth. Then you'll add one egg and continue to mix until pale and fluffy.

Mix in about half of the flour mixture, then a cup of milk, some pure vanilla extract and then the remaining flour mixture.

Drop batter, 2" apart, onto baking sheets lined with parchment or non-stick baking mats. Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating the sheet pans halfway through baking, until the cookies are done.

Transfer the cookies to cooling racks and cool completely.


To prepare the luscious pumpkin filling, in the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, unsalted butter and confectioners' sugar, on medium speed, until smooth.

Add fresh pure pumpkin, a little cinnamon and nutmeg and continue to whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

Pipe or spoon the filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with the remaining cookies, flat side down. Enjoy one of these now because there won't be any of them left soon after you make them!!

Pumpkin Rice Pudding - A Special Autumn Treat!

Two of my favorite desserts, rice pudding and pumpkin pie! Never thought about the two being combined but recently found this recipe that does just that! Not only is this recipe easy to make and very delicious, it's also a healthy alternative to traditional rice pudding or pumpkin pie as it uses no eggs and is sweetened with honey instead of sugar! It's also made with Arborio rice which is an Italian grain that is shorter and fatter then other short-grain rice. Traditionally used for risotto, look for it in your supermarket. This recipe is adapted from the cookbook "So Easy" by Ellie Krieger.

The ingredients used are low-fat milk, fresh pumpkin puree or solid-pack canned pumpkin (NOT pie filling), Arborio rice, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and a pinch of salt.

In a heavy oven proof pot, bring some water to a boil, stir in the rice, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and whisk together.

While the rice is still hot, add the pumpkin mixture and stir well to combine. Cover and transfer to a pre-heated 375 degree oven.

Bake until the liquid has reduced by about a third and the mixture is foamy and bubbling, about 50 minutes.

Remove from the oven, stir well to combine. Transfer to a large bowl, cover and chill overnight ot at least 8 hours.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream (if you choose) and a sprinkling of cinnamon.