Pumpkin Whoopie Pie

Ok...it might not be the most appetizing photo, but it tastes great!

Dave and I were in the mood for something pumpkiny, so we went for these whoopie pies. By the way...if any of you actually read this...yesterday we went to the Boston Local Food Festival. It was fun!

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbs ground cinnamon
1 tbs ground ginger (we had none, so we added more cinnamon, and a dash of allspice)
1 tbs ground cloves
2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 recipe of cream cheese frosting

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until well combined (we used our stand mixer on a low setting)
4. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully combined. (again..mixer)
5. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. This is your opportunity to make them pretty, if that's important to you. (I kinda just globbed them on, and they ended up a bit deformed...)
6. Bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick comes out clean- about 15 min. Let cool completely on pan.
7. While cooling, prepare frosting.
8. Assemble whoopie pies. Transfer filling to a ziplock bag and snip the end. Place a large dollop on the flat side of one cookie, and add another on top.
9. Repeat with remaining cookies. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

They can be stored in fridge for up to 3 days.

(recipe from Martha Stewart)

Cream Cheese Frosting

I could eat this plain. It's that good.

Ingredients:
2.5 to 3 cups confectioners' sugar (depends on how sweet you want it)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Sift confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside.
2. In the bowl of electric mixer (with paddle attachment), beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined.
3. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, and beat until smooth
4. Use right away, or refrigerate

Oooooohhhhh....so good!

(recipe from Martha Stewart)

Baked Apples

Haha....they look kinda yellow. I should fix that. (and thanks, Matt, for taking the pic!)

Anyway, last weekend Mom, Dad, Jon, Matt, and Melissa were all with us on Long Island. Dave and I had some leftover apples from when we went apple picking, so we made this easy, yet (somewhat) time-consuming dessert.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
6-8 apples
3 tbs butter, softened
3 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
pre-made pastry sheets (we used 1 1/2 packages)
raisins, walnuts optional
1 egg yolk
Raw sugar (or regular sugar)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Peel and core apples, and set aside.
3. Mix softened butter, sugar, and cinnamon in bowl. I added extra cinnamon ;-)
4. Add in raisins and/or walnuts, if using.
5. Fill apple cavities with cinnamon sugar butter mixture ("apple cavities?" Not sure why I called them that)
6. Roll out pastry sheets, and cut into 8" squares.
7. Place an apple on pastry square, and fold up corners to meet at the top. Crimp edges, and add decorative pieces of pastry, if desired.
8. Repeat with remaining apples.
9. Brush with egg yolk, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
10. Bake for 30 minutes, or until apples have softened and pastry is golden brown.

For Melissa, we omitted the pastry. Dave and I actually made these again when we got back to MA, and we didn't use the pastry either. Halfway through the baking time, I brushed the cinnamon sugar that had oozed out the bottom back onto the apples, and continued baking.

I preferred them without the pastry, and Dave liked them better with.

Oh yea- serve with ice cream or whipped cream. Yum!