Richard Bradley's Pumpkin Wookie PiesBaking is the best therapy. Sometimes I find that it is in the moments where my mind is caught in the tempest of stress that the Divine Muses of Baked Goods visit and offer temporary safe harbor from life's occasional emotional storm clouds. I was just having a weird day. Perhaps it was the whole "Falling Back" time change the night before, but something was off. Everyone seemed weird. There was weird energy in the air all around and I just felt like crawling back into bed and calling "reset" on the entire day. On my drive back from the office, suddenly inspiration struck in the form of a pumpkin and cream cheese combination. I quick pit stop at the ol' Trader Joe's and I found solace in the rituals of creaming together sugar and butter. The house smelled delicious, comforting. Later, I brought some of the fresh Whoopie Pies out to be enjoyed by the public. After sharing a delicious meal with friends, I offered up dessert. "What are those?" Emily asked with excitement, eyes wide with anticipation. When I answered, "Pumpkin Whoopie Pies," Richard Bradley looked at me quizzically and asked, "What's a Wookie Pie?" I liked the name so much I promised to name the recipe for him. So . . . here we go: Richard Bradley's Wookie Pies. They are a super-moist mouthful and definitely met the approval of all who enjoyed them. Emily sat there, smile on her face, half eaten pie in her hand, and sighed, "I don't want it to end." Indeed.
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz. can pumpkin
- 2 sticks butter, room temperature, divided
- 3 tsp. vanilla, divided
- 1 c. sugar
- 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. corn syrup
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 3 c. flour
- 1 1/2 c. almond meal
- 1 tsp. cardamom
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 2 c. (or more) powdered sugar
COOKIESPreheat oven to 350˚F. In a large mixing bowl, cream together pumpkin, 1 stick butter, sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, and 1 tsp. vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and blend into mixture until batter is light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda until ingredients are combined thoroughly. Slowly add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture about a cup at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition. Add spices to batter.
Spoon 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto a parchment or silicon pad lined baking sheet, spaced out evenly. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes until cookies are a little puffy and cooked through. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Continue baking cookies in batches until batter is used up.
CREAM CHEESE FILLINGIn a large bowl, beat together 1 stick room temperature butter, cream cheese, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Slowly add powdered sugar on a low speed until blended and the filling is at the desired consistency. Spread a generous dollop (2-3 Tbsp.) of the filling onto the flat side of a completely cooled cookie. Top with a second cookie and press together slightly to adhere. Store cookies in an airtight container. Eat with friends!
And I just wrote reference to "Wookie Cookies" for the play writing class! Clearly, it's a sign.
ReplyDeleteDo you want me to make them for class? Is that a hint?
ReplyDeleteAnd I just wrote reference to "Wookie Cookies" for the play writing class! Clearly, it's a sign.
ReplyDelete