Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

We are making this for a dessert tonight for a fun party we are doing. If this turns out yucky, I'll delete it off my blog by tomorrow. If it is "to die for" it will still be here.

1-1/2 cup non hydrogenated vegetable shortening
2 cups sugar
2 t. molasses
2 t. vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups pumpkin puree (I use canned to make it simple)
4-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 egg
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. allspice
1/4 t. cinnamon

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients
1/2 container Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
2 T. Earth Balance

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Cream shortening and sugar together, using a stand mixer if available. You can also do it by hand. Add molasses and vanilla and beat well. Add pumpkin puree and whip until incorporated (don't worry if the fat doesn't mix in completely).

In separate bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients and mix well. Add this dry mix to the wet until all incorporated. It will make a stiff batter.

It is easiest to use an ice cream scoop that has a release lever to drop the dough onto your cookie sheet.

Wet your fingers and gently flatten the dough balls. This will prevent your pies from tipping over by creating a semi-flat surface for them to rest on.

Bake for 10-13 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean, and the tops spring back when pressed in the center.

Remove cookies fromt the cookie sheet as soon as they come out of the oven to prevent over-baking. Cover them with a towel or plastic wrap to keep moisture/steam in, as this will prevent a hard crust from forming. Prepare the filling while your cookies are cooling.

Cream Cheese Filling
Whip ingredients together until smooth. Set aside or refrigerate until use.

Put filling in a zip-loc bag and slice off the corner to pipe the filling into the center. You don't need that much filling per pie. Make sure the sides of the cookies that were touching the cookie sheet are the side that touch the filling.

Make "sandwiches" by putting the filling on one cookie and placing the other cookie over the top.

Traditional whoopie pies are chocolate. These would be awesome with some mini chocolate chips mixed in, or perhaps some melted chocolate drizzled over the top. Store them wrapped in plastic wrap or in an air-tight container to keep them soft.