Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I've always wanted to try making whoopie pies, and since I keep hoping fall will finally show it's lovely face, I decided to try the pumpkin variety first.








Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves (I used allspice -- I had no cloves)
2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
3. Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of 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.

I found this recipe at Serious Eats -- it's by Matt Lewis from Baked bakery in Brooklyn, NY.

This is an easy recipe. Just make sure you chill your pumpkin before you start pulling everything together for the recipe. I used a basic cream cheese frosting recipe for the filling (very similar to the recipe listed). The allspice was fine instead of cloves but next time I'd use a bit less, maybe 1/2 tsp because it was a bit heavy on spice. Otherwise, they were wonderful. Good pumpkin flavor, cream cheese frosting was perfect with the spices, and they weren't too big to handle and eat. They were a big hit in pottery class.

We had five or six left over so I put them in the refrigerator. I would NOT recommend making them for anything other than a gathering of people or party to be eaten same day. Keeping them in the fridge (because of the cream cheese frosting) makes the cookie part of the pie rather moist and sticky; not pleasant. The flavor is still good but I'd rather not deal with that kind of ickiness.

First time campers

Review by Do:

Every year we plan a little family getaway, usually trying to work in a little something for everyone. The past couple years we have traveled north to the Adirondacks. Old Forge is a great town with lots of shops, great eateries, and a water park. We decided that's still the best place for us, but for a little change, we decide to try camping!

Now this camping idea is a big thing for us because we all really enjoy the comforts of a hotel...you know...comfy beds, hot showers, tv, free breakfast, etc. Once we started looking for camping accommodations the one that really jumped out at us was Old Forge Camping Resort. More specifically, their cottage rentals. Their cottages are a small cabin-type housing with electricity, indoor plumbing, and even a small kitchen. For our first camping excursion, we thought it sounded perfect!!

We had to borrow most of our camping necessities since, as I mentioned, we don't camp...ever. Luckily we know people, so we were able to borrow fishing poles, lanterns, sleeping bags, etc. We did have to buy our worms because it was a no brainer that none of us were going worm digging any time soon.



We always opt for a long weekend in August (Sun-Tues) to ensure warmer weather and low volume water park attendance. We packed as much as possible the night before, loaded up Sunday morning, and we were off by 10:30am. OFCR is very easy to locate and check-in was a snap. After we found our cottage and checked our place out, we unloaded. Who knew 4 people could need so much crap!



The cottage has 2 rooms, so the kids had their side and we had our side. Not the greatest amount of privacy, but some is better than none. The kids loved the bunk beds and we liked the fact our bed was a double...although Steve still didn't exactly fit. :-)

One of the first things we did was go fishing. OFCR has a private lake so all we had to do was walk to the water and find a nice spot. The kids were really eager to try, but not willing to put their own worm on the hook. My husband got that honor - but he wasn't too keen on it either so he picked up the worms with a bag on his hand. OMG...funny!! We would never survive in the real wilderness.

After about a half hour, no fish, some casting issues, and two fishing lines stuck in the trees overhead, the kids had enough. Me too for that matter...and how are you supposed to catch fish with paddle boats in the lake any how!! But you'll be happy to know the remaining worms were kindly let go in the woods to live out their last days in the dirt.


We went to dinner in town (which was our plan, you don't need to cook over an open fire every night!) at the cool new pizzeria Tony Harper's Pizza and Clam Shack. Indoor/outdoor seating, cold beers, great pizza (even Paige liked it) and their Whiskey Wings are awesome! Definitely a place you should eat at if you're ever in Old Forge.

Back at camp my husband made a campfire and got it going pretty good...would you be surprised if I told you that he used his torch from work? Anyway, we all sat around the fire until it barely got dark and then we could hold the kids off no more - we had to make smores!! My husband just ate the chocolate, my daughter only ate the marshmallows, and my son just wanted to play in the fire. What ever. :-)

Our next day was really busy. We got up early and headed out to Enchanted Forest Water Safari (...where the fun never stops!). We enjoyed hours of water rides, food, wave pool, more water rides, more food, train ride, over the park ride, and even more water rides!! We got back to the camp by 4pm, and then went to try the paddle boats. We all soon realized that paddle boats are not as easy as they look. My husband and daughter got to the middle of the lake and my daughter gave up...my husband had to paddle back mostly by himself. We then cooked burgers and dogs on the open grill at the camp, made another camp fire, and had more smores. The kids ventured on some small walks but didn't go to far. We all retired early that night.

The next morning we slept in, packed up, and headed out! We like to walk around town on our last day there, which is mostly for my husband and I. We hit most of the shops on main street but were a little disappointed with the famous Hardware Store this year. Not much to offer this time around.

I think our first attempt at camping went very well. We really enjoyed Old Forge Camping Resort. We even tried to scout out what cottage we want to reserve for next year. We didn't see any bears, but then we weren't bothered by mosquitoes either. The lake is beautiful, the cottages are really nice and clean, and I just think the whole location is just great. I think Old Forge and the Camping Resort together make a great little vacation getaway for the family. There's just a little something for everyone!!