Mini Chocolate-Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Whoopee!!! It's the ultimate whoopie pie here: Two moist and chocolatey, pumpkin-spiked cookies, wrapping their cookie arms around fluffy vanilla frosting. And these are mini whoopie pies, so in like 2 bites, they're gone. Until the next one... And get this, aside from the sugary frosting, these decadent treats are almost healthy (just 4 tablespoons of butter in 12 whoopie pies!). Super easy too. The hard part is sharing...

Here's a funny story: I made these whoopie pies on a crazy busy day, so I only had time to fill and make 2 whoopie pies before dinner, one for Kyle and one for Luke. I stored the rest of the cookies in an airtight container with plans to fill them the next day. Which I did, but I was 1 cookie short. Hmmmm. Did I count wrong? No. A sneaky teenager stole one during the night! But let's think about that scenario: these cookies are so friggin' moist, chocolatey and amazing, they don't NEED the frosting filling to be steal-worthy. Even for a teenager, where frosting rules.

I'll confess, I used store-bought vanilla frosting for the filling. I'm not ashamed - I planned it that way. But that got me thinking... my chocolate ganache frosting would be INSANE in there! I'll do it next time. If you want to do it THIS time, click the link above (it's a simple ganache of chocolate chips and cream; just ignore the butterscotch poke cake part).

 Mini Chocolate-Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
Icing of choice (vanilla, chocolate, cream cheese)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper
To make the cookies, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Mix well and set aside. 
In a large  mixing bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar and beat until blended. Beat in the egg, vanilla and cider vinegar.
Beat in half of the flour mixture. Beat in the pumpkin and then the remaining flour mixture. Drop the batter by tablespoons onto the prepared pans, making 24 small mounds (using a cookie scoop is the easiest method). 
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until puffed up and firm to the touch. Cool completely on wire racks. 
When the cookies are cool, pipe or spread the icing onto the bottom of half (12) of them. 
Top with a second cookie. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge. 

Makes 12 whoopie pies