Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Once upon a time, I used to run. I used to run a lot. This past Sunday was the annual Chicago Marathon, and as I sat on the sofa with a cup of coffee, I glanced at the clock from time to time and thought, “The winner will cross the finish line in about x minutes.” Part of me wished I was downtown running with the other 45,000 folks from all around the world and part of me wanted to be there amongst the huge crowd cheering them on. Another part of me remembered how I felt after completing my last 26.2 miles, and was happy to be exactly where I was.

It was a cool, gloomy day in October 2006 when I ran my last marathon. I was freezing and my foot hurt. It was a struggle to finish. When I crossed the finish line, I cried. My body was wrecked. I wanted nothing more than to be warm and off my feet. When I got home, I showered, put on my favorite pajamas, and stayed on the couch buried under my down comforter for hours. When I was finally hungry, all I could bear to eat was toast and eggs (prepared by my lovely mother!).

Despite that experience, I started training the following spring for another marathon. On our 16 mile training run, I had to stop because of a sharp pain in my heel, which turned out to be an Achilles injury that required physical therapy. I wish I could tell you all that I started training again the next year, but I never did. I still run from time to time, but stick with a much shorter distance these days, about 3-5 miles. I do enjoy it, but the thought of running another marathon just no longer appeals to me.

So, back to sitting on the sofa this past Sunday… Our football guests were due at noon and I had some cooking to do before they arrived. While thousands of people were racing through the streets just a few miles away, I peeled myself off the couch and decided to make something sweet to share. Who knows…perhaps eating these delicious sweets might just motivate me to hit the pavement some more!

For this recipe you will need the following: 1 box of Betty Crocker Super Moist Spice flavored cake mix, 1 15-ounce can of pumpkin pureé, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 cup milk, 1/3 cup softened butter and 16 ounces cream cheese frosting.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add the cake mix, pumpkin pureé, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, milk, and butter to a large mixing bowl.

Using a mixer, slowly mix the batter on low for about 30 seconds. Once moistened, beat on medium for 1-2 minutes.

Drop the batter in evenly sized dollops (about 1 heaping tablespoon) onto a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan coated in cooking spray. I made 4 batches of 12 cookies.

Once your oven is hot, cook for 8-11 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center of one cookie. I cooked each of my batches for 10 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, choose two evenly sized cookies for your whoopie pie. Spread frosting on the bottom of one cookie and then top with the other. Repeat with all cookies.

That’s all! Now you have an amazingly soft and delicious treat to enjoy! But beware…it’s hard to eat just one!

Dessert, Vegetarian