Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Cream cheese frosting?...whopieeeee!

My dear friend and neighbor, Kira, is a fantastic baker.  I am not.  So I seek her out for wisdom on all things baked and fluffy. She is the kind of deliciously creative friend who makes dinner party guests wowed (and jealous) by making the cream pie from the cover of Bon Appetit...and it looks JUST like the picture. Last weekend, she graced my dinner party guests with seasonal Pumpkin Whoopie Pies that were OUT OF THIS WORLD.  
Here is her recipe and notes, adapted from the cookbook Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Their bakery in Red Hook opened in Jan 05. This is their first book.

Pumpkin Whoopie Cookies:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 " baking powder
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 " ginger
1 " cloves (didn't have this, and don't like it, so i doubled the ginger instead)
2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup veg oil
3 cups chilled pumpkin puree (i used about 2 x the canned stuff) 
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
*Note: chilling the pumpkin makes the pies easier to scoop. 

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment.
Whisk the first seven ingredients in a bowl and set aside. 
In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar and oil. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. 
Sprinkle the flour mixture and whisk until combined. (This implies that you do not have to use a mixer, and the dough is not very tough, but I used my Kitchenaid with the whisk attachment.)

Use a small spoon to drop the dough onto the baking sheets one inch apart. Bake for 10-12 or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely. 

Cream Cheese Filling:
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (although mine was straight from the refrigerator. I think this helped with the consistency)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift confectioners sugar (I skipped this, but can see why it is useful, there were a few clumps of sugar in the final result)
In a bowl with electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (I used my handheld mixer for convenience) beat the butter until it is smooth. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Do not over beat or it will loose structure. - Can be made one day ahead. 

Assemble the whoopie pies. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. I made the cookie part in the evening and then the filling in the morning and assembled them. The cookie part gets a little sticky, so if you are storing them (for up to 3 days) line the container with parchment and put parchment on top, with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator.