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. 

October means Pumpkin Beer

My top pick, Brooklyn Brewery's Post Road

Let me start by saying that if someone made an “I heart Screwtop” t-shirt, I would wear it proudly.  There is so much to at this Arlington eatery and wine bar.  Screwtop (in Clarendon) has a plethora of wines from various regions with rotating seasonal choices and favorites. 

Their wildly popular wine club hosts monthly pick-up parties and members get to bring home two carefully selected bottles each month paired with the perfect cheese.  On top of that, members get various discounts and VIP access to events. Check out their website for wine club membership options.

If you’re looking for a good tasting now and then, Screwtop doesn’t make you wait for special events.  They serve fun wine flights daily, 3 options to check out and pair with your food.  My favorite feature is the personal placemat telling me what I’m drinking – a fun but practical detail. Their generous charcuterie boards, hearty sandwiches, (and mmmm, that truffle salt popcorn) all pack flavorful punches to any wine selection you so choose.

Besides the wine selection, the bar offers a lot more to celebrate. Screwtop has fun gifts for the foodie in your life, a great locally farmed cheese selection, and a broad range of hard-to-find beers. The food is worth the trip, imbibing or no.  Their generous cheese boards, bacon-wrapped dates (a favorite, savory and sweet), and full dinner dishes are worth a trip.

A couple weeks ago, I visited Screwtop to their Oktoberfest beer tasting featuring pumpkin beers.  I’m not always a “flavored” beer fan, but these brews proved perfect for a fall meal or a flavorful happy hour beer.

The tasting was led by Hop & Wine in DC (www.hopandwine.com), who led a large group of eager beer-loving folks through 4 tasty beers.  Here are the results. Go pick some up for your next gathering!

Taste 1 – Post Road from Brooklyn Brewery came in as my top choice.  Jonathan sold it as a taste of pumpkin pie, and that proved to be true.  Delicious.  Brooklyn Brewery produces Dogfish, a heavier beer, so Post Road came out as a lighter version and it gets the job done.  A perfect answer to the need for a lighter but flavorful fall beer.  A six-pack of Post Road made it home with me.

Taste 2 – Hailing from Michigan, Ichabod brought forward nutmeg flavors and a heavier, throaty body (a bit similar to Dogfish, actually, if you’re familiar) with a spicier, more powerful taste.

Taste 3 – Shipyard’s Smashed Pumpkin was a close runner-up, again offering pumpkin pie notes, but markedly different from Post Road.  With 9% alcohol and a fruitier sweetness to it, this signature series wheat brew caused rumors to swirl around the tasting area: it can guarantee an equally hearty hangover. Shipyard’s website recommends pairings with nuts, pumpkin pie, hearty stews, sharp cheese and lamb.  Any of those seem like a great idea.  I learned that it’s brewed with Ringwood yeast, a high brow brewing yeast most frequently used in England.

Taste 4 – The on tap selection was Great Pumpkin, from Cambridge Brewing Company in Massachusetts, which I found to feel more cinnamon/nutmeg/spice themed like Ichabod, but much lighter and easier on the palette.  Great Pumpkin is apparently hard to find – distributers are sold out.  Its popularity is no mystery: it’s full of spice and body, the kind you taste in the back of your throat with a great aftertaste.

www.screwtop.com