let’s make whoopie!

I know what you’re thinking, people. Get your minds out of the gutter. This isn’t THAT kind of blog, you know.

No, no… in fact, it’s all quite innocent. It’s Cookie Carnival time! Thanks to an increasingly hectic schedule, I missed out on the fun last month. But, when I saw this month’s recipe… I knew I absolutely had to find the time!

Kate picked a wonderful recipe from Martha Stewart… Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. I’ve always wondered about the chocolate/pumpkin combination, but – until these cookies came along – I hadn’t yet mustered the courage to give it a try. The verdict? I can’t believe I wasted so much time!

These cookies are wonderful and I can see so much potential to play around with a ton of different filling flavors… first and foremost, I think, is peanut butter! Mmmm… soon.

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
(recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart)
Cookies:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Filling:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg

Prepare cookies:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

Place butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.

Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.

Prepare filling:
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

Assemble:
Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.

simple is spectacular!

What do you get when you take a loaf of locally-produced, fresh sourdough bread…

a beautiful wedge of goat cheese…

a slathering of tapenade, and some mixed greens just for good measure?

My friends, you get a rather amazing tapenade, goat cheese and mixed greens on sourdough sandwich.

(Sorry it’s been so long – life has reached a whole new level of insanity lately.  Trying to get back on track with the fun things!)

Tapenade, Goat Cheese and Mixed Greens on Sourdough Sandwich
(based loosely on a sandwich from the Local Flavor Cafe, Eureka Springs, AR)
1 small sourdough loaf or baguette
goat cheese (I like “Drunken Goat”), thinly sliced
tapenade (recipe follows)
mixed greens

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut sourdough into sandwich-sized pieces and split in half. Toast in oven until crispy on the outside. Remove the bread from the oven, place goat cheese on half of the slices, and return to the oven until melty. Meanwhile, spread tapenade generously on the other half of the slices and top with the mixed greens. When the cheesy side is removed from the oven, place on top of the tapenade and mixed greens, press lightly, and serve.

Tapenade
1/2 pound kalamata olives, pitted and diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon fresh basil, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Combine the olives and garlic in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, and pulse 3-4 times. Add olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, basil and parsley and process until chunky.