Halloween Baking

For the Halloween party I attended, I baked a few goodies to share. First was a round Spiderweb version of the King Arthur Fudgy Brownie (recipe HERE). I made the brownie recipe and poured it into a greased 9" springform pan. I then made a mixture of the following:

4oz cream cheese
1 egg yolk
1T flour
2T powdered sugar

I put the mixture in a Ziplock sandwich bag and snipped a very small part of the corner off (about 3mm). I piped the cream cheese mixture first into the center and then in concentric circles out from the center. I then took a knife and dragged lines radiating out from the center. I used the remaining cream cheese mixture to draw lines over the knife drags. Baked for 35 minutes at 350F. The result was this:


The second treat I decided to try was the pumpkin whoopie pie. I've been noticing that whoopie pies are all the rage on blogs lately so I made some for the party. They were pretty delicious, I must admit. Next time I will use a smaller cookie scoop, though, because these were ginormous:



Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (from King Arthur Flour):

Cookie:
1/2c butter, softened
1/2c vegetable oil
2c firmly packed brown sugar
2T molasses (I used honey because I didn't have molasses)
1t baking powder
1/2t baking soda
1t salt
2t cinnamon
1t ground ginger
1/2t ground nutmeg
1/4t ground cloves
2lg eggs
1 1/2c (one 15oz can) pumpkin
2 1/4c flour

Preheat to 375F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat together butter, oil, sugar, molasses, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Scrap side and bottom of bowl to ensure all ingredients are fully incorporated. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in the pumpkin. Add the flour in 2 additions, mixing well after each one. Scoop batter onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet and space about 2 in apart. Bake about 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

Filling:
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
4T butter, softened
1t vanilla
2c powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla. Beat in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

Once cookies are cool, pipe filling onto a cookie and then press another cookie on top. To store, wrap in plastic wrap and keep in an airtight container.