Recipes and Shopping

Millions of you have asked for the pumpkin whoopie pie recipe, well not millions but at least ten so here it is:

PUMPKIN CAKES

1 and 1/2 cups light brown sugar

3/4 cup canola oil

1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 15 oz. can of pumpkin. NOT pumpkin pie mix.

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

CREAM CHEESE FILLING

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 and 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1. Preheat oven 350* Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In large mixing bowl use an electric mixer on medium speed to mix brown sugar, oil and vanilla until well blended, about three minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until smooth after each egg. Add pumpkin and mix until incorporated.

3. In separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. Add half the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix on medium speed until smooth. Scrape down sides with a rubber spatula, add remaining flour mixture and mix well.

4. Drop 2-Tbs. portions of batter onto prepared baking sheets, two inches apart. Bake 11 to 13 minutes, until puffed and set but still soft when touched lightly with fingertips. Let cakes cool for three minutes before transferring to wire racks to finish cooling about 20 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. (NOTE: I made mine too big with HEAPING Tablespoons so I only got about half what the recipe makes.)

5. Prepare filling while cakes are baking and cooling. In large mixing bowl use an electric mixer on medium speed to mix the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add vanilla and half the conf. sugar on low at first to combine then on high until smooth. Add remaining confectioners sugar and mix until smooth about three or four minutes. YUM!

6. Assemble whoopie pies. Spoon filling onto the flat sides of half the cakes, dividing it evenly. Top with the remaining cakes. Serve immediately or wrap each pie individually in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to two days or in the freezer for up to two months.

NOTE: it was very hot and humid when I made them so they were a tiny bit sticky but it sure didn't affect the taste! Now I want to see pictures of your kids/grand kids with the frosting all over their faces too! That's all part of the fun!! :o)

Enjoy! Makes about 20.

We had a fabulous time on our weekend get-away. We had lunch at our favorite restaurant on the way down and had heaping bowls of lobster stew again! I could eat that every day of the week! Our son and family was in Portland and called us and wanted us to meet them there for dinner so we changed our route a bit and headed there. We did some school shopping for T and D at the big Portland Mall at The Gap and Old Na*vy. T likes everything you pick out for her, D is very particular and likes to pick out his own things. Now isn't that a switch? We were horrified that The Dis*ney Store has closed so now there isn't one in the whole state. Sigh.....so much for Christmas shopping there.

We had dinner at a nice steak house and we love those blooming onions.

T and D did some coloring while we waited for our meals.

After dinner they headed back north and we headed south to Boston. The traffic wasn't bad but it started raining about half way there and got heavy at times. We got in about 8:30.

The next morning Hubby's Sister and family met us at the hotel and the men headed for Fenway Park and we headed out to do some shopping. SIL always takes me to some of my favorite places that we don't have in this area so it's a real treat. I had never been to Trader Joe's so we took a look around in there and it is an interesting grocery with mostly organic type foods that looked really good.

We also hit Chico's, Talbot's, Appleseed's, Home Goods and Coldwater Creek. We did quite well....ahem.....at each place........hey, we were supposed to be shopping, okay!? She took me to lunch at another of my favorite places that we don't have here, Not Your Average Joe's, and had yummy crab cake blt's. Just look at their window boxes, they were beautiful!

We did see a few horses and went to a tack shop where I got a few Christmas gifts for the kids. While getting gasoline I noticed the local mounted police vehicle in the parking lot and asked them if I could see the horses. The first guy said they were 'busy' but the second one was much nicer and opened the trailer door so that I could see the big horses that they use. Only got a parting picture.

This is getting rather long so I think I will put all the Red Sox game pictures in my next post. They did win against Oakland btw! Go Sox!!