“You should call this a ‘GOB’, Guy!”

(It’s been a while since posting, and I have several recipes we want to add to our collection here.  Since my last post, we’ve moved and I’ve been working on baking a different kind of bun in a different kind of oven, so to speak.  I haven’t been doing much cooking, or anything else for that matter, for several weeks.  Z’s been doing some wonderful cooking, and hopefully I can get some of his new-found recipes up here soon.)

On to a wonderful recipe for fall!

What my family has always called “Gobs” most people would call “Whoopie Pies.”  I like our name better; it’s easier to say and sounds more fun.  And the name “gob” doesn’t get the song about “makin’ whoopee” stuck in my head, which I consider to be a bonus.

Traditionally in our family gobs been a camping treat.  Mom would make them before our camping vacation and individually wrap them in plastic wrap, they put them in gallon ziplock bags and freeze them before we left.  The freezing kept them fresh until we left and kept them cold so the frosting didn’t get all mushy.  So, today, I still prefer my gobs cold, not frozen but chilled.  The classic gob recipe I’ve had is on my mom’s blog.

With fall here, in theory (it was 113° here on Sunday); I’ve been dying to make something pumpkin.  Yesterday the high was only 92°, so I went ahead and used the oven.  The recipe below was adapted from a recipe I found over at browneyedbaker (who also grew up calling them “gobs”) and my mom’s gob frosting recipe; both have been tweaked minimally.  These are delicious!  I have several in the freezer and fridge, and plan to make more.

Pumpkin Gobs (aka Pumpkin Whoopie Pies)

For the cake:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon (heaping!)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar (I used golden brown because that’s what I had on hand)
• 1 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 3 cups chilled pumpkin puree (almost all of one large can of pumpkin)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• 1/2 c Crisco (I used butter because we were out of Crisco)
• 1/2 c softened butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon meringue powder (I didn’t add this time because we were out, or at least haven’t been able to find it since the move.)
• 1 pound powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350° . Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, the dark brown sugar, and the oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

Use a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism or a large spoon to drop a rounded, heaping TBSP of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, making sure that the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. (Mine didn’t crack.) The cookies should be firm when touched. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.

While the cakes/cookies cool, make the frosting by creaming together the Crisco and butter.  Add the vanilla, maple syrup, milk, meringue powder, and powdered sugar.  Beat until creamy.  (This recipe of frosting was about twice as much as we needed for the gob recipe.  Which is fine because I love some graham crackers with homemade frosting.  But if I ever want to double the gob recipe, this would be enough frosting to do the job.)

To assemble the whoopie pies: Pair up the cookies to match in size and shape (some of mine were bigger or smaller than others because I used a spoon to put them on the cookie sheet.) Pipe or spoon the filling (about a tablespoon) onto the flat half of a cake/cookie. Place another cake/cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spread to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used.  We wrap ours individually in narrow pieces of plastic wrap, toss them into a ziplock bag, and either keep them in the fridge or in the freezer.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, the dark brown sugar, and the oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.

4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

5. Use a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism or a large spoon to drop a rounded, heaping TBSP of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.

6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, making sure that the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. The cookies should be firm when touched. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.