Pumpkin Patch Whoopie Pies

Cookies: 1 box white cake mix (or spice mix, omit pumpkin pie spice) 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice 15 oz. pumpkin, pureed 1/3 C. applesauce, oil or melted butter 2 tsp. vanilla extract Filling: 4 oz. cream cheese, softened 1/4 C. butter, softened 2 Tbsp. pumpkin, pureed (optional) 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2-3 C. powdered sugar orange food dye 6-7 Apple Laffy Taffy's or Air Heads 12 Tootsie Rolls

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. 2. Combine cake mix, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin, applesauce and vanilla extract. 3. Scoop dough balls out (just smaller than golf balls). The dough will be sticky, refrigerate dough for a few minutes if it's too hard to work with. Gently pat down each dough ball just a little so that the cookies don't bake too tall. 4. Bake for 12-14 minutes and let cool.

5. Filling: Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract and slowly add in powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Color with dye is desired. 5. To make your stems, roll your Tootsie rolls in your hands until smooth and a little elongated. Pinch with fingers to give it an hour-glass shape and bend to the side to make it seem more like a stem.

6. The make leaves, heat Laffy Taffy in the microwave (5-10 seconds, be careful because it can turn to hot putty really easily). Break off about 1/3 of the taffy and roll into a ball. Use fingers to shape a large leaf and use a fork to make "veins" in it. NOTE: I microwave only one taffy at a time because it cools quickly. 7. Stick leaves onto stems, they are both sticky so they don't come apart.

8. Pipe filling onto the bottoms of half the cookies and place another cookie on top, creating your whoopies. Use a finger to poke a shallow hole in the middle of the cookie on top of your whoopie, and press and stem and leaf into the hole! If you want to make the "vines" simply roll a piece of taffy between your hands and then gently twist and pull to make a long snake, and then make little loop-d-loops! Happy Halloween!