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These are incredible. I am throwing out my pumpkin roll recipe and bringing these to Thanksgiving! Husband, toddlers, and grandma all loved these mini whoopie pies. Wouldn't change a thing about the recipe (I used the small scoop).

PS - I think that my making these made my boyfriend want to marry me. also, they taste like donuts.

@eeels ROFLMAO!

Reminds of of a conversation recounted by a friend this Halloween. Upon meeting a toddler Yoda, she said, “May the force be with you”.
He responded, immediately, “And also with you”.

Hi! I made these for our monthly Sunday Waffles (a standing invite to our friends and family to join us on the first Sunday of each month for delicious home-made waffles and bacon) and while the Whoopie Pies were yummy, they weren't quite "right." For starters, my sliders were more flat and lacked the texture and height of the pies in the photo above. Secondly, I used bakers sugar and attempted to sift it, per the instructions. The sugar was so fine, it fell through the sifter. Even so, there was still a slight gritty texture to the filling. Is that because I used a low fat cream cheese? I'm not sure how to rectify the structure of the pies (more flour?) and I think a different low(er) sugar cream cheese filling would really make the whole experience pop. People loved them (also said they were quite rich) and ate all but the last two.

My sis-in-law made these last week and they were insanely good!

I agree with and share Bourdain's stance. But you'll notice that he's never aggressive about it. He doesn't go up to a vegetarian and call them an idiot, but if someone's talking with him and mentions they're vegetarian he'll call them out. he's also a celebrity, and while it is a true personal viewpoint, it's also a part of his media personality to be anti-vegetarian.

And while I find every argument against eating meat utterly confounding, I also don't really care. With everything in life if your beliefs have nothing to do with me, then you can carry on your merry way. it's the rare vegetarian who doesn't understand nutrition that gets malnourished. When I come across a vegetarian like that I may (if they're a friend) try and educate them a bit on their eating choices. But with all of the resources available I can't see that ever happening again in my life.

My biggest pet peeve is vegetarians claiming they want to leave a reduced carbon foot print, or something similar. Unless you're growing all of your own veggies, then your carbon imprint when you walk to the store to grab some beets is the same as mine when I go grab a ribeye from the same store. Both items have to be processed, packaged, and shipped to the store. Plus humans produce around 1% of all the carbon dioxide in the world, it's barely a blip on mother nature's radar.

purplesque mentioned above that killing animals for food is "unnecessary violence." And that is a perfect example of a personal belief that can't be challenged. I can question it, get to the bottom of the reasons, but I can't say that the statement is wrong for purplesque. it makes no sense to me, but until purplesque (or any other vegetarian) comes up and takes my steak off my plate and throws it on the floor I see no reason to confront them about their own choice.

I made pumpkin whoopie pies with a cinnamon whipped cream filling. And then I made some with chocolate in them and a chocolate ganache filling. There are so many options!

http://megan-deliciousdishings.blogspot.com/2009/10/mini-pumpkin-whoopie-pies.html

@KarynMC No doubt that their is great vegetarian and vegan cooking going on. Just like in the omnivore world though, most of the vegan cooking is just hackish.

A vegetarain friend of my cousin's came to a large family pig roast last year. She ate vegetarian sausage for her very few meals. No variety, no taking the bull by the horns(no pun) and cooking up at least one dish, no cooking at all. I eyeballed the ingredient list on a package of those sausages.

TEXTURED VEGETABLE PROTEIN (WHEAT GLUTEN, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, WATER FOR HYDRATION, CARAMEL COLOR), WATER, CORN OIL, EGG WHITES, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF SEASONING BLEND (SPICES, SALT, SUGAR, DRIED GARLIC, DRIED ONION, SPICE EXTRACTS), CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, DRIED YEAST, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, TEXTURIZER (METHYLCELLULOSE, WHEAT STARCH, INULIN, MONOSODIUM PHOSPHATE, TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SALT), ONION POWDER, SPICE, CORNSTARCH, HYDROLYZED CORN AND SOY PROTEIN, SALT, YEAST EXTRACT, MALTODEXTRIN, DISODIUM INOSINATE, DISODIUM GUANYLATE, NATURAL FLAVORS FROM NON-MEAT SOURCES (CONTAIN MILK), CARAMEL COLOR, GUM ARABIC, XANTHAN GUM.

I see many vegetarians eating very little variety, way too much processed food, and cooking very little. Vegans I think are actually forced to learn a little more cooking because of all the restrictions. I just have to laugh at the very shaky philosophy they espouse on why they have chosen to become vegetarian/vegan when these meat substitutes are such a large portion of any kind of diet.

nope, you guys got it wrong. he doesn't talk about militant vegans, he makes snide comments about pretty much any dish that doesn't have meat in it. i personally don't care. he's got his bs rep to build and protect so if he has to project his manliness by limiting his intake of vegetables that is his problem, not mine. it detracts a little from the viewing experience but not enough that i would stop watching.

@Pavlov - That's great! :)

@climbhighak - I have heard that about AB. It doesn't make it less ridiculous. Veganism doesn't mean terrorism, just as Islam doesn't mean terrorism. Most vegans are pretty chill people who just happen to not eat or use animal products.

I'd think you'd be surprised by the variety and flavor seen in contemporary vegetarian and vegan cooking. I did write a whole essay on this, lol (it's on this site)! As far as faux meat goes – simply put, most vegans do not go vegan because they hate meat, but for health, ethical or environmental reasons. If something tastes good and doesn't come from animal products, why should they pass it up? Truthfully, I avoided faux meat for a long time, but was pleasantly surprised when I finally tried it. I like tempeh bacon and seitan sausage far more than I ever liked anything that came from pork or beef. And omg, yuba is amazing. Even the omnivores in my family like so-called mock meats – they don't see them as an alternative to meat so much as just another food that's good on a sandwich.

I've yet to meet a vegan who's thrilled with the idea of going out and hunting, and I've met those who are completely against it, but I've met plenty who agree that hunting is a better alternative than going to the grocery store, where 90 percent of the meat (or so I have recently read) comes from factory farms. Vegans and vegetarians do have a lot in common with the sustainable foods/locavore crowd, it's just they've arrived at a different way of addressing the problem.

And to be fair, I've yet to meet a hunter (even those in my extended family), who treats my views with respect. In fact, I've yet to have one even ask me about my views – most assume that they know exactly how I think and feel. I think everyone would benefit from some honest dialogue. There are some point on which both crowds would agree, and it would be beneficial to work together on those issues.

@ KarynMC I think Bourdain began relating vegans/vegetarians/animal rights activists with Hezbollah after a fellow chef's restaurant was vandalized. The anti foie gras crusaders poured concrete into all of the drains and left many threats at the scene. If I am not mistaken AB wrote about it in Nasty Bits or a Cook's Tour. Here is just one small example of that behavior.

http://www.superchefblog.com/2009/03/foie-gras-war-anti-foie-gras-vandals.html

Bourdain actually gave many compliments to Indian vegetarian cooking. The variety, complexity, and liberal use of spices are all something lacking in much of the veg cooking here in the West.

I have zero understanding of vegans or vegetarians that make meat like substitutes. Either do or don't do, none of this in between shit is acceptable.

Funny how I, as an avid hunter and fisherman, extol many of the same virtues as vegetarians when it comes to sustainablilty, organic, locally sourced, etc. Do you think I have ever met a vegan that can see or will respect my take on those issues?

Fresh pina coladas...coconut, pineapple and spice notes from the rum...yum!