The recipe below is a little, um, trashier than what I generally like to post here (beware, Marshmallow Fluff below!) but I’ve been thinking about this recipe since last year when the L’il Sis made a huge batch of soft pumpkin cookies. I knew these soft cakey gems would be even better as a wee cookie sandwich and curdle your Thanksgiving gravy if I’m not right.

One interesting fact I’ve learned about holiday cooking from my fellow foodbloggers is that the best pumpkin pie is not made with canned L*bby’s pumpkin puree but with homebaked butternut squash. The redeeming quality in these cookies, should their soft cake-like texture and binge-worthy filling not be enough for you, is that you can use an honest-to-goodness strain-your-arm-when-trying-to-slice-it squash. You know, those crazy shaped things next to the leftover flavorless Halloween pumpkins.

I have a pal (who shall remain nameless here but you know who you are) that last year cooked her own “from scratch” Green Bean Casserole using fresh haricots vert, creamed wild mushrooms, and even breaded and fried her own onion rings for the topping. And! Not one person at the table remarked on the effort. Sigh.

In any case, at least you can feel good about throwing one fresh from the farmer’s market ingredient into this tasty holiday-time treat.

makes: 8-9 dozen single cookies, about 50 sandwiches
time: 1 hour to bake squash, 30 minutes to mix batter, 11 minutes to bake

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

4 cups flour
3 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups butternut squash or pumpkin puree*
1 1/2 tbsp milk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

*see introduction for words of warning about using canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together in a second mixing bowl. Add oil, squash/pumpkin puree, milk, eggs and vanilla.

Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet while beating on medium speed. Continue beating until well mixed.

Drop in 1/2 teaspoons onto a greased baking sheet 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, until bottoms are golden.
For Filling (adapted from Allrecipes.com )

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
4 cups marshmallow fluff
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp of lemon zest, optional
1/4 tsp salt

Cream together the butter and the sugar.

Add the remaining ingredients and beat together until well combined.

Put the filling into a large ziplock or other clean bag. Snip a small piece off the corner and use as a pastry bag to pipe the filling onto the bottom side of one cookie.

Press the bottom side of another cookie into the filling and Whoopie! you’re all set.

This is what I want for the holidays: healthy, seasonal, vegetable-based fare.

Here’s a round-up of some great holiday recipe ideas from other foodbloggers. The bulk of the ingredients for these recipes can be purchased at your local organic farmer’s market, helping to show your gratitude to the world by putting your dollars into a more sustainable and delicious way of eating and living.

MAIN DISHES

You want something fancy-looking for a main dish, but it can vegetable based and still be a showstopper.

These Butternut Squash Timbales are quite arresting!

Butternut Squash Timbales with Chestnut Apple Sauce from Thyme for Cooking

Catherine made this beautiful dish for Halloween but I think it would be perfect for Thanksgiving too!

Hot Halloween Stew from Albion Cooks
Or, try stuffing a sweet dumpling squash with your favorite autumn dish.

This is my very own Stuffed Sweet Dumpling Squash.

SIDE DISHES

Something Green. Try:

• Kale, sauteed with red onions
• Swiss chard, wilted with garlic slivers
• Or:

Lemon Creamy Brussels Sprouts & Celery from A Veggie Venture

Something “White:”

Potato Turnip Cakes from the Wednesday Chef

Beautiful, Beautiful Culiflower… not quite White.

Purple Sage and Colorful Cauliflower from Homesick Texan

How about the lowly rutabaga? Do it like potatoes for a more-elegant-than-mashed potato effect like Alana’s Rutabaga and Butternut Squash Puree.
Or what about this roasted rutabaga soup from VeganYumYum?

Rutabagas Are For Lovers from VeganYumYum

Love squash? Make it easy by baking it with a little butter and cinnamon or sage.

Or try the Butternut Squash Risotto from Simply Recipes

Get wild like Karina with this Acorn Squash with Attitude

Acorn Squash with Attitude

DESSERTS

Pie is perfect. Try Apple Cranberry Pie from Vegan-licious

An Apple-Plum Crumble from Eaten Up is easier to make than a pie and just as yummy!

Top with a scoop of Vegan Pumpkin Ice Cream! (from the wonderfully-named blog: “Kitchen Ramblings From a Fairly Odd Tofu Mom”)

Or, for a truly healthy and refreshing dessert, look no further than FatFree Vegan’s Fresh Cranberry Sorbet

I had a similar flan for dinner at a fancy corporate event at the Met and it pretty much boggled my mind and stomach to find yet another delicious way to serve humble winter squash.

I googled “Squash Flan” and found an easy recipe from Gourmet Magazine, which I’ve tweaked below. I served it in a slice-it-yourself type way but you could also make it in individual ramekins and serve as fancy-smancy first course unmolded on a bed of chard or kale with roasted brussel sprouts and carrot rounds rolling lazily about the plate.

The flan is rich, but still light and almost pudding-y. Please believe me when I tell you that crispy sage leaves are to die for. Honestly and truly. Don’t be surprised when I come at you with a recipe that is just crispy sage leaves and a dipping sauce. Numnum!

Serves: 4-5
Time: 30 minutes active, 2 – 21⁄2 hours baking

Savory Squash Flan with Dijon-Currant Sauce and Crispy Sage Leaves
*Flan adapted from Gourmet Magazine

1 medium squash, (butternut, hubbard, or similar)
4 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp garlic powder
freshly cracked pepper
1 ¼ tsp salt
butter
6 Tbsp unsweetened currant jelly (or cooked fresh currants)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
10 sage leaves
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Halve the squash lengthwise, discard the seeds, and place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake for an hour, or until soft to the touch. Cool and set aside. Reduce oven temp to 325.

Scoop flesh from the squash. Discard the skin. Puree in a blender until smooth and creamy.

Add two cups of the squash puree to a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs, half and half, nutmeg, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Save the rest of the squash for another recipe.

Prepare a 8×2 inch round cake pan by buttering the bottom and sides. Line the bottom of the pan with a layer of wax paper and butter the paper too.

Pour the squash mixture into the cake pan and set the cake pan into a larger baking pan. Pour hot water into the larger pan until it’s 2/3 up the sides of the cake pan to create a hot water bath for the flan.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the flan is solid and a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.

Let the flan cool for at least 15 minutes and unmold by setting a plate on top of the flan and then quickly inverting. Carefully peel off the wax paper.

For the mustard/currant sauce heat the currant jelly and mustard in a small sauce pan. Adjust for salt/pepper.

Meanwhile, you can shallow-fry the sage leaves in the olive oil over medium heat. With tongs turn them once during the frying process, and remove from oil when they hold their shape - they should not start to turn to turn brown - about 1 minute.

Serve flan cut into wedges with a dollop of currant sauce on top a few crispy sage leaves to garnish.