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 know the title of this blog is Vanesscipes, suggesting that these are all Vanessa’s (that’s me) recipes. That’s why I feel compelled to mention right at the very start of this recipe that this is NOT my recipe. It is in fact the brainchild of my dear friend Emily, who happens to also be the Director of Catering at the Met. My input on this dish pretty much started and ended with, “Mac and Cheese Cupcakes - good God YES!” So, if I’m a genius for recognizing the genius of putting mac and cheese in an easy-to-eat cupcake format with wonderfully crispy golden edges and an ooey gooey center, then I’m just waiting for my MacArthur grant check to come in. (MacArthur people - you can get me at vanesscipes@gmail.com)

Emily developed these cupcakes for a Hors D’oeurve party we helped host at the LondonParisNewYork event space/art gallery in Williamsburg. We had a full list of H’ds which included such specialties as truffled popcorn and vegan apple cider donuts, but I think these cupcakes were the favorite.

For all you sticklers out there, please note the below photos were taken a few hours before the party during a Mac & Cheese Cupcake test run (aka: dinner for me!) so none of the shiitakes or smoky autumn-flavored thyme can be witnessed. Let me also mention that if you’re interested in tasting something like this in person, please sign up for my events mailing list by emailing me at vanesscipes@gmail.com, or just wait until I accept my MacArthur award, in which case Emily will provide thousands upon thousands of these little gems.

Time: 30 minutes prep, 20 minutes for each batch (makes about 4 batches of 12)
Makes: about 48 mini-cupcakes

Shiitake Mac & Cheese Cupcakes

1/2 lb elbow noodles
olive oil
1 small shallot, minced
1 pound shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, destemed and sliced
4 Tbsp organic butter + more to butter cupcake pans
2 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 cups organic whole milk
2 cups gruyere cheese, grated
1 cup sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
salt and fresh ground pepper
panko breadcrumbs (less than 2 cups)

Preheat oven to 375

Boil noodles according to package directions. Drain, toss with a little olive oil to prevent sticking, and set aside.

Sauté shallots in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until wilted, about one minute. Add mushrooms and sauté until browned, about 5 more minutes. Toss with butter, thyme, season with salt and pepper. Set aside in a large mixing bowl.

In small sauce pan, warm milk over low heat. In large sauce pan, melt butter. Add flour to the butter and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring continuously until smooth and bubbly. Slowly pour the warm milk into the butter mixture and stir or whisk to combine. Let liquid come to a boil; mixture will start to thicken. Add the grated cheeses and turn off the heat. Stir until the cheese has melted.

Pour the cheese mixture in with the noodles and mix. Fold in mushroom mixture and thyme. Adjust for salt and pepper.

Grease mini cup cake pans with butter. Sprinkle pan liberally with panko and shake pan to adhere the panko to the sides. Dump out extra panko. Spoon mac and cheese into the top of each cupcake mold.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until edges and top are golden.

Remove from oven, let cool slightly. Flip pan over onto a plate or sheet pan to remove cupcakes. Garnish with fresh thyme if desired.

Get out to your local farmer’s market.
Bring your favorite vendor a cup of coffee. Thank him for his hard work (his really hard work) and dedication to harvesting from the earth in a way that makes our soil better, our rivers cleaner, and our bodies a little more glowy.

Buy as many late summer tomatoes as you can possibly eat. Take them home a serve them simply - a slice of mozzarella, a touch of vinaigrette, or just sliced with sprinkle of salt and pepper.

I just got back from a volunteer “vacation” at Pennypack Farm in Horsham, Pennsylvania. It was a perfect taste of summer, sun-drenched veggies and just enough sweaty, back-breaking work to make me want to keep my day job. Thank you to everyone - Susan, Gail, Andy, Molly, Katie, Mark and Harm. You inspire me.

Here it is, Midwestern Cuisine as documented from my 2007 family reunion in Keokuk, Iowa.

Much type as been pressed about Cajun food, California Cuisine, Tex-Mex, and Southern-Fried-Anything, but what about food from the belly of our great nation? It might not not be the stuff of Saveur or Gourmet but Midwestern Food is created, above all things, to feed the family. And food ideals can’t get any loftier than that.

Dishes are often in one pot. No fancy knifework, techniques or trendy spices. Ingredients often number less than 10.

Warning! The photos below are not censored for meat content; the Midwest is still a meat-and-potatoes place. But the generous amount of yummy side dishes and some locally-purchased Boca Burgers kept a hungry vegetarian pond-swimming volleyball-champion like me more than satisfied.

Friday’s Dinner featured a Trio of Meats: Ham, Smoked Turkey and Deep Fried Turkey. Please note the Sterzings, (bottom middle) the cultish potato chips only found in Iowa - truly salty, greasy, and fantastic. Sterzings event got a shout out in the Fourth of July issue of the New York Times in an article entitled, The Best Chip? The First One Out of the Bag:

“Jean Fuller is 71 and lives in Dallas with her husband, Dale. Anyone who visits from Iowa, her home state, must arrive with a bag or eight of Sterzing’s, which markets itself as the maker of “the most popular potato chips in southeast Iowa.” Cartons arrive for Christmas. Mr. Fuller got a supply for Father’s Day.”

^{1. BBQ’ed Potatoes, 2. Berry Cobbler, 3. Broccoli Salad, 4. Cheese n Meat Plate, 5. Cheesy Crockpot Potatoes, 6. Cherry Pie, 7. Chocolate Apricot Squares, 8. Corn Souffle, 9. Crudites, 10. Deep Fried Turkey, 11. Garbanzo Zucchini Rice Salad, 12. German Coleslaw, 13. Grandma’s Apple Cake, 14. Ham, 15. Olive-Pasta-Salad, 16. Pickles, 17. Pineapple Souffle, 18. Pork Loin, 19. Salad with Ranch Dressing, 20. Saurkraut, 21. Smoked Turkey, 22. Sterzings!, 23. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, 24. Three Bean Salad}

And then we went to Stock Car Races to see my cousin (who is 15 and does not have a drivers license) race.

^{1. Grandstands, 2. Beautiful Night at the Stock Car Races, 3. Fast Car, 4. Flag Guys, 5. Gatekeepers, 6. Good Luck, 7. Yellow Flag Lap, 8. I think he’s here every week, 9. Seth Drives Fast!, 10. Seth’s Fanclub, 11. Trophies, 12. Wrong Way, 13. Sunset at the Races}

Breakfast was leftover Ham and Potatoes Grilled outdoors, plus Biscuits and Spicy Sausage Gravy (my vegan adaption is here.) I ate fruit and muffins.

^{1. Biscuits, 2. Cream Horns, 3. Blueberries, 4. Grapes, 5. Spicy Sausage Gravy, 6. Ham, Sausages, and Potatoes on the Grill, 7. Mini-Quiches, 8. Muffins!}

I’ll go into a little more detail about Saturday’s lunch because Maid-Rites are an Iowan institution. Basically crumbly ground beef cooked up with onion and served loose (not in a patty) on a bun. My cousin pointed out that the Loose Meat Sandwich Restaurant from the Roseanne show was probably based on Maid-Rites. Fascinating. You can dig up more fun facts - and franchise info! - on Made-Rite Restaurants here.

I myself ate a Loose Veggie sandwiches (crudites stacked carefully on a bun, laced with dill dip.)

^{1. “Maid Rites” - an IIlinois/Iowa Specialty, 2. Beefy Con Queso, 3. Buns, 4. Red Velvet Cake, 5. Cereal Pretzel Mix, 6. Dill Pickle Chips, 7. Fruit Salad, 8. Kettle Pops, 9. Maid-Right Filling, 10. Pasta and Bell Pepper Salad, 11. Pot-o’-Dogs, 12. Saurkraut, 13. Crudites}

Saturday Dinner was Iowan Beef Burger and Wisconsin Brat night. This is when I broke out the veggie burgers.

^{1. A Discriminating Eater, 2. 7-layer Dip, 3. Baked Beans, 4. Burger Patties, 5. Fruit and Nut Salad, 6. Fruit Salad, 7. Grilled Homegrown Zucchini, 8. Pastachio, 9. Spinach Dip, 10. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, 11. Buns, 12. Wisconsin Beer Brats, 13. Saurkraut}

Thank you to my wonderful family for arranging this weekend. It was perfect. I am particularly grateful for the strength and grace of our hosts for putting up with air mattresses, beer cans, and assorted strange requests from 70+ of us relatives. Didn’t mean to scare you by setting up our tent in your garage.

You all have an open invitation to stay in Brooklyn anytime - I’ve got an open kitchen, bathtub, and air mattress that’s all yours.