I'm not sure what I want to call these, but whatever their name may be, they are delicious. These minicakes were one of those happy little accidents that (for me) rarely ever happens in the kitchen. I had far too much pumpkin pie filling left over after baking 2 pies, and decided to make a little concoction of pumpkin filling and snickerdoodles. The results, well, too bad you weren't there to eat them with me. I think I ate half the batch in two days. Thanks to the park days ladies who helped me polish them off. Download the printable recipe card HERE. Without any further ado, I give you The Pumperdoodle (or Pumpkin Minicake)

Pumpkin Minicakes

Makes about 18

Dough:

• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Cream butter, sugar and egg. Beat well. Sift together dry ingredients and mix into butter and sugar mixture. Press about 1 large spoonful of dough into bottom of cupcake cups.

Filling:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree*
• 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch salt
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325º. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt and whisk until smooth. Add the cream, maple syrup, eggs and vanilla and whisk until just smooth. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of filling onto dough. Bake cupcakes about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Chill and serve with maple whipped cream: 1 cup heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of maple syrup until soft peak forms. *Notes: I used fresh pumpkin. To prepare, preheat oven to 425ºF. Cut the pumpkin in half and place it cut-side down on a baking sheet. Roast until tender, 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven and puree in food processor or blender until smooth. Also, if you don’t have maple syrup on hand, a traditional pancake syrup works well, too.