Vegan Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

“There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin.” — Linus

I wait anxiously for Fall each year. It’s a good excuse not to wear the white shoes I don’t own. What a relief for a girl with big feet!

But that’s not the reason I wait for fall, pumpkin.

Ah, what a sweet term of endearment calling you all my pumpkin! I could have said “sugar” or “sweety pies” or something else equally affectionate, but for some reason I had pumpkin on the brain. (Sounds like a serious medical condition).

If Fall had a logo, it would definitely have to include a pumpkin. And I’m not exactly certain why. I mean, of course, pumpkin is a fall vegetable. But so is the butternut squash and we can find those almost all year long. There are lots of fruits and veggies that used to be more seasonal but are now fairly ubiquitous such as spinach, onions, and apples.

Not so for the pumpkin. For some reason, pumpkin has become so tied to this season called Fall, that cooking it seems permanently sequestered to this time of year as well. Poor pumpkin. It’s been typecast!

There is good news, though. Now that Fall has finally arrived, it’s basically a pumpkin free-for-all. Now is the season to consider adding pumpkin to just about any recipe, including whoopie pies! I found this recipe for pumpkin whoopie pies on Martha Stewart’s site and I set out with a vengeance to veganize it.

It was well worth the effort.

The one nice thing about having a vegetable so attached to a particular season is it reintroduces us to the art of anticipation. Children don’t have to wait for Halloween to get candy, but they still anticipate the day when they get to put on their costume and parade around town. Similarly, we don’t have to wait until Fall to pull out the pumpkin, but pumpkin recipes are still something to look forward to, regardless of the season.