Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Neufchatel Icing

Pumpkin 2 : Electric Boogaloo.

I love pumpkin. Pumpkin is by far my favorite gourd. Okay, it's not a gourd but is in the same plant family.  I think this is my second favorite use for pumpkin next to pumpkin pie. I've updated my old recipe and changed this to about 1 carb per Whoopie pie. 

(Makes 12 cookies)

Ingredients

The cookie 

• 3/4 of a cup canned pumpkin
• 2 cups fine ground almond flour ( I used Bob's Redmill )
• 8 Tablespoons of melted salted butter 
• 3 Teaspoons of pumpkin pie seasoning
• Sweetener equivalent to 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 Teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons baking soda 
• 2 eggs at room temperature 
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons of Xantham gum 

The Icing

• 4oz softened Neufchatel cheese 
• 1 Table spoon Walden Farms maple syrup
• 1/2 Teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Sweetener equivalent to 2 teaspoons of sugar
• 2 Tablespoons of softened butter

Preheat oven to 350

Wisk together dry ingredients in one bowl until thoroughly combined. In another bowl combine all  wet ingredients until combined. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just combined.

Line one cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a 1 tablespoon disher, dish out 24 cookies and flatten slightly. Bake for aprox 12 min and cool on a wire rack.

While cookies are cooling combine icing ingredients and whip till smooth. Place 1/2 tablespoon of filling in between two cookies. 

Enjoy 

Nutritional info per cookie

[ 115 cal, 2g carbohydrate, 11g fat, 2g protein, 1g fiber, 1 net carbohydrate]

Low Carb Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Crust

Autumn is by far my favorite season. The chill in the air, the smell of burning leaves, football weekends and all the amazing fall foods that I love so much. I must also admit that I have been dreading  it's arrival since I began My keto journey this past spring. To me Autumn means baked goods and, for the most part, baked goods are a definite no go for the low carb lifestyle. I decided instead of giving up my favorite things, I'd do my research and adapt as many of my favorite recipes as possible to under 10 carbs per serving.  First up pumpkin pie with pecan crust.

Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Crust 

Ingredients 

• 1 cup pecan pieces(frozen)
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2  Teaspoon sucralose brown sugar substitute 
• Liquid sweetener equivalent to 1 Tablespoon of sugar.

 Preheat oven to 350

Put one cup of frozen pecan pieces into a blender or food processor and pulse until the pecans are reduced to about the size of lentils.

Take it easy here or you will end up with pecan butter

Add melted butter and sweetener to the pecans and  blend until mixed thoroughly. Then turn out mixture into pie plate.

Press out mixture to cover the bottom and sides as evenly as possible.

I start with a silicon spatula and finish with my fingers 

Bake at 350 for 10 - 15 min or until lightly browned. Be careful here this goes from brown to burnt very quickly. I start checking every min after 10.

Nice light brown crust

Let crust cool completely then refrigerate for at least 30 min before filling.

[Preheat oven to 425]

Now the filling

• 1 15oz can pumpkin
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Liquid sweetener equivalent to 1 cup of sugar
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground clove

Add all ingredients to blender and blend to combined.

Pour mixture into pecan crust

Smooth filling and place in preheated oven.

After placing pie in oven, reduce temperature to 375 and bake for 15 min. After 15 min reduce temperature to 300 and bake an additional 30-40 min or until fully set ( pairing knife inserted in center is clean when removed)

Let cool 2 hours on rack before serving or refrigerating.

Cut into 8 servings and enjoy.

Nutritional Info 

341 calories per slice; 4 grams net effective carbs (7.9 grams carbs - 4.9 dietary fiber)