Sweet Potato Whoopie Pie Cookie

 My husband and I eat together most nights of the week.  It is a time that we really like to spend together, after our girls are in bed for the night.  

Experts would say that we should eat together as a family, but my kids eat at 5:30pm and my husband is at work, and quite frankly, that is happy hour for most adults, not dinner time. Besides, my husband doesn't come home from the office until after 8pm and so we really wouldn't be eating all together anyway.

A lot of nights for dinner, my husband and I make a big salad and he grills himself some sort of something I would never choose to eat, and I happily sit down with a big, organic sweet potato. 

It is in my top five favorite foods of all time.

Every time I sit down with that baked sweet potato, I slice it open at the top and always, I suck in my breath and say the same thing to my husband,

"Look at the color of this! Have you ever seen a more beautiful color?"

He rolls his eyes every time.

I can't help it, I think that orange is truly gorgeous.  

I was looking down into that steaming sweet potato and it occurred to me that a sweet potato cookie would be my idea of bliss.  

Then I remembered how as a kid, I loved the way my mother would melt the marshmallows on top of her holiday sweet potatoes and how much me and my sisters loved that. 

So became the Sweet Potato Whoopie Pie Cookie. This cookie has the sweet flavor of sweet potato and brown sugar. While they are awesome just as its own little cookie, I went a fabulous step forward and used a product called Suzanne's ricemellow creme.  It is made with brown rice syrup and soy protein. It is all natural, vegan, gluten free and non dairy.  Thanks Suzanne!

Sweet Potato Whoopie Pie Cookie

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment

Whisk together in a medium bowl:

1 1/2 cups organic spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

pinch of kosher salt

In a separate medium bowl, beat together with a spatula;

1/4 cup of non-dairy shortening  (I use Jungle Shortening, which is a very healthy palm oil)

1 teaspoon best quality vanilla

3/4 cup organic brown sugar

1/4 cup organic unsweetened applesauce

1 cup organic canned sweet potato puree

Mix the flour mixture into the shortening mixture until just combined.

Using a cookie scooper, place rounded EVEN scoops on tray.  Wet your finger and gently push down so that they are round, uniform disks.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until the cookie has "set" and feels just slightly firm and looks dry.

Leave on baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool.  

Enjoy alone OR:  

When the cookie is completely cool, use Suzanne's ricemellow creme to spread on the bottom half of one cookie and then sandwich it with another.  Bottom to bottom.

These should be eaten as made or you can wrap them individually and freeze them for a treat any time!

Note:

If you can't find the Suzanne's ricemellow creme at your local health food store, check under my" I recommend" section to the right of this blog.  You can buy it through that link.