I am not sure when chocolate began to disappear as my drug of choice or, in truth, ever was. Even as a child, when given a dime for penny candy (yes, I am that old!), I chose those Mary Janes and “watermelon” slices and those wax bottles filled with juice. On the other hand, my go-to birthday cake was chocolate layer cake, filled between layers with strawberry jam, topped with crusty white chocolate icing and drizzled with dark chocolate.

Over the years, I considered chocolate an add-on. I might want one candy from a Whitman sampler but not a whole Hershey bar. I still like sweets, but favor butterscotch pudding, blondies, carrot cake and rice pudding, the last served warm with cinnamon.

Until I went to college, I had never tasted pumpkin pie, candied sweet potatoes, vanilla-scented cookies or bread pudding. Now, when I crave dessert it is more likely to be a slice of pineapple upside down cake or key lime pie.

As a result, I love autumn. I have in my pantry cans of pure pumpkin and the October issues of food magazines are filled with recipes for pumpkin. Here is one I have been making for years. If you try to buy cans of pumpkin in the spring or summer, you may be out of luck, so buy a few extra this fall if you love this recipe as much as I do.

Pennsylvania Dutch Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Makes 12 to 18 pies

4½ cups flour

1 tablespoon cream of tartar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 ½ teaspoon ground allspice

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup flavorless vegetable oil

2 and 1/3 cups brown sugar

1 can real pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon fresh grated lemon zest

1 1/3 cups oats (quick or old fashioned)

Milk or buttermilk, if needed, so the batter isn’t too thick to drop onto cookie sheet

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray several cookie with oil or butter.

Stir together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and allspice in a large bowl.

In second bowl, with a mixer, beat butter, oil and brown sugar until smooth and fluffy. Beat in pumpkin, egg, yolks, vanilla and lemon juice. Gradually beat in flour mixture, then add oats. If too thick, add some milk or buttermilk until it looks more like cookie batter.

Drop 2½ tablespoons of batter at a time onto the baking sheets, about 3 inches apart, or if you would like smaller pies, use one tablespoon each of the batter

Using your index finger (dipped in water), turn cookies into circles about the same size. Place cooking sheets on the bottom third and top third of racks. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, reversing them at about half-time. Remove from oven and cool for around 3 minutes before putting cookies on wire cooling racks.

For filling: Cream 12 ounces cream cheese, two egg whites, ¼ tablespoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest. Gradually add some confectioners’ sugar . Add milk if too thick. Chill for about 15 minutes.

To assemble, place one cookie, flat side down, on a platter, spread about 2 tablespoons of filling and top with flat-top of another cookie.

Lee White is a food writer who lives in Groton. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.