One of my favorite parts of reading other blogger’s pages is checking out the “about me” sections of their blogs. It’s always so interesting to read how bloggers began cooking, how they decided to start and blog, and what else in life interests them. So when I was offered a copy of White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story written by Jenna Weber of the wonderful blog Eat Live Run I couldn’t wait to dig in!
The book follows Jenna as she graduates college and makes the decision to go to culinary school to fulfill her dream of becoming a food writer. The book allows the reader a deep dive into Jenna’s journey to follow her dreams while dealing with life along the way. Like me, Jenna seems to pinpoint specific times in her life by food that sticks out from that time period. Throughout the book, her story is peppered with delicious recipes from her childhood as well as recipes she developed through her career.
One of the recipes stood out to me: Jenna’s recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. I am pumpkin obsessed, and I have wanted to make whoopie pies for a while now but was always kind of intimidated by them. Jenna’s recipe seemed approachable so I took the plunge.
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 egg white
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar, divided
- 3/4 cup shortening
