Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies

Fluffy, light pumpkin spice cookies sandwiched over gooey dulce de leche.

Notes: The dough is somewhat unlikely on these cookies. It includes cream cheese instead of the more commonly used butter, and yields a fluffy, light cookie which becomes absolutely captivating when combined with a grounding mixture of pumpkin and spice in the batter.
They're just fine on their own, but they're twice as nice when sandwiched with rich, smooth dulce de leche. A store-bought variety is fine, but do yourself a favor and buy the fancy stuff—you know, the stuff that's a few dollars more and has a cooler label. It makes a difference.
To roll out the cookies, I used whole wheat flour, for no particular reason other than it was at hand. It was a great decision: it imparted a nice, slightly nutty flavor to the cookies. Strongly suggested!

Special equipment: cookie cutters, parchment paper, cookie sheet

Ingredients

serves makes about 12 sandwiches, active time 30 minutes, total time 1 hour, 20 minutes

• For the Cookies
• 2 1/4 cups (about 7.86 ounces) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (about 0.13 ounces) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (about 0.075 ounces) baking soda
• 1 teaspoon (about 0.08 ounces) cinnamon
• 7 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup (about 7 ounces) brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 ounces pumpkin puree
•  
• For the Filling
• 1 jar (14 to 17 ounces) dulce de leche
• Sea salt, if desired

Procedures

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
   
3. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in the egg until incorporated. Stir in the vanilla. Add half of the flour mixture and mix well. Add the pumpkin and stir until combined. Add the rest of the flour, beating until moistened into a soft dough.
   
4. You're going to look at this dough and think "no way is that a rollin' dough". But bear with me. Once it's floured it actually rolls out pretty easily. Without flour, though, it's a sticky mess. That having been said: On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/4-inch thick. Using a floured cutter, cut the cookies and place 2-inches apart on your prepared baking sheet.
   
5. Bake in your preheated oven for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. After about 5 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
   
6. Once cooled, pair up similarly sized cookies. Turn one upside down. Spoon a generous dollop of dulce de leche on the flat side. Sandwich with another cookie, flat side facing the top of the dulce de leche. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Store leftovers loosely covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.