Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F. Then, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
Mix in the dry ingredients, alternating with the pumpkin.
Drop rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of a spoon or your fingers. Bake 10-11 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
In the meantime, prepare 1/2 batch of My Favorite Cream Cheese Frosting* recipe. Once prepared, beat in 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce and an additional 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Beat until incorporated.
Once the cookies are cooled, spread (or pipe) the frosting onto the bottom of half of the cookies, then top with remaining cookies. (Optional: Roll the frosted edges of the cookies in chopped pecans.)
Store whoopie pies in the refrigerator.
Notes
*Depending on the thickness of your caramel sauce, you may need to add an extra 1/2 - 1 cup confectioners' sugar to your cream cheese frosting. Placing the cream cheese frosting into the refrigerator will also help it to set. You can print the recipe for my Favorite Cream Cheese Frosting HERE.