Pumpkin Cookies with Coconut Cream and White Chocolate

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole-wheat pastry flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup coconut oil at room temperature (should be the consistency of soft butter)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar packed
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk at room temperature
6 tablespoons pumpkin puree at room temperature

1 can coconut milk (13 ounces) full-fat, chilled in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours
5 tablespoons powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the coconut oil and both sugars with an electric hand mixer, until light and fluffy.
Add in the vanilla extract, egg yolk, and pumpkin puree, and beat until well combined.
Stir the flour mixture into the coconut oil mixture and stir until well combined. The dough will be quite soft and sticky, and not as firm as a typical dough. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to overnight.
Once the dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 325°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop the dough onto the cookie sheets in 1/2-tablespoon balls (they spread!), very lightly pressing down. You want the balls taller than they are wide, so don’t flatten them much. Note that your dough will be a little sticky. You can always spray your fingers with a little bit of cooking spray if the dough sticks to them.
Bake the cookies until lightly golden, about 15-17 minutes. They will feel quite soft and underbaked, but they will continue to bake on the pan. Let them cool on the pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Take the chilled coconut milk out of the refrigerator and turn upside-down. Open the can and pour out all the liquid on top, leaving you with the thick coconut cream on the bottom.
Scoop the cream into a large bowl (it should equal about 1 1/4 cups) and add in the powdered sugar.
Beat the cream with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Place back in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Once the cookies are cooled, melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until smooth and melted. Pour the coconut onto a plate.
Dip the bottom 1/3 of each cookie into the melted chocolate, gently scraping off any excess, and then into the coconut flakes, pressing them down gently. Place back onto the parchment-lined cookie tray. Dip cookies at a slight angle, so that the undersides do not get covered in chocolate, just the top 1/3 and the edges. Repeat with remaining cookies, being very careful as the cookies are soft and delicate.
Transfer the trays into the fridge to let the chocolate harden for about 30 minutes.
Assemble the cookies: Once the chocolate is hardened, fill a pastry bag with the coconut cream and lightly pipe it into the middle of half of the cookies, leaving a little space around the edges for the cream to spread once sandwiched.
Place the remaining bare cookies on top of the coconut-creamed cookies.