Turn the classic dessert into a fall treat with these pumpkin whoopie pies. The fluffy sandwich cookies get stuffed between a rich cream cheese filling for a super seasonal bite!
The return of the cooler weather means pumpkin season is upon us! Let’s be honest — we might as well rename autumn pumpkin season with all the delicious pumpkin recipes available. It’s pumpkin for breakfast, lunch, and dinner all season long.
PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Would it really be the fall if you weren’t snacking on at least one pumpkin treat each day? Start the pumpkin baking season off strong with these pumpkin whoopie pies. They take everything you love about classic whoopie pies and put a seasonal twist on them.
If you’ve never had a whoopie pie, get ready to fall in love. The sweet treat is like a mashup of a cookie, cupcake, and slice of cake all in one. It has a soft cake sandwich cookie and is filled with loads of frosting — basically like a cupcake sandwich.
The whoopie pies get their amazing fall flavors thanks to the addition of pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and maple syrup in the batter. The puree helps to keep the batter nice and moist, and the spices add just the right amount of warming flavors to the cake. The maple syrup complements the pumpkin pie spice and sweetens the batter slightly to have the perfect ratio of sweetness in the fluffy sandwich cakes.
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE FLUFFY PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
FOR THE SANDWICH COOKIE
- Unsalted butter – make sure the butter is nice and soft.
- Vegetable oil
- Dark brown sugar
- Maple syrup – adds sweetness and a nice fall flavor.
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Kosher salt
- Pumpkin pie spice – the combination of warming spices gives the cake an excellent flavor.
- Eggs
- Canned pumpkin puree – Make your own pumpkin puree substitute here!
- All-purpose flour
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
- Cream cheese – make sure it is soft before mixing to avoid lumps.
- Unsalted butter – keep at room temperature to avoid lumps in the frosting.
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES
1. PREPARE
Preheat the oven to 375 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set to the side.
2. MIX INGREDIENTS
In a large bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, oil, sugar, maple syrup, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice until smooth. Scrape the bowl down and add the eggs, beating after each one. Continue to mix the batter until it is light and fluffy.
3. ADD IN THE PUMPKIN
Stir the pumpkin puree in the batter, followed by the flour in two additions. Make sure to scrape down the bowl to make sure all of the ingredients are equally incorporated.
4. BAKE THE COOKIES
Scoop 1/4 cup of the batter onto the baking sheet, leaving 2-inches in between each cookie. Bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a wired rack to finish cooling.
5. MAKE THE FILLING
As the cookies are baking, make the filling. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth and there are no lumps. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and the vanilla.
6. ASSEMBLE THE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES
When the cookies are fully cool, add 2 tablespoons of the frosting onto one side of the cookie. Sandwich with the other half until the filling is flat and even on both sides.
HOW TO STORE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES
The pumpkin whoopie pies will last about a week in an airtight container. If you know you are going to serve the whoopie pies at a later date, don’t fill the sandwich cookies right away. Store the sandwich cookies in an airtight container and the filling separately in the fridge. When you are ready to make them, let the filling sit out to become spreadable and at room temperature, and assemble the cookies.
FAQ
Sometimes whoopie pies get a little bit sticky on the sandwich cookie. This is because the cookie is more like a soft cake and does not form a crust like hard cookies. Because of this, you are likely to end up with some pumpkin cake on your hands when eating them.
Yes! Whoopie pies can be customizable to your liking. Add more pumpkin pie spice into the frosting, go the opposite direction and make a chocolate filling, or double up on the pumpkin and add some more pumpkin puree into the filling. No matter what you choose it will be delicious.
If your whoopie pies are coming out flat after baking, the batter is probably too thin. Make sure you have the right measurements for each ingredient and don’t overmix the batter. You should have a cake-like consistency when scooping the batter onto the baking pans.
MORE PUMPKIN SWEET TREATS
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups dark brown sugar packed
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups canned pumpkin puree
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Line 2 sheet trays with parchment paper.
- With an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat together the butter, oil, sugar, syrup, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice until smooth. Scrape the bowl and then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Continue to beat until the mixture is light & fluffy.
- Stir in the pumpkin puree. Add the flour in two additions, making sure to scrape the bowl between each one.
- Scoop ¼ cup of batter and place it onto the prepared sheet trays. Repeat, leaving 2” in between each scoop. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Cool on the sheet tray for 5 minutes and then remove them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- For the filling, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the sugar in two additions. Stir in the vanilla.
- To finish, add 2 tbsp of filling to one cookie and top with another. Repeat with remaining cookies.
