Pumpkin Whoopie Pies - These pumpkin whoopie pies with scrumptious cream cheese filling are super easy to make. The cakes are redolent with cozy, fall spices, and have a great pillowy soft, and fluffy consistency.
This is a perfect fall hand held holiday treat. Sure to put a twinkle in your loved ones eyes, especially the little ones!
Speaking of little ones, these moist cake sandwiches can be made into mini size also, if desired. It might not seem so decadent to eat several if they're really small, right?
The recipe for the fluffy pumpkin spice versions of whoopie pies was inspired by an idea that our beloved pastry assistant had at the mining exchange hotel. We were already making whoopie pies in more classic flavors, and she asked if we could do a pumpkin spice version, and the rest is, how they say, history.
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What You're Going to Need!
- Vanilla Extract - Make sure to use pure extract, not imitation. Look for the word "bourbon", and in general, imported is usually better than domestic.
- Pumpkin Spice - By all means, you can blend your own, we suggest this one from Love and Lemons, but Trader Joes makes our favorite. Make sure that any spices you use aren't too old or stale also. This is what really gives this recipe it's cozy, fall feeling.
- Eggs - Buy free range and vegetarian feed if at all possible. We really feel that the resulting richness is quite noticeable.
- Flour - All purpose.
- Brown Sugar - Light.
- Pumpkin Puree - Make sure to use puree, not pumpkin pie filling, which contains extra spices, as well as unwanted preservatives.
- Heavy Cream - Some times labelled as "whipping cream".
- Butter - Unsalted, and softened in advance.
- Vanilla Extract - See the advice above in the cake ingredient list.
- Powdered Sugar - This will incorporate fully and easily and leave no graininess.
- Cream Cheese - Also softened in advance.
See recipe card for quantities
Recipe
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer with whip attachment or a handheld mixer with whip attachment
- 1 Measuring Spoon Set
- 1 Measuring cup set
- 1 Rubber Spatula
- 1 portion scoop or ice cream scoop
- 1 baking sheet pan
- 1 Cooling rack
- 2 sheets of parchment paper
- 1 drum sieve
- 1 dough blade or something similar to scrape the dry ingredients through the drum sieve
- 1 Mixing Bowl or 2 if you are using a handheld mixer
- 1 liquid measuring cup
Ingredients
Whoopie Pie Batter
- 1 cup Vegetable oil
- 2 cups Packed light brown sugar
- 1 15 oz can Pumpkin puree
- 2 large Eggs
- 3 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 tsps. Pumpkin spice blend
- pan release spray as needed
Cream Cheese Icing
- 8 oz Cream Cheese softened
- 4 oz Butter unsalted, softened
- 3½ cups Powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup Heavy cream
Instructions
Whoopie Pie Batter
- Preheat your oven to 350℉
- Place the oil, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, vanilla, salt , and eggs in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whip attachment.
- Mix until combined and all the ingredients are incorporated
- Place the drum sieve over a mixing bowl
- Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin spice blend in the drum sieve, and sift it through into the bowl
- Add ½ of the sifted dry ingredients to the mixing bowl with the pumpkin mixture
- Combine ingredients on low to medium speed until incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the remaining ingredients and repeat the process until all of the dry ingredients are combined and the batter is smooth
- Line the baking sheet pan with parchment paper and spray with pan release spray
- Using the portion scoop, place 6 scoops of batter onto the pan, place the pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes
- Remove them from the oven and place them on the cooling rack, repeat the process until all of the batter in used
Cream Cheese Icing
- Place the cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whip attachment, combine on medium to high speed until smooth
- Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time on low speed until combined and smooth, then add the heavy cream and mix on high speed until smooth and fluffy
Assembling the Whoopie Pies
- Place cooled cakes flat side up on a clean baking sheet pan with a fresh piece of parchment paper
- Using a portion scoop, place a scoop of icing onto ½ of the cakes, use the remaining cakes to top the icing, creating the finished whoopie pie. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Directions
- Place all of the wet ingredients into the mixer and whip together to combine.
2. Combine all of the dry ingredients by placing them into a drum sieve and sifting them through.
3. Add the dry to the wet in the mixer by adding it in two even halves, mixing thoroughly and completely.
4. As soon as the batter comes together, turn off the mixer.
5. Follow the simple and easy instructions in the recipe card to make the cake batter. Scoop onto a parchment lined and sprayed sheet pan to bake.
6. When the cakes are fully cooked, gently place them onto a rack to cool.
7. Put all of the ingredients shown above for the cream cheese filling into the mixer.
8. Whip together, starting on low, and increasing speed until the texture, color, and sheen is as shown above.
9. Scoop the soft, creamy filling onto the flat side of each of the cakes.
10. Place another circle of pumpkin spice cake on top, making a handheld sized sandwich.
Chef Tip
A big part of what sets this recipe apart from many others is the moist and tender texture of the cakes. In order to assure that they don't become too chewy or tough, make sure not to mix the batter any more than as much is needed to bring it together. Over-mixing is really never good for cake batter.
Variations
There are a few different ways to do these little fall treats, here's a few ideas that come to mind...
- Mini whoopie pies - Making these using a small cookie scoop can make them into little bite sized fluffy snacks
- Chunky - Try gently folding in some flavored morsels, (white chocolate, caramel, butterscotch), for some extra texture and flavor pops
Storage & Helpful Hints
This is a perfect make-ahead recipe. Making the cakes and filling in advance, they will keep tightly sealed and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Store them separately so that the cakes don't absorb the filling too much. We do not recommend freezing, as they will lose the pillow-y soft crumbliness that they have during this process.
Don't be in too much of a hurry to fill the whoopie pie cakes! If they are still warm, the filling will just melt out everywhere. Making the cakes first and letting them cool while making the frosting should be enough time.
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Pumpkin puree has a lot of moisture trapped in vegetable resins and consequently has a tendency to get sticky. Don't be alarmed, this is normal.
This is a very good question, because it can make a huge difference in the finished consistency of all of your baked goods. When you scoop the flour out of the bag or container, take care not to pack it into the measuring cup tightly, and run your finger or the back end of a straight knife over the top to "level" it out. Only if a recipe directly calls for a "packed" measure of flour should you smash it down.
Jason Miller says
I don't usually even like pumpkin spice, but this is great