Satisfy your fall sweet tooth with this small batch of Pumpkin Whoopie Pies! With incredibly soft and flavorful pumpkin cakes sandwiched together with a maple cream cheese frosting, they will be a big-time favorite for sure!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- super soft and moist
- a sweet dessert, but not overly sweet
- easy to prep
- paired nicely with maple cream cheese frosting
- absolutely delicious chilled
- a small batch recipe that makes seven medium-sized whoopie pies
- perfect as a fall season after-dinner treat
This homemade pumpkin whoopie pies recipe was an easy adaptation from my Pumpkin Cinnamon Cookies recipe. With their super soft, cake-like texture, I realized they would make the perfect whoopie pie! It is basically the same recipe, but we’re just using a larger-sized cookie scoop and baking them slightly longer.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s what you’ll need to make these yummy pumpkin whoopie pies!
- All-Purpose Flour. I used the King Arthur brand, but use what you like best. I did not make this with any other type of flour.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder. Both are needed!
- Cinnamon. Gives the pumpkin a nice added bit of flavor!
- Salt. Just a pinch is needed (or 1/8 teaspoon)
- Vegetable Shortening. Room temperature is best. I did not test this with butter, but it could be used as a substitute if you don’t have access to shortening.
- Granulated Sugar. Just good old-fashioned white granulated sugar will work perfectly. Or you can use organic pure cane sugar.
- Egg. Yep, just one, and make sure it’s also at room temperature. I do not have any egg substitutions.
- Canned Pumpkin. We’re using pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling or pumpkin butter. Be careful not to mix them up. I used Libby’s Organic Canned Pumpkin.
- Cream Cheese. This is only for the frosting. It’s best softened to room temperature.
- Unsalted Butter. Also, just for the frosting, and should be at room temperature.
- Vanilla Extract. Used for both the pumpkin cookies and the cream cheese frosting.
- Powdered Sugar. This is only for the cream cheese frosting. Make sure it’s sifted before adding it to the frosting mixture.
Substitutions
Vegetable Shortening. I did not make these pumpkin whoopie pies using butter, but it can be used instead of vegetable shortening if you don’t have easy access to it or do not care for it.
It is a 1:1 ratio and should also be at room temperature. It’s also important to note that using butter may make the pumpkin cakes spread out much more, losing the dome shape.
All-Purpose Flour. It’s the only flour I used for this recipe, but a 1:1 gluten-free flour could work here. Both King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill make them.
The Egg. I do not have any egg substitutions for this recipe. You can, however, check out The Minimalist Baker for some good egg substitutions for baking!
Helpful Tips
You can chill the dough. Since, technically, this is a cookie recipe, you can chill the dough for up to 24 hours. This is handy if you can’t get to the baking part immediately. The pumpkin whoopie pie dough should be kept in the refrigerator and covered with plastic wrap.
Space out your pumpkin whoopie pie cakes. I recommend not overcrowding your baking sheets. I baked six cake singles per baking sheet, giving them enough space to fill out. They will rise into dome shapes and spread slightly, but not too much.
You can bake the pumpkin cakes ahead of time. Another time-saver tip—you can bake the pumpkin whoopie pie cakes ahead of time. Keep them in a sealed container at room temperature, adding a layer of wax paper in between to prevent them from sticking to each other.
They’ll keep at room temperature for up to 3 days in a tightly sealed container. If you notice the cakes are a little moist on top, leave the lid open to let some air in before frosting them.
Amount of frosting. This maple cream cheese frosting recipe makes just enough to pipe all seven whoopie pies.
Piping. I used the Wilton 8B decorating tip, which was very large but worked perfectly for these pumpkin whoopie pies.
You can use any decorating tip you prefer or apply the maple cream cheese frosting with an offset spatula. Use a smaller decorating tip if making smaller-size whoopie pies.
Easily double the recipe. If you plan to feed more people, you can easily double the pumpkin whoopie pie cake recipe and the maple cream cheese frosting. I would also recommend making them smaller with the 1 1/2 tablespoon-size cookie scoop.
Let the cakes cool. Before piping on the maple cream cheese frosting, ensure your pumpkin whoopie pie cakes have cooled completely. Otherwise, the cream cheese frosting will melt, which is not fun.
Recipe FAQs
For larger pumpkin whoopie pies, like the ones I made here, I recommend using a 3 1/2 tablespoon-size cookie scoop. The cookie scoop I used is size #16 from Solula. This will give you roughly a 3 1/2-inch diameter domed cake.
For smaller pumpkin whoopie pies, use a 1 1/2 tablespoon-size cookie scoop.
In a tightly sealed container, they will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.
Yes, you can easily freeze these pumpkin whoopie pies! You will need plastic wrap and a sealed food container or freezer bag for storage. You can also just freeze them with just plastic wrap. I recommend wrapping them in 2 layers of plastic wrap. Stored properly, homemade pumpkin whoopie pies will last about three months in the freezer. You can do this for my Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies and Apple Cider Whoopie Pies as well!
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Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
pumpkin whoopie pies
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Vegetable Shortening , room temperature
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg, room temperature
- 1 cup Canned Pumpkin Puree
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
maple cream cheese frosting
- 4 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
- 2 1/2 cups Sifted Powdered Sugar
Instructions
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
- Adjust the oven rack to 2nd level position (just above center) and preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats and set to the side.
- In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set to the side.2 cups All-Purpose Flour, 1 tsp Baking Soda, 1 tsp Baking Powder, 1 tsp Cinnamon, 1/8 tsp Salt
- Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the vegetable shortening and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.1 cup Vegetable Shortening, 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- Add in the egg, canned pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract and mix until completely blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.1 Large Egg, 1 cup Canned Pumpkin Puree, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Switch the mixer speed to low, gradually adding the dry ingredients until the cookie dough is just combined.
- Using a 3.4 tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, place the dough roughly 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 350ºF. Each pumpkin cake should have a nice golden brown edge to it.
- Remove from oven and allow cakes to cool on baking sheet for about 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack. Cakes should be completely cooled before frosting.
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and unsalted butter on medium-high speed until smooth and well blended. Add in the vanilla extract and maple syrup. Continue to mix until fully combined.4 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature, 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter, room temperature, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract, 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
- Switch the mixer speed to low gradually adding in the sifted powdered sugar until it's well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.2 1/2 cups Sifted Powdered Sugar
- Using the Wilton 8B piping tip, pipe a circle of frosting onto the bottom of one whoopie pie cake. Place another cake on top to sandwich it together. I start the piping tip in the center of the whoopie pie cake and move outward in a spiral shape.
- Place frosted whoopie pies in an airtight container in the refrigerator with a sheet of wax paper in between to keep them from sticking together. You can also tightly wrap each whoopie pie with plastic wrap, then place in a sealed container, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Adapted from my Pumpkin Cinnamon Cookies recipe.
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided above is an estimate only and will vary based on specific ingredients used. See Nutritional Disclaimer for more info.
