Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Name: Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 38 min
Ingredients: 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; 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

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!

Six pumpkin whoopie pies placed in a brown parchment paper lined metal baking tin with mini orange and white pumpkins placed around it on a white background.

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Ingredients Needed
How to Make the Recipe
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Helpful Tips
Recipe FAQs
More Pumpkin Desserts to Enjoy!
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies Recipe

Why you’ll love this recipe

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 pies! It is basically the same recipe, but we’re just using a larger-sized cookie scoop and baking them slightly longer.

These whoopie pies are soft and moist, not overly sweet, and easy to prep! They pair nicely with the maple cream cheese frosting and taste delicious when chilled. It’s a small-batch recipe that makes seven medium-sized whoopie pies and is perfect as a fall-season after-dinner treat!

Enjoy!

Six pumpkin whoopie pies filled with maple cream cheese frosting placed in a parchment paper lined metal baking tin.

Ingredients Needed

The following ingredients are needed to make these pumpkin whoopie pies with maple cream cheese frosting. Items noted in the bulleted list are key ingredients that need a bit more explanation.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Ingredients in various size bowls labeled as salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin puree, all purpose flour, egg, vegetable shortening, and granulated sugar on a white marbled background.

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.
Cinnamon. Gives the pumpkin a nice added bit of flavor! For a more intense, bolder flavor, I recommend using a Vietnamese cinnamon. It is very good!
Vegetable Shortening. I know some do not care for using vegetable shortening in their recipes, but I do recommend it for this, as it gives the whoopie pies their nice dome-like tops and keeps them from spreading much during baking.
Canned Pumpkin. We’re using pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling or pumpkin butter. I recommend using Libby’s Organic Canned Pumpkin.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients in various size bowls labeled as unsalted butter, vanilla extract, cream cheese, maple syrup, and powdered sugar on a white marbled background.

Cream Cheese. I use the Philadelphia original cream cheese, but any brand will be fine as long as it’s the full-fat kind.
Powdered Sugar. Ensure it’s sifted before adding it to the frosting mixture.

For quantities and instructions, please see the recipe card below.

How to Make the Recipe

Below is a quick overview of how to make this pumpkin whoopie pies recipe. For the full printable recipe, with US customary or metric measurements, visit the recipe card below.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Whisked all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in glass mixing bowl on light grey marbled background.

Step 1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set to the side.

Vegetable shortening and granulated sugar beaten together in a large glass mixing bowl on a light grey marbled background.

Step 2. Beat the shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Egg, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract blended into the shortening and sugar in large glass mixing bowl.

Step 3. Add in the egg, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract. Mix until well blended.

Pumpkin whoopie pie batter in a large glass mixing bowl on a light grey marbled background.

Step 4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until the batter is just combined.

Scooping pumpkin whoopie pie batter onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet on a light grey marbled background.

Step 5. Scoop the whoopie pie cake batter onto the baking sheet. Space 2 inches apart. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 350ºF.

Eight pumpkin whoopie pie cakes cooling on a wire cooling rack.

Step 6. Remove from oven, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. The whoopie pie cakes should be completely cooled before frosting.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Whisked unsalted butter and cream cheese in a glass mixing bowl on a light grey marbled background.

Step 1. Beat the cream cheese and unsalted butter together until smooth and well blended.

Vanilla extract and maple syrup added to the cream cheese butter mixture in a large glass bowl.

Step 2. Add in the vanilla extract and maple syrup.

Maple cream cheese frosting in a large glass mixing bowl on a light grey marbled background.

Step 3. Add in the sifted powdered sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Pumpkin whoopie pies filled with maple cream cheese frosting on a wire cooling rack on a light grey marbled background.

Step 4. Frost the cooled pumpkin whoopie pie cakes with maple cream cheese frosting.

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 whoopie pie cakes 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-sized 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 using the 1 1/2-tablespoon 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.

Pumpkin whoopie pies randomly positioned in a parchment paper lined baking tin.

Recipe FAQs

What is the best size cookie scoop to use?

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 a roughly 3 1/2-inch-diameter domed cake. For smaller pumpkin whoopie pies, use a 1 1/2 tablespoon-size cookie scoop.

How long will whoopie pies last in the fridge?

In a tightly sealed container, they will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Can I freeze whoopie pies?

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 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!