Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Smooth and velvety cream cheese frosting sandwiched between two soft, chewy, thick, and rich pumpkin cookies — Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are the ultimate fall treat!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I’m amazed I’ve only just started making whoopie pies, especially after trying this amazing pumpkin version. I’m totally in love with them now! Get ready for lots of new whoopie pie recipes soon.

These Pumpkin Whoopie Pies have two big, soft pumpkin cookies with a layer of sweet, tangy cream cheese frosting in the middle. They’re really soft, like pumpkin cake, and full of delicious pumpkin taste.

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

• Flour: Provides structure to the cookies.
• Baking Soda & Baking Powder: These are leavening agents that help the cookies rise.
• Cinnamon & Pumpkin Pie Spice: Adds flavor.
• Salt: Enhances the overall taste.
• Granulated & Brown Sugar: Sweetens the cookies and adds moisture.
• Butter: Gives richness and helps in creating a tender texture.
• Pumpkin: Adds moisture and pumpkin flavor.
• Egg: Binds the ingredients together and adds structure.
• Vanilla Extract: Adds flavor

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• Cream Cheese & Butter: Create a creamy base for the frosting.
• Powdered Sugar: Sweetens and thickens the frosting.
• Salt & Vanilla Extract: Enhance the flavor.

How To Make Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

1. Preheat Oven: Preheat to 350°F and line a baking sheet.
2. Whisk Dry Ingredients: Flour, baking soda, powder, cinnamon, spice, and salt.
3. Cream Wet Ingredients: Butter and sugars, add pumpkin, egg, vanilla, then dry mix.
4. Optional Chill: Chill dough if desired.
5. Scoop Dough: Onto the sheet, flatten slightly.
6. Bake: For 8-13 minutes and cool.
7. Make Frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla.
8. Assemble: Frost half the cookies, top with the rest.
9. Store: In fridge on plates, loosely covered with foil.

Expert Tips

1. Baking Time: Slightly underbake for soft, moist cookies. Overbaking can ruin texture and flavor.
2. Pumpkin Type: Use pure canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. Libby’s® is recommended for its consistency.
3. Measure Flour Accurately: Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level with a knife, don’t scoop from the bag.
4. Baking Surface: Use a Silpat® liner or parchment paper for even baking and to prevent over-browning bottoms. Avoid foil.

Use Leftover Pumpkin In These

• Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
• Pumpkin Overnight Oats
• Pumpkin Spice Latte Steamer
• Pumpkin Cupcakes
• Pumpkin Cake

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5 from 3 votes

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

By Chelsea Lords

Smooth and velvety cream cheese frosting sandwiched between two soft, chewy, thick, and rich pumpkin cookies -- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are the ultimate fall treat!

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Optional Chilling Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 25 -27 whoopie pies

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Parchment paper or Silpat liner

Cookies

• ▢ 2 and 1/2 cups white, all-purpose flour (See Note 1)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• ▢ 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• ▢ 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened, not melted
• ▢ 1 cup canned pumpkin (not an entire can of pumpkin; don't use pumpkin pie filling)
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting

• ▢ 4 ounces full-fat cream cheese (the block cream cheese, not spreadable), softened, not melted
• ▢ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened, not melted
• ▢ 2 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions 

• PREP: Prepare a large sheet pan by lining with parchment paper or a Silpat liner (very important to avoid burned bottoms on these cookies). Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• DRY INGREDIENTS: Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt to a large bowl; whisk to combine and set aside.
• WET INGREDIENTS: In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth and creamy. Add 1 cup pumpkin, the egg, and vanilla. Beat until the mixture is creamy. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until JUST combined. Avoid overmixing, as it will create dense cookies.
• OPTIONAL -- CHILL DOUGH: Cover tightly and chill the dough for 30 minutes up to 10 hours. Chilling is not necessary but it makes the dough much easier to work with and intensifies flavors.
• ROLL COOKIE BALLS: Use a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop out balls of dough. Each cookie should be about 1 tablespoon in size. Once dough is in the tablespoon measuring spoon, use a small spoon to scoop it onto the lined sheet pan. Try to smooth or round the balls, but it's okay if they're a bit bumpy; this dough is difficult to work with. Leave 2 inches between each cookie (I only bake 8-10 cookies at a time) and flatten the balls of dough slightly. (This batter is wetter than normal cookie dough so don't be alarmed that you can't roll out balls of dough; chill in the fridge for additional time if needed to make it easier to get cookie dough balls on a tray).
• BAKE: Bake for 8-13 minutes (9-10 minutes is perfect for my oven) watching carefully to avoid over-baking. We like these slightly under-baked and soft, but the tops shouldn't be shiny or wet looking at all. Remove and allow cookies to stand for 3-5 minutes on the sheet pan before removing to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
• FROSTING: Meanwhile, make the frosting. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large bowl and a hand mixer), beat the softened (not melted) cream cheese and butter until creamy for about 2 minutes at medium-high speed. Add the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat until everything is combined and the frosting is soft and creamy. Avoid over-beating the mixture or you'll get whipped frosting.
• FROST COOKIES: Generously frost half of the cooled cookies. Sandwich the other half of the cookies on top.
• STORAGE: Do not store the cookies in plastic containers. Store on plates loosely covered with foil in the fridge. Best eaten same day or within 1-2 days. After that, they soften too much and the texture degrades. Freeze unbaked cookie dough balls for up to 3 months; bake straight from freezer for an additional 1-3 minutes.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour, you will pack in way too much flour; use a spoon to scoop it into a measuring cup and then level the top with the back of a table knife.

Nutrition

Calories: 278kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 158mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 1663IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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