These soft Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are filled with a cream cheese icing that makes them irresistible. Best of all, you don’t need any special equipment!
While a “traditional” whoopie pie is chocolate with a cream center, today’s pumpkin version is equally delightful. Or try these amazing lemon poppy seed whoopie pies for a unique twist.
Why this Recipe is Best
Who doesn’t love a Whoopie pie? Frosting sandwiched between two thick cake-y cookies? Yes, please.
This Pumpkin Whoopie Pie recipe is great because you don’t need a special whoopie pie pan or anything! I use a ziploc bag to pipe the cookie batter into circular shapes before baking.
I also love the cream cheese frosting filling paired with the pumpkin flavor. It’s just different enough from what you typically find in pumpkin desserts and so fluffy and delicious!
Or give our classic carrot cake whoopie pies a try next, filled with more of our cream cheese frosting.
Ingredient Notes
- Pumpkin – Be sure to use real pureed pumpkin from a can, NOT pumpkin pie filling.
- Heavy cream- Works better than milk or other substitutes for creating thick, creamy filling.
- Spices- Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Or swap them out for homemade pumpkin pie spice!
Easy Instructions
Making these whoopie pies is so much simpler than you’d think! After mixing all the ingredients for the pies together, spoon the batter into a large ziploc bag with a corner snipped off.
Pro Tip: I line a large glass with my ziploc bag to help keep the bag open!
Pipe the batter into circles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I made my circles as close to 2 1/2 inches in diameter as possible to make sure I had similarly sized cookies to sandwich together.
Pipe from the center outward in a spiral to create whoopie pies. Dropping dough onto the cookie sheet will create thick cookies that have unbaked centers.
After baking, let the cookies cool while you beat together the filling ingredients.
Pair whoopie pies with like size cookies.
Scoop the cream cheese filling by the tablespoon onto the flat side, then gently press another cookie on top.
Repeat until all the cookies have been used.
Tips & Tricks
PRO TIP: Use a pencil and bowl to draw circles on parchment paper to create evenly sized cookies. Be sure to flip paper over so pencil doesn’t transfer to cookies.
- Make the cookies as evenly sized as possible so that every cookie has a match!
- Make sure to let the cakes cool completely before adding the filling, otherwise the filling will soften and ooze out the sides of the whoopie pies.
- Want your filling to be thicker? Add less cream. Want it to be thinner? Add more cream while beating until the desired consistency is reached.
Recipe FAQs
Whoopie pies are somewhere between a cake, a pie and a cookie. Soft cookies (similar to the texture of a sponge cake) are held together with a thick layer of frosting.
Store whoopie pies in a sealed container in the fridge. They taste delicious cold!
Sure can. Whoopie pies hold up well in the freezer for about 2 months. Make sure to double wrap them in freezer bags to preserve best freshness.
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel: makes two delicious moist coffee cakes
- Pumpkin Spice Fudge
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake: two layers of delicious pumpkin cake, a layer of creamy cheesecake and topped with cream cheese frosting!
- Pumpkin Spice Biscotti: crunchy biscotti, better than store bought!
- Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Toffee Frosting: between the moist pumpkin cupcakes and the rich maple buttercream frosting, this is a winner of a recipe!
Easy Cookie Recipes
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Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Pies:
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 can pure pumpkin 15oz
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the Filling:
- 1 package cream cheese, softened 8oz
- ⅓ cup butter softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients for whoopie pies until blended.
- Spoon batter into a large ziploc bag. Snip of corner of bag. Pipe circles of filling, using a spiral rotation, onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet (my circles were about 2 1/2 inch). Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Remove and cool.
- When completely cooled, make the filling. Beat cream cheese and butter for 3 minutes in mixer.
- Add powdered sugar and heavy cream. Beat an additional 3 minutes until fluffy. Add more cream if necessary.
- Scoop tablespoons of filling onto one whoopie pie and top it with a matching sized cookie.
Notes
- Use a pencil and bowl to draw circles on parchment paper to create evenly sized cookies. Make the cookies as evenly sized as possible so that every cookie has a match! Be sure to flip paper over so pencil doesn’t transfer to cookies.
- Make sure to let the cakes cool completely before adding the filling, otherwise the filling will soften and ooze out the sides of the whoopie pies.
- Want your filling to be thicker? Add less cream. Want it to be thinner? Add more cream while beating until the desired consistency is reached.
- Swap out the ginger, nutmeg, and cloves for 1 1/4 teaspoon homemade pumpkin pie spice mix.
- STORAGE: Store whoopie pies in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 5 days (they taste delicious cold)! Do not leave out for more than two hours.
- FREEZE: Freeze in airtight container for up to two months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.
- See blog post for lots of recipe tips and tricks!
Nutrition
This is NOT your every day pumpkin dessert! These easy Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are the perfect marriage of pumpkin and frosting. Pair with a glass of milk for childhood nostalgia!
I have a dairy allergy and can’t use heavy cream. Is there something else I can use in place of it? Nothing either coconut or almonds either.
Oatmilk would work, and I believe Country Crock has a plant version of heavy cream that works too!
There is a big ad covering a portion of the the recipe on page 1 for the Pumpkin Whoopi Pie when printed . 😏
Oh that’s not supposed to happen, I will have my tech team look into it, sorry that happened to you!
These are so good. Mine turned out bigger than what they should have been. But that was my fault. But I will make again.
too late, wish i had seen this reply first, my cookies/cakes look like those carnival lollipops and do not any height in the middle…..next time spoon them on and see how it looks
I made these and they were delicious!! My friends loved them and I took them to work with great success. The only tip I can give is this: DO NOT use Hefty zip bags if you’re piping with a plastic bag. The bottom is all folded weird, so when I cut it my dough came out wonky and messy. Had to fix it later. The recipe is spot on, I will definitely be using this every year!
I’ve been wanting to try making whoopie pies from scratch but was a bit overwhelmed. They are actually easy to make and Aimee makes it so easy!!
I love pumpkin and I love whoopie pies. The ultimate sandwich cookie. These pumpkin whoopie pies are perfect for the Fall. Soft and delicious. Love this recipe!
I made these yesterday for my kids and their friends and they loved them!