Make baking joyful this season with these Pumpkin Whoopie Pies! These incredibly moist cakes come together in no time. The vanilla bean cream cheese frosting is the perfect filling to a wonderfully spiced cake!
It’s almost here—Thanksgiving. As the internet gets bogged down with pie recipes, I wanted to share my favorite go-to whoopie pie recipe.
I’ve tried countless whoopie pie recipes, so it’s rare when I find one I like. For me, a whoopie has to be moist. Nothing is worse than biting into two fat blobs of dry saw-dusty cakes that crumble like cremated ashes. When it comes down to it, whoopie pies are dessert sandwiches, so whoopie pies need to be moist and sturdy.
Though common whoopie pies use a saturated fat (like shortening or butter), these Pumpkin Whoopie Pies use vegetable oil. Now you may think oil leads to a crumbly cake, but continue reading my readers! The sturdy crumb of these Pumpkin Whoopie Pies is not sturdy in the sense of tough or leaden. Here, the Pumpkin Whoopie Pies have a cross between a cake and brownie—tender yet with fudge-like (not gooey) moistness. The high ratio of sugar and the addition of pumpkin provide the needed structure.
This no-fail vanilla bean cream cheese frosting compliments the complex flavors of the Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. Not only is the flavor spot on, but the frosting is the perfect consistency. The frosting will hold up and not ooze out of the sides.
The pictures are simple and crisp, because I think these Pumpkin Whoopie Pies shouldn’t be reserve for the autumn season. They’re downright delicious and should be a staple in your recipe box all year long, or while pumpkin puree supplies last!
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- For the Pumpkin Whoopie Pies:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 15 ounces pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- For the Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting:
- ½ cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 ounce cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
- In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the sugars, oil, and pumpkin of a medium speed until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing to incorporate. Add in vanilla.
- With the mixer’s speed on low, slowly add the dry ingredients, beating until it is just combined.
- Using an ice cream scoop, portion out the pies, leaving 1 to 2 inches on either side.
- Bake for 11 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway. They will have risen, but you won’t see any signs of browning. Let them rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on a medium speed until smooth and lump free, about 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl down as needed.
- Add in vanilla and salt.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the powdered sugar. Refrigerate until needed.
- Fill a pastry bag fitted with an open star tip with the frosting. On one whoopie pie, pipe a circle of shell like you would a cake border. Fill the center with frosting. Secure the second whoopie pie onto the frosting.