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–+ servings

Easy Pumpkin Whoopie Pies With Cream Cheese Filling

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Soft, spiced pumpkin rounds meet tangy cream cheese filling in these easy whoopie pies. Warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger blend with real pumpkin purée in tender, cake-like rounds, while the whipped cream cheese or mascarpone filling adds just enough tang to balance the sweetness.
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Prep Time 14 minutes
Cook Time 29 minutes
Total Time 43 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Whoopie Pie Batter
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature (170 grams)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar 110 grams
  • 3/4 cup dark or light brown sugar packed (154 grams)
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 346 grams
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 cup whole milk 120 ml
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil 60 ml
  • 1 cup pumpkin purée 250 grams; see note
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Filling
  • 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature (226 grams)
  • 8 oz cream cheese or mascarpone room temperature; do not use spreadable
  • 2 cups confectioners' sugar 120 grams per cup, divided
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch kosher salt

Equipment

  • Stand mixer with paddle attachment
  • 2 baking sheets
  • Parchment paper
  • Medium mixing bowl
  • Glass measuring cup or small bowl
  • 1/4-cup cookie or muffin scoop
  • Wire cooling rack
  • Piping bag with circular tip (or resealable plastic bag)

Method
 

  1. Heat your oven to 350°F / 175°C. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper and set them aside.
  2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger in a medium bowl, whisking until uniform. In a separate measuring cup or small bowl, mix the milk, oil, vanilla, and pumpkin purée until smooth. Set both mixtures aside.
  3. Place the first portion of butter, white sugar, and brown sugar in your stand mixer bowl with the paddle attached. Beat on medium speed until the mixture becomes lighter in color and fluffy. Add the first egg and beat on medium-low speed until fully blended, scraping the bowl as needed. Repeat with the second egg.
  4. Turn the mixer to low and add one-third of the dry mixture to the creamed butter. Once combined, pour in half of the pumpkin mixture. Continue alternating dry and wet mixtures, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix just until the flour is no longer visible, then turn off the mixer. Gently fold the batter by hand to ensure even mixing without overdeveloping the gluten.
  5. Use a 1/4-cup scoop to portion six mounds of batter onto each prepared sheet, shaping them as circular as possible with a spoon. Bake for 16 minutes, rotating the sheets and swapping their positions halfway through. The edges should be lightly browned and the tops should spring back when touched. Let the pies cool on the sheets for 3 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with any remaining batter.
  6. In a clean mixer bowl with the paddle attached, beat the remaining butter and one cup of confectioners' sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese or mascarpone and vanilla, beating until smooth. Scrape the bowl, then add the second cup of confectioners' sugar and salt. Beat on medium speed until combined, then reduce to low and run the mixer for 3 minutes to remove air bubbles and create a smooth, pipeable filling.
  7. Fill a piping bag fitted with a circular tip (or a resealable bag with one corner snipped) with the cream cheese filling. Pipe the filling onto the flat side of half the cooled pies, then gently press a plain pie on top of each to form a sandwich.

Notes

Use plain pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling, as canned pie filling contains added sugar and spices that will throw off both flavor and texture. Do not use spreadable or low-fat cream cheese for the filling, since stabilizers make it runny and difficult to pipe; mascarpone is a great milder-flavored substitute. Cool the whoopie pies completely before piping the filling, as even slightly warm pies will cause the cream cheese mixture to slide. Assembled whoopie pies can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days; let them sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving. To make ahead, bake and cool the rounds up to two days in advance and store unfilled at room temperature, then make the filling and assemble the day you plan to serve them.

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