The recipe prices will vary based on fluctuating grocery costs. Please use what is posted as a guide.
The classic New England dessert gets an update with pumpkin, spices, and maple! This Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting recipe is the perfect fall dessert!
This Pumpkin Whoopie Pies recipe serves 24 and costs $10.07 to make. That is only $0.42 per whoopie pie. This recipe’s low cost and high yield make them perfect for bake sales!
To fulfill all your pumpkin cravings, check out my Pumpkin bread, Pumpkin Chili, Pumpkin Popsicles, and last but not least, my Pumpkin Churro Waffles.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
As I’ve mentioned on my blog before, I grew up in New England, and the cuisine found there has made a lasting impression on me. Now that it’s fall and I no longer live in New England, I tend to get nostalgic this time of year.
New England, hands down, is the capital of fall: the crisp smell of leaves and apples that permeates the air, harvest festivals, apple-picking, fried dough, apple fritters, and the fantastic fall colors.
Yup, I miss home.
In honor of my New England roots, I wanted to adapt a treat that originated there: the whoopie pie! Some people call them the new cupcake, and I think they’re every bit as good (and cute) as the cupcake so they may have something there!
This Pumpkin Whoopie Pies recipe uses a lot of spices, but I think that’s what makes them so good.
PRO TIP! If you gather all of the ingredients to make this recipe, then you should be set for the entire fall baking season as far as spices go! Enjoy!
The moist layers of this part cookie and part cake dessert is the perfect Fall treat you did not know you were missing! Move over Pumpkin Pie; these Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are here to stay!
RELATED: Chocolate Whoopie Pies | Red Velvet Whoopie Pies | Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies
Recipe FAQ’s
It is not named after Whoopie Goldberg, as some mistakenly believe! The first Whoopie pies were served at the Labadie’s Bakery in Maine in 1925.
Whoopie pies are two small cakes sandwiched together with buttercream. The cakes don’t form a crust on them as cookies do. Consequently, while you eat a whoopie pie, the cake gets a little sticky in your hands.
The most likely cause of the whoopie pies coming out flat is due to the batter being too thin. When the batter is too thin, it does not hold up well in the oven. A thicker batter will hold its shape and puff up as it should during the baking process.
Whoopie pie filling can be made of almost anything from chocolate to buttercream. For this recipe, I use a maple cream cheese frosting to complement the pumpkin flavor of the cake sandwich layers.
Cook’s Tools:
- large mixing bowls
- whisk
- baking sheets
- parchment paper OR silicone baking mats
- Cookie scoop
- Stand Mixer OR handheld mixer
- large piping bag
- large circle icing tip
Ingredients and Estimated Cost
Per Serving Cost: $0.42
Recipe Cost: $10.07
- 3 cups all-purpose flour – $0.57
- 1 teaspoon salt – $0.01
- 1 teaspoon baking soda – $0.01
- 3 cups chilled pumpkin puree – $3.12
- 1 teaspoon baking powder – $0.15
- 2 ½ Tablespoons Pumpkin Pie Spice – $0.43
- 1 cup granulated sugar – $0.23
- 1 cup dark brown sugar – $0.44
- 2 large eggs – $0.20
- 1 cup vegetable oil – $0.48
- 2 large eggs – $0.20
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract – $0.62
- 3 cups powdered sugar – $0.87
- ½ cup unsalted butter – $0.80
- 8 ounces cream cheese – $1.96
- 3 Tablespoons maple syrup – $0.18
NOTE: The recipe prices are calculated by using grocery store websites. The actual cost of the recipe will vary depending on what ingredients you already have.
More pumpkin dessert recipes:
- Pumpkin-Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
- Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip
- Pumpkin Dump Cake
- Easy Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles with Cinnamon Chips
- Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Pumpkin Blossom Cookies
- Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Muffins
- Pumpkin Pecan Pie Monkey Bread
- Honey Kissed Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream
- Kettle Corn with Pumpkin Spice
- Pumpkin Blossom Cake
More from Food Folks and Fun
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
FOR PUMPKIN COOKIES:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 ½ Tablespoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3 cups chilled pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FOR MAPLE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Sprinkles or jimmies for garnish, optional
Instructions
MAKE PUMPKIN COOKIES:
- Move oven rack to middle positions, and preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices; set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk sugars and oil together. Add pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Whisk in eggs and vanilla until combined.
- Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined and no flour streaks remain.
- Use a cookie scoop with a 1.5-2 tablespoons capacity to drop dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.
- Baking 1 cookie sheet at a time, bake 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool on pan for about 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
MAKE FROSTING:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth with no visible lumps.
- Add cream cheese and beat until combined. Add powdered sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful not to overbeat filling or it will thin out. If you think the filling is too loose, put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up.
ASSEMBLE:
- Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down. Pipe filling onto the flat side of overturned cookies.
- Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of filling. Press down slightly so that filling spreads to cookie edges.
- Repeat until all cookies are used. If you’re using sprinkles to garnish, hold each whoopie pie in your hand and sprinkle the garnish in the crack of the whoopie pie and turn until all exposed frosting is covered.
- Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from this fantastic cookbook: Baked: New Frontiers in Baking.
Marilyn says
This is amazing Jillian,, I love it.. Great recipe, I cna’t wait to try it.. YUM.. Thanks so much for sharing and participating in the crawl.. It’s been SO much fun : ))..
Lorie says
These look great, Marilyn! My kids will love them!
Vicky says
Those look great and I want one NOW! I am a new follower from Too Cute Tuesday. Vicky @ www.messforless.net
Hollie - TheSevenYearCottage says
These look so good!
BellaVida says
Delicious! Everyone in my house will eat anything with sprinkles on it. 🙂
Jillian@FoodFolksandFun says
Thanks, Ladies! You should all try them out…they’re super easy to make!
Shannon says
You are seriously killing me. I love pumpkin anything and these look amazing. I can’t eat anything today until I get my blood taken.
Juls says
This recipe is amazing! I made these last night and my husband said they’ll have to be a staple now. Thanks for the recipe!
Jillian says
Juls, I am SO glad you enjoyed them! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Janeene says
Can yountell me approximately how many the recipe makes. Looks amazing and cannot wait to try them.
Jillian says
For some reason, my recipe plugin is stripping the serving sizes from all of my recipes. I’m in the process of getting that fixed.
Anyhow, this recipe makes 18 whoopie pies. Enjoy!
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
Jillian says
They keep for about 3-4 days.
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
I made this recipe last weekend and it was incredible! Thanks so much for sharing.
Ashley F says
The maple cream cheese frosting is so good I could eat it with a spoon! These whoopie pies turned out great!
Diane says
Thanks for sharing! Can these be made ahead and frozen?
Jillian says
Hi Diane,
I do not recommend freezing these because of the cream cheese frosting and the outside of the whoopie pies will get stick when thawed.
Kamille says
Hesitated on the pumpkin at first read. Still went with the recipe and they were phenomenal. Thank you very much for your contribution to my recipe book.
Jillian says
Kamille,
SO glad you liked these! Thanks for stopping by to let me know! 🙂
Donna says
Pumpkin is my absolute favorite fall flavor. I definitely need to try these delicious looking whoopie pies!
Barrie says
My mom and I love all things pumpkin. These look amazing and delish! The cookies/pies look very moist.
wilhelmina says
These are right up my alley! I love the pumpkin flavor and the filling is incredible!
Allison says
I LOVE the combo of pumpkin and maple! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
Angela says
These look amazing! I am measuring all my ingredients now. Is it 2 1/2 TABLESPOONS of pumpkin pie spice or teaspooons? I love pumpkin! It’s just almost my entire little jar along with the puree. I don’t want to overdo it. Thanks for clarifying!
Jillian says
Hi Angela, It’s 2 1/2 TABLESPOONS of pumpkin pie spice. Enjoy!!! If you run out of pumpkin pie spice, you can always make your w=own. (I do it often and it saves a lot of $. Here’s my recipe: https://foodfolksandfun.net/homemade-pumpkin-pie-spice/)
Alexis Vondran says
Should I keep these in the refrigerator or at room temperature to store? They are amazing!! Thank you!
Jillian says
Yes, keep them in the refrigerator. So glad you like them!