Do-it-yourself pumpkin whoopie pies are a festive fall dessert constructed from moist and tender pumpkin-shaped cookies stuffed with candy cream cheese filling.
These cute pumpkin sandwich cookies are the right deal with to make for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and past. For those who love these, strive my Apple Butter Whoopie Pies, too!
I’ve so many pumpkin desserts for fall, however as we speak’s recipe is a little bit completely different. These pumpkin whoopie pies positively put the “pumpkin” in “pumpkin dessert”, as a result of they’re really formed like plump little pumpkins! It is a enjoyable fall twist on whoopie pies made with creamy cream cheese filling sandwiched between smooth and fluffy “orange velvet” cookies. These selfmade pumpkin whoopie pies couldn’t be simpler to make and so they’re good for adorning, irrespective of the event.
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Recipe
Gentle, chewy sandwich cookies. These cookies are primarily chocolatey crimson velvet cookies, dyed pumpkin orange for fall. They’re melt-in-your-mouth smooth, like little clouds wrapped round wealthy and tangy cream cheese frosting.
Creamy filling. I fill these cookies with a variation of the cream cheese frosting from my carrot cake recipe. The creamy filling pairs completely with the chocolate and buttermilk flavors within the cookies.
Straightforward to customise. Adapt the flavors of those whoopie pies and the way you embellish them relying on the event. They’re nice to make for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or any fall gathering.
Elements You’ll Want
Beneath are some notes on the elements you’ll want for the cookies and filling. Keep in mind to scroll to the recipe card for the complete quantities and recipe particulars.
Flour
Cocoa Powder: I like to recommend utilizing a good-quality unsweetened pure cocoa powder.
Butter: I like to recommend baking with unsalted butter. Keep in mind to take the butter out of the fridge forward of time, to let it come to room temperature.
Brown Sugar: Mild brown sugar offers the cookies a deeper, extra caramelized taste. Common granulated sugar additionally works right here, the flavour simply gained’t be fairly the identical.
Egg and Vanilla
Buttermilk: Buttermilk provides scrumptious tanginess and moisture to those orange velvet cookies. The acidity additionally reacts with the cocoa powder and baking powder, for mild, smooth, completely puffed cookies. For those who don’t have buttermilk, see my publish on how to make a buttermilk substitute.
Meals Coloring: You’ll want orange meals dye for coloring the cookie batter, and every other colours you’d like for adorning.
For the Cream Cheese Filling
Cream Cheese and Butter: Take your cream cheese and butter out of the fridge forward of time. Room-temperature elements are simpler to combine.
Vanilla
Powdered Sugar: Additionally known as confectioner’s sugar, powdered sugar thickens the filling.
The way to Make Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Get able to whoop it up! Right here’s how simple it’s to make good pumpkin whoopie pies from scratch:
Combine the moist and dry elements individually. Begin by creaming collectively butter and sugar, adopted by the egg and vanilla, and beat to mix. Combine the dry elements collectively in a separate bowl.
Mix. Subsequent, add the dry elements to the moist elements, alternating with buttermilk till easy.
Add meals coloring. Add orange meals coloring, a little bit at a time, to attain your required coloration. Gel meals dyes are stronger, and also you’ll want much less coloration consequently. Combine the batter till the colour is evenly distributed.
Pipe the pumpkin shapes. Now, switch the orange cookie batter to a piping bag. You can even use a Ziploc bag with the nook snipped off. Gently pipe the batter out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, creating “coronary heart” shapes to resemble pumpkins. Remember to depart about 2 inches between every pumpkin, to account for spreading.
Bake. Bake your pumpkin cookies at 375ºF for six minutes. These cookies bake shortly, and also you wish to take them out whereas they’re nonetheless barely underbaked. They need to be simply set, and nonetheless a little bit smooth within the middle.
Cool. Go away the cookies to chill on the baking sheet for a minute or two earlier than shifting them to a wire rack. Be sure that the cookies are fully cooled to room temperature earlier than filling them with frosting.
Filling the Whoopie Pies
As soon as your fluffy pumpkin-shaped cookies are baked and cooled, they’re prepared for the cream cheese filling. Assembling these whoopie pies is straightforward to do:
Make the frosting. Cream collectively butter and cream cheese till the combination is easy and fluffy. Slowly beat in powdered sugar till mixed, then up the blending velocity and provides the frosting whip.
Fill the cookies. Switch the frosting to a piping bag (or one other Ziploc bag). Flip one-half of the cookies in order that their undersides are going through upward. Pipe a layer of frosting onto every cookie half, then press a second cookie over the frosting to type a sandwich.
Methods to Enhance Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
As soon as your pumpkin whoopie pies are assembled, you will get inventive with methods to brighten! Listed below are some concepts:
Pumpkin Stems: Damaged mini pretzels make good little pumpkin stems! Break off items and press them into the filling on the prime of your pumpkin whoopie pies to create “stalks”.
Frosting: Make additional cream cheese frosting or a batch of regular buttercream frosting to make use of when adorning your whoopie pies. Shade the frosting inexperienced to pipe cute little vines and leaves over every cookie.
Jack-O-Lantern Cookies: For a enjoyable Halloween variation, use black frosting to pipe spooky Jack-O-Lantern faces onto your pumpkin whoopie pies.
Add-Ons: Use a small quantity of frosting to stick decorations like chocolate chips, M&Ms, or sweet corn onto every cookie.
Recipe Ideas and Variations
Observe the following pointers for one of the best pumpkin whoopie pies, plus some simple variations to strive:
Use room temperature elements. Room-temperature butter and cream cheese mix extra easily with the opposite elements, and the cookies will bake extra evenly consequently.
Don’t overmix the batter. Over-mixing the batter can yield robust, dense cookies.
Attempt to make the cookies as even-sized as attainable. You can also make these pumpkin whoopie pies as massive or as small as you’d like, however ensure that the cookies are related in measurement if you pipe them onto the baking sheet.This manner every cookie may have two halves that match.
Let the cookies cool fully earlier than including the filling. If the cookies are nonetheless heat, the cream cheese frosting will soften.
To arrange these whoopie pies a day or two forward, make the cookies and filling, after which retailer the parts individually. You’ll be able to assemble the pumpkin whoopie pies earlier than serving. This manner the cookies gained’t get soggy or squished throughout storage.
Add pumpkin spice. Add a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice or floor cinnamon to the cream cheese filling.
Use one other filling. You’ll be able to fill these pumpkin whoopie pies with one other taste of frosting. Attempt my brown sugar frosting, or borrow the maple frosting from my pumpkin cake recipe.
What to Serve with Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
These smooth, fluffy pumpkin whoopie pies are a scrumptious deal with with a heat mug of espresso, tea, or a comfy pumpkin spice hot chocolate within the afternoon. They’re additionally a enjoyable dessert for Halloween events, fall gatherings, and Thanksgiving. Listed below are some simple concepts:
The way to Retailer
Fridge: These pumpkin whoopie pies are high quality to maintain at room temperature when you’re serving them inside 2 hours. As a result of cream cheese filling, nonetheless, it’s finest to maintain them refrigerated after that. Retailer them hermetic for as much as 3-4 days within the fridge.
Freezer: Wrap your whoopie pies or retailer them hermetic and preserve them frozen for as much as 3 months. Defrost the whoopie pies within the fridge earlier than serving.
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Within the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar collectively on medium velocity for two minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, and blend till mixed, scraping the perimeters of the bowl as essential.
In a separate bowl, whisk collectively the dry elements.
With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the dry elements to the bowl with the moist elements, adopted by 1/3 of the buttermilk. Alternate including dry elements and buttermilk till nicely integrated, starting and ending with the dry elements.
Shade the batter orange utilizing orange meals coloring. You might want so as to add roughly relying on the kind of meals coloring you’re utilizing. Combine the batter on low till the colour is even, scraping down the perimeters of the bowl.
Switch the cookie batter to a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with the nook snipped off.
Pipe the batter in pumpkin shapes (sort of a fats coronary heart form) on the ready baking sheet. Go away about 2 inches of house between every cookie.
Bake at 375ºF for about 6 minutes, or till the cookies are set.
Let the cookies cool on baking sheet for two minutes, after which switch to a wire rack to complete cooling.
Filling
Within the clear bowl of your stand mixer (or handheld mixer) beat collectively the butter and cream cheese till easy.
On low velocity, add in vanilla and powdered sugar.
Flip the mixer velocity as much as medium and beat till mixed, scraping the perimeters of the bowl as wanted.
Use a piping bag or spatula to unfold one half of every cookie with cream cheese filling. Place the second half of every cookie over the filling to create a sandwich.
Enhance as desired.
Notes
Retailer hermetic at room temperature for as much as 5 days
