Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
I think that most of my fondest childhood memories take place in autumn. I love school (hence, I am a teacher), sweaters, cold weather, and the changing leaves. Above all, I LOVE being cozy at home. I think I could quite seriously stay home and never head any further than the supermarket and be completely happy. Autumn weather in NY lends itself to staying inside with its cool temperatures and many gray and rainy days.
As a kid, I made myself all sorts of projects in fall and winter to stay busy: reading, writing, drawing, and, of course, baking. My first bakes were not particularly impressive, mostly boxed brownies and cake mixes. My first scratch made baked goods were chocolate chip cookies taught to me by a German neighbor.
Heading to the kitchen to bake in autumn takes me straight back to those early, comforting memories. Baking was creating “home” for me, a super cozy home, and the same is true today; which is why I am so happy fall baking season has finally arrived! Pumpkin, apples, cinnamon, all a taste of home.
So pumpkin whoopie pies. One of my kids recently had one and sent me a photo, asking me to figure it out. And I did! I was concerned about making that dome shape, but it turned out to happen pretty naturally. The process was actually no more difficult than making cookies and the results are moist and a real taste of autumn.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice recipe in notes
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1 can pumpkin puree 15 oz.
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 8 oz block cream cheese
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and baking soda together in a large bowl.
- In a different bowl, mix together the brown sugar, sour cream, and 1/2 cup of butter until thoroughly combined. I used a stand mixer for this step.
- Mix in the pumpkin puree.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each.
- Mix in the 1 tsp of vanilla.
- Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. I did this by hand. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Using a cookie scoop, drop a large circle of the batter onto the cookie sheet. Try to keep an evenly round shape. Leave about 2 inches between cookies.
- Bake for 15 minutes (mine took 16). My oven is small and I am impatient, so I baked two trays at once, putting the top pan on the lower rack and the lower on the top rack, midway through the bake time. The whoopie pies are ready when they are springy to the touch and lightly browned on the bottom.
- Let the pies cool and prepare the cream cheese frosting.
- Beat the cream cheese and 1/2 cup of butter together until smooth.
- Add in 2 tsp of vanilla.
- Add in the sugar, one cup at a time. You may find you need a little more get your desired texture.
- Once the whoopie pies are completely cool, spread on some frosting. I used a pastry bag, but you can use a knife or a spoon.
- Cover with another whoopie pie to make a "sandwich."
