Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Creamy Cream Cheese Filling


It's October already! Oh how I love the Fall season! But here in the Malibu, there isn't much of a fall "season" per say. For instance, yesterday, the temperature reached the mid 80's! The sun was beautifully glistening on the ocean and the sky was a clear, bright blue. Just gorgeous! 

However, to remind myself that it really is Fall and that we're really in October now, I wanted to bake something with one of my favorite Fall ingredients: Pumpkin! I bought a can of pumpkin from the grocery store last weekend, determined to make something sweet with this tasty squash. I searched and searched for recipes on the web, debating between pumpkin bars swirled with cream cheese or maybe even pumpkin pie flavored ice-cream (did I mention it was in the 80's!). Finally, after viewing many mouth watering pictures of these treats, I couldn't resist trying my hand at making Whoopie Pies. 

This was my very first attempt at ever making whoopie...pies that is ;) And trust me, there was a lot to learn. I got the recipe from researching many others and cutting and pasting to create something I thought would work for me. It turned out to a little more challenging than the impression I got from other recipes. First off, my whoopie pies did not spread much while baking. I used my little cookie scoop to dish out uniformly sized cakes and on the first batch as I expected them to spread into flatter cookie-like shapes. This did not occur! Instead, they puffed straight up into little mounds! They looked super cute and tasted great, but it definitely wasn't what I expected. For my second batch, I tried using a spoon to flatten them out a bit, you know, give them a little direction as to which way to go. But alas, still poof and no spread. Finally, I got the idea to put the batter into a pastry bag and actually pipe out little swirls of the shape I was looking for and Volia! It worked beautifully! Besides being the perfect height and shape, they sure looked great topped with a little swirl designed that kept it's shape in the oven. It's funny how sometimes the last batch is the best :)

While my little pumpkins were baking I whipped up a little cream cheese frosting to go in the middle of the whoopie pie sandwich. Cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and just a hint of cinnamon... so simple but sooo yummy! Filling the whoopie pies also turned out to be another challenge altogether but that's mainly because I was trying to make them look nice by using a pastry bag and pipe out the filling with a star tip. But I suppose too much pressure is a bad thing with cream cheese frosting because the bag busted as I was trying to squeeze out a pretty design! Trust me folks, the best way to get whoopie pies filled is just to use a big ol' spoon and slather away! Plus once you squish the top half onto the bottom, the frosting does that lovely oozing thing, which in my opinion, it a sight to behold all in itself. 

Oh and because I used cream cheese as a filling, I think these whoopie pies taste phenomenal on the next day after being chilled in the fridge over night. The pies stay moist and the filling is soft and sweet, yet firm. But hey, it's up to you. They taste great either way. I highly recommend you try them as a way to kick off the pumpkin-y season because the smell of baking these will fill you with that cozy, "fall season" sensation. 

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling
Makes 12-14

3 cups AP Flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup Splenda (use could white sugar if you like)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 - 15 oz. can of pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat together brown sugar, Splenda, oil and pumpkin. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla. In a separate bowl, shift together the dry ingredients. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. 
Using a pastry bag with a round tip, or a big zip top plastic bag with one corner snipped, squeeze out concentric circles of batter, starting from the middle and working outward until the circles are about 2 inches in diameter. Bake for 11 minutes and cool on a rack.

Cream Cheese Filling
1 - 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 - 16 oz. package of powdered sugar
about a capful of vanilla extract
a pinch of cinnamon (to taste)

Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Frost flat side of half the pies and top with another piece. 

Enjoy right away or chill overnight.

65 comments:

Unknown said...

Those look so yummy, I will have to try... although I don't think I'll use splenda and I'll try to make it with fresh pumpkin that I will steam to soften - the markets in NY are packed with pumpkins.

J Kelly said...

Wow Ms. Lydia! I couldnt sleep this morning and found this gem on your blog. The frosting is delicious! I have yet to chill them, but they are wonderful to last bite room temp. Good blog! Good luck!

Anonymous said...

these look yummy! i'll be making these soon for the cookie carnival!

Anonymous said...

yum, pumpkin and cream cheese. there is no better combination this time of year :) and your photos are lovely!

Mansi said...

they look pretty inviting!:)

Julia from Dozen Flours said...

oh good idea with piping the cookie dough. I made these a month or so ago and getting the cookies ready for the oven was by far the most time time consuming part. My dough was REALLY thick though but I might have to give this technique a go.

Thank you!

Heather said...

yum! those look delicious! i love the cream cheese filling!!!

Rachelle S said...

These look great!!

Jin Hooi said...

Looks yummy!! This is the baking challenge for cookie carnival this month, however the recipe looks a bit different.. I simply can't wait to make these pumpkin whoopie pies !!!

Unknown said...

I just made these and they smell sooo good coming out of the oven! I also love the fact that they come out looking exactly like yours did...mmmmmm

Anonymous said...

These have been a HUGE hit with my family and coworkers! One coworker said she would leave her man to live with the pumpkin deliciousness forever!! Haha! Thanks for the great recipe!

Lydia said...

Wow!!

Thanks for the great response everybody! I'm so glad to that those of you who tried the recipe really enjoyed them. They really are worth the effort.

Thanks for keeping up the positivity :)

test it comm said...

Those cookies look good! I like the sound of using pumpkin in cookies.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Mmmm, I've seen these around, too! I need to jump on the bandwagon! Yours looks good, I do like the swirl effect yours had, very nice! Thanks for the tip!
~ingrid

x said...

made these last weekend, sooo tasty, i had to start giving a lot away b/c i couldn't stop eating them haha. thanks!

PammyB said...

Absolutely the most delicious cookie I've eaten!!! Many thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!

Sarah said...

Using butter instead of oil will make the cookies spread. I modified this recipe to make it gluten-free and substituted my own flour blend 1:1. My chef brother asked for the recipe - which I took as compliments to the non-chef (me)! My compliments to you for a great recipe!

Unknown said...

Hi,
I saw Sarah's posting and would like to know if she shares the gluten free flour mixture that she made her Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with? Below is her posting....
Thanks Hillra
Using butter instead of oil will make the cookies spread. I modified this recipe to make it gluten-free and substituted my own flour blend 1:1. My chef brother asked for the recipe - which I took as compliments to the non-chef (me)! My compliments to you for a great recipe!

November 29, 2008 5:24 AM

LeishaLewis said...

I am wondering if I need to do anything to the baking pan itself. Do I grease it or put parchment paper on it?

Diane Hodrick said...

Just saw these on pinterest! Can't wait to try! Thanks for sharing!

Lisa said...

I left America 10 years ago and I desperately missed my pumpkin whoopie pies. NO idea why I never thought to make it myself but I saw this on pinterest and gave it a go. It was brilliant! Thanks so much!!

Kerry said...

I just made this and they were FABULOUS!!! Just what i needed to make up for the bland pumpkin bread i made!

Brenna said...

Is it possible to leave out the ginger? I'm deathly allergic. OH NO!

Artbyasm said...

Oh my goodness these look perfect and so mouth watering!!!! I will definitely make these and link back to you. Thank you so much for sharing!!!!

Sweet Dreams,
Annamaria

Anonymous said...

I really need to stop visiting Pinterest when I'm having a craving for sweets. These look amazing!!

aschlaff said...

I haven't even put the frosting on yet and the cookies are OUTSTANDING! Yum yum and more yum! Thank you Pinterest!

Unknown said...

I am posting these on my blog today! I just finished making these, and they are amazing! Thank you!
http://sweetpeapartydesigns.com/

Anonymous said...

I've been making a version of these (mine are Pilgrim Pies!) for years. I've smoothed batch after batch out with my finger. I never thought of piping the batter! What a great idea! Thanks for sharing it.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to try. The kids will love them.

Unknown said...

I bake many things for my boyfriend and he usually says "this is pretty good!" but this time, he was like "OMG THIS IS THE BEST" haha. Thanks for the great recipe:) It was super easy.

Peace said...

Another SUPER EASY recipe:
1 15oz can pumpkin
1 box spice cake mix
1/2cup water
Mix all ingredients together (will be tempted to add more moisture, but don't!)
Spoon into cupcake pan - can use linrs or just grease the pan. Cook per cake package directions. A toothpick inserted that comes out clean means they're ready. Top with cream cheese frosting.
I tried this in a regular cake pan, but it was heavy and cooked unevenly, muffin pan is really best. Also, can add nuts or raisins or both!

kev39indiana said...

just finished a batch of these wonderful treats. we dont do much baking round here since the wife and i work different shifts, so our selection of spices is lacking somewhat. but when we were at the store earlier, laura found a can of pumpkin spice{which is made from cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves). so a little adjustment to the indredients and out popped some great tasting cookies!

Anonymous said...

Just made these for a party...tasted great but do not look as great as yours! My frosting was really runny so it was running out of the cookies...very messy, but still really tasty!

Allison said...

These look so good!!! Perfect fall treat :)

CC from land O Lakes said...

these were super yummy! Thank you for the recipe! My frosting was runny too..... so I added more powered sugar.

Anonymous said...

HOLY CRAP, these are seriously good!! I just baked them, and of course couldnt wait. I battered one up and OOOOOHHHHH my mouth was in heaven. I will now take a picture, and post it to my pinterest with the link, so all my friends can give them a try to.

Thank you for a wonderful recipe!! :D

Anonymous said...

An addendum to my post. I made this recipe EXACTLY as is, and had no problem watsoever with the frosting being too runny. The only thing I did differently was to pipe straight down, and spread out slightly with the back of a spoon to my desired size.

Amber said...

So yummy! Cookies looked just like yours and I am in love with the frosting. I used 2 bake sheets, oiled one and not the other. No need to oil at all though. (they look prettier if you don't).

Unknown said...

Made them yesterday evening....family loved them.....got at least 20 cookies (doubled)from the batch and some of them were quite large. I like them best chilled in the fridge. Thanks for sharing!

karina said...

these were a hit at my nephews birthday party this weekend! I'll have to be the debbie downer and ask though, do you have any idea how many calories are in one of these heavenly pies?

Sabrina said...

These were a hit at our football party last night! They were so good and easy to make! I loved the pastry bag idea! The recipe made more than I expected, which was great since we loved them so much! :-)

Maria-Francesca said...

I just made these and they came out wonderful! They are delicious!!

EdwinaR said...

Has anyone made these substituting applesauce for the oil?

Unknown said...

Sabrina,

Calorie count for any recipe can be figured out using the recipe tool at myfitnesspal.com. You input the ingredients and how many servings the recipe makes, and it spits out the calorie count and nutritional information. You must have an account to use the tool, though.

Unknown said...

Ok i don't understand how much cream cheese and powdered sugar to use I'm confused please help!!!!!!:)

Traci983 said...

You use an 8 oz. Pkge of cream cheese and a 16 oz. Pkge of powdered sugar.

Unknown said...

I made these today with my 4yr old daughter and they are wonderful! I just piped the frosting onto the cookies, the same way I piped the batter and had no issues. Thank you so much for sharing this lovely recipe!

Unknown said...

hi
I'm Doaa from Saudia Arabia, I just want to thank you for this wonderful recipe.I made them today for my family and they were great n yummy.
again thank you.

Unknown said...

Ok gals. I made these this morning for a Halloween party tonight. They are AWESOME! The swirl on top makes such a difference. I had to try one and OMG....delicious! Thank you for this recipe!!!!

Sarah said...

Just made these for my husband's battalion holiday dinner, and they were gone so quickly! I made them the night before and then put them in the fridge, and they kept just fine. Also I made mine smaller, maybe 1.5 inches across, and found that 8 minutes at 350 was a good baking time for them.

I also created some crazy brown sugar maple cream cheese-buttercream concoction to fill them with. I don't really know what I did specifically- just kind of kept adding things to the bowl until it was just right. They were fantastic- thanks for the recipe!!!

Denise said...

I so want to make these, and just bought a Whoopie Pie Pan. How much batter do you think I should fill each cavity with?

crystalsea said...

Great recipe, just made today, wouldn't change a thing!

PutABowOnIt said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
PutABowOnIt said...

Okay so not to be a Debby downer but the instructions for this are a little bit unclear in terms of just the lack of steps and I didn't know if this was a grease the pan kind of recipe (it wasn't). For the first four I made I forgot the oil... That was a mistake. I regretted it. Otherwise though... PERFECTION. I ate (no exaggeration) 8 cookies in the past hour... You are a genius.

Jennifer said...

As an American transplant in New Zealand, I needed some pumpkin in my life. Made and brought these to work today, everyone loved them and most had never had anything like it before. Total hit. I used pumpkin pie mix so just left out about 1/3 of the sugar and some of the spice since the pie mix already has it in there. Otherwise went really well!

Natalie Weger said...

These are so yummy! I used some store bought frosting (chocolate caramel) for the filling instead; the cookies themselves are very cakey and tasty!

Stephanie said...

This is my third year making these. They are always perfect and delicious! Everyone love them!

Unknown said...

11 minutes seemed too long as the first batch of cookies came out a little over done---bit could be my oven. I have second batch in the 9 minutes. Our apartment smells like heaven. We are babysitting 3 of our friends kids and they keep asking when they'll be ready. I'm sending them home with a batch for their family to enjoy :-)

kitty said...

Will make these for sure. Will not use Splenda, however. Can't imagine. That stuff is poison. All the rest sounds great!

Amy (So There, by Amy) said...

Making these now. Thanks!

Unknown said...

i make these every pumpkin season. this year i made them bite size. so good

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