pumpkin whoopie pies with brown butter cream cheese frosting

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are pillowy soft and made with a whole can of pumpkin and plenty of cozy pumpkin spice. They’re sandwiched around a silky brown butter cream cheese frosting and topped with a flurry of powdered sugar. Serve these pumpkin treats at a Halloween party or Thanksgiving!

this recipe

It’s the time of year for all things pumpkin, and I’m calling it now – these are sure to be one of your new favorite treats! They’re oh-so-easy to make, a huge crowd-pleaser, and they even use a whole can of pumpkin. Let’s dive in!

Why you’ll love Pumpkin Whoopie Pies:

• Pillowy Soft Cakes – Pillowy soft whoopie pies are ultra moist and fluffy, and stay that way for days!
• Packed with Pumpkin – This recipe uses a whole can of pumpkin, and plenty of pumpkin spice for tons of flavor!
• Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting – A luscious brown butter cream cheese frosting with a hint of cinnamon perfectly compliments these pillowy whoopie pies! Good luck not eating it by the spoonful, hehe.

Ingredient Overview:

As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found at the bottom of this post.

• All-purpose flour – Spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a flat utensil for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour will lead to too much flour, and a potentially dry bake.
• Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.
• Eggs – Use large eggs, at room temperature.
• Pumpkin – Be sure to use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. This also comes in a can but has other ingredients added.
• Cream Cheese – Use full fat cream cheese for best results.
• Cozy Spices – These are packed full of pumpkin pie spice – cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. The spices beautifully enhance the pumpkin flavor!

Recipe Variations:

• Dairy-free – Use your favorite, trusted dairy-free butter and cream cheese to make this recipe dairy-free.
• Brown Butter – You can skip the brown butter in a pinch, although it is incredibly delicious!
• Salted Caramel – These would be extra delicious with 1/4 cup of my salted caramel sauce recipe mixed into the frosting and/or with extra caramel sauce drizzled on top. It compliments the fall flavors so well!
• Chocolate Chips – If you want to add chocolate chips to these, I think the best way would be to plop a handful on top of each of the portioned out blobs of batter, rather than mixing them into the batter.

How to Make Pumpkin Whoopie Pies:

Step 1: Brown the Butter. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Then, continue cooking it, stirring occasionally, until it’s deeply golden brown with a rich, nutty aroma. Pour into a separate bowl to to cool (this is for the frosting).

Step 2: Make the Whoopie Pie Batter. Whisk together melted butter, oil, eggs, pumpkin, and the sugars in a large bowl. Fold in the dry ingredients, scraping the bowl well. The batter will be slightly thick and a bit lumpy.

Step 3: Dollop Batter onto Baking Sheet. Drop two tablespoon size dollops of batter onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Step 4: Bake. Bake as directed in the recipe card below for best results. A toothpick inserted into the center of the whoopie pies will pull out some moist crumbs, not wet batter.

Step 5: Make the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Filling. In a medium bowl, beat together the brown butter and cream cheese. This will look curdled at first but it will smooth out after a few minutes. Mix in the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon.

Step 6: Frost the Pies. Use a piping bag fitted with a round tip (I used a Wilton 1A piping tip) to pipe a swirl of frosting onto half the cakes, then pop the tops on. You can also use a ziploc bag with the tip snipped off.

Serving + Storing:

Enjoy once frosted! Store these whoopie pies in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. They do need to be refrigerated because of the cream cheese in the frosting.

Use up the rest of your canned pumpkin (you’ll have to use 1 and 1/2 cans roughly for this recipe) in my Pumpkin Snickerdoodles or my Gooey Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls!

Expert Success Tips:

• Cooled Brown Butter – Be sure your brown butter is cooled to room temperature before making the frosting. If it’s warm, your frosting will be melty.
• Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
• Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.

FAQs:

Special Tools:

• Cookie Scoop – Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to dollop your batter. (This one says it technically holds 4 teaspoons, but it’s the one I always use.)
• Mixing Bowls – I love my set of glass mixing bowls for all things baking!

More Pumpkin Recipes to Love:

• Pumpkin Streusel Muffins with Maple Glaze
• Pumpkin Snickerdoodles with Rum Caramel
• Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
• Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
• Mom’s Best Ever Pumpkin Bread
• Pumpkin Pasties with Maple Glaze

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