Hello my loves,
It is nearing the end of September and it’s almost officially Fall so I thought a new pumpkin recipe would be appropriate! Hence these pumpkin spice whoopie pies.
If you follow me on instagram, you probably saw that I was experimenting with a new cookie recipe the other day and it didn’t quite turn out like I was hoping. They had more of a pillowy, cake-like texture with a slight chewiness and I immediately knew that it in fact wasn’t a fail, but a major win.
Don’t you love when that happens? You put effort into something and at first glance (or taste, in this case) it seems like a fail but then you look at it again are like “ah ha!” that worked out alright. *pats self on back*
That’s what happened here! I set out to make one thing but instead was inspired to make it something else. Pumpkin Spice whoopie pies. The brown sugar in these really add a nice caramelized flavor and there’s maple syrup in here as well. Really pulling out all of the Fall stops for this one! I then made a simple yet decadent cream cheese frosting to sandwich in between the pumpkin spice cookies. For experimentation purposes, I added nuts to some to see how I liked the crunch factor. Honestly, not mad at it. However, I prefer keeping them sans nuts. Whatever floats your boat!
Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies
Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Pumpkin Cookies
- 2 sticks salted butter (1 cup), at room temp
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 egg, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese (half a block), softened to room temp
- 1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
- 2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For cookies
- Preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, cream together the softened butter and brown sugar. Beat in the maple syrup, pumpkin puree, egg and vanilla until combined and creamy. Next add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt. If using nuts, fold them in.
- Scoop a heaping tablespoon out and roll into a ball using your hands. Place a couple inches away from each other on the cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. While the cookies cool, make the frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large bowl using or hand mixer or paddle attachment on a mixer, add the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and half of the powdered sugar. Beat until most of that powdered sugar is combined, scrape down the edges with a spatula and then add in the remaining cup of powdered sugar. Beat until Creamy and smooth. Transfer to a ziplock bag and seal. Cut the tip off and you're ready to pipe onto the cookies.
- Assemble the whoopie pies! Turn a cookie upside down, pipe frosting onto it and cover with another cookie. Continue. This should make between 12-14 whoopie pies. (24-28 cookies) Store in a sealed container in the fridge.
If you make them, tag me @tessa_port!
