Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

Hey there. Before we talk about Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Filling, I had a little something I wanted to tell you.

The thing is, I have a really great niece named Belle.  She’s 14 years old, sweet and darling and kind. Everything an Aunt could ask for in a niece, really. Not only is the sweet thing as pleasant as a peach, but she has a wonderful talent. The girl can style hair like nobody’s business. Fancy braids, simple twists, elegant up do’s, styles for little girls, trendy styles for teenage girls. She’s got a real knack. Anyhow, why is this important to you? She and her mom have launched a beautiful blog called Locks and Locks Of Hairstyles.  I thought you should know about it because I’m pretty sure some of you have hair. I bet you even comb it on a regular basis, and might enjoy a new idea or two. :) My girls and I browse Belle’s blog all the time. Hope you enjoy it as much as we have.  You can link to it here.

Now, let’s talk Pumpkin. I have been itching to bake with the tasty stuff for a while now. These Pumpkin Whoopie pies did not disappoint. They taste a lot like the infamous Pumpkin Roll, without all of the fuss. If you haven’t ever had the pleasure of eating a whoppie pie, you are in for a real treat. Whoopie pies are soft cake like cookies that sandwich a fluffy filling. Kind of like a cupcake in a cookie form, if you will. Hope you try them, hope you love them!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling
PRINT RECIPE

Time: 60 minutes
Yield: 30 whoopie pies
Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

WHOOPIE PIES:
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
10 T butter, softened
2 spice cake mixes
4 eggs
1 C milk
1 t vanilla

CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
4 T butter, softened
1 t vanilla
4 C powdered sugar
1 T maple syrup
dash salt

1. Turn your oven to 350 degrees and find yourself a nice can of pumpkin. You will need the small 15 ounce can. Toss it into your stand mixer, or large mixing bowl. Add 10 tablespoons softened butter and mix the two together until well combined. 3 minutes should do the trick.

2. To your mixer add two spice cake mixes, you may want to sift these ingredients as they go into the mixer. Sometimes, depending on how long they have been on the shelf, the contents of the box can get a bit clumpy.
3. Add 4 eggs, 1 cup of milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix until well combined.

4. Drop the batter onto a cookie sheet you have sprayed with cooking spray. You want about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter per cookie.

5. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, or until the top springs back if you lightly tap it. Let the pies rest on the hot cookie sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool completely.

6. Into your stand mixer place 2 packages of cream cheese and 4 tablespoons of softened butter. Beat the two together until it’s nice and smooth, remembering to scrape the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to be sure you get all of the cream cheese evenly incorporated.
7. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, 4 cups of powdered sugar and 1 T maple syrup. Beat until all is nice and smooth.

8. Frost the underside of a pie with some filling and then place another pie on top.

9. Repeat until all the pies are filled. If you have trouble with them sticking to the parchment, try sprinkling the tops with a bit of powdered sugar.

Serve and enjoy!