Flavors of Fall {Pumpkin Whoopie Pies}

A few weeks ago, we were at our neighbor’s house for a potluck dinner and one neighbor brought whoopie pies.  When I was pregnant, I developed a mild obsession with whoopie pies and would eat them whenever I came across them.  Like that one time I walked by a package of them at Trader Joe’s and could not leave without them—I ate one as soon as I got in the car.  And then had another once I got home.  Let’s just keep that between us, okay?

Anyways, I love pumpkin as much as the next person, I had an occasion to bake this past weekend and I remembered seeing these on Eat, Live, Run.  So I made them.

I need to apologize to you before I give you the recipe.  I don’t have step-by-step photos to share.  I was pretty excited to just be in the kitchen with enough time to bake while Caroline was napping and was afraid if I took the time for photos as well I would run out of time and not be able to finish.  I promise I will get the hang of this soon and will be back to my usual photography.

{Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cinnamon Buttercream}
This recipe is slightly adapted from Eat, Live, Run.

Ingredients {makes 9 pies}

For the cakes

• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar {or if you only have light brown sugar on hand, use 1 cup of light brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of molasses}
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup of pureed pumpkin
• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/16 teaspoon ground white pepper

For the buttercream

• 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
• 1.5 cups of powdered sugar
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon {depending on taste}
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In one bowl, combine the brown sugar, molasses and oil.  Once combined, add in the pumpkin and egg and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir well to combine.

Using a cookie scoop {or any utensil you have} place golf ball-sized portions of the batter on to lined baking sheets.  Be sure to be consistent with the portions so that the cakes will fit well together.

Bake for 12 minutes.

Cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the frosting, use a stand or hand mixer to cream the butter until it’s smooth. Add the sugar and beat for 10 minutes.  Add the cinnamon and vanilla and beat until combined.

To assemble, I piped the buttercream {using a plastic bag with a corner cut off} onto a cooled cake then topped it with another cake.

I prepared the cakes and buttercream earlier in the day then stored them separately in the refrigerator.  I took them out about 20 minutes before serving so that the buttercream could soften enough to be piped.

These were the perfect ending to a fall meal—the cinnamon in the buttercream is a great compliment to the pumpkin cakes.

I’m kind of regretting cutting this recipe in half.

Enjoy! {And HAIL!}

Recipe adapted from Eat, Live, Run.

Tagged as: baked, desserts, pumpkin