- Because these are much smaller sized whoopie pies than from the original recipe, I’ve adjusted the baking temperature, time to bake and amount of batter needed for each cookie side.
- I’ve tried making the whoopie pies with and without a whoopie pan. Honestly, a special pan is not needed. Whether you use a special pan or not, remember to flatten out the batter into a disk shape (like a hockey puck), to avoid creating a high-dome shaped cookie.
- Note that the cream cheese filling can be made in advance. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature (for easier handling) before using to pipe onto cookies.
- Note: In my original writing/post of this recipe with my modifications, I wrote I used a 2-tablespoon scoop for the cookie dough. In fact, I believe it was a 1-tablespoon scoop.
with Cream-Cheese Filling
Makes 26 petite, sandwiched cookies
Ingredients for Cookies
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 tablespoon ground cloves
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Filling
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Make the Cookies
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets with either nonstick baking mats or cut-to-size parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk until well incorporated and then add egg and vanilla. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture in batches and whisk until thoroughly combined.
Using a cookie scoop with a 1-tablespoon capacity, drop scoops of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1-inch apart (or fill the wells of a mini-whoopie pie pan). Flatten out dough by lightly dipping your fingers into water and creating a disc shape. Bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top -OR- a toothpick inserted into center of cookie comes out clean, about 9-10 minutes.
Make the Cream Cheese Filling
Sift confectioner’s sugar into a medium bowl. In a bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter. Add cream cheese and beat until combined. Add confectioner’s sugar and vanilla, scrapping sides with a rubber spatula, until smooth.
Assemble
Prepare a pastry bag with 3/4-full of the cream cheese filling. On completely cooled cookies, generously pipe the underside/flat-side of the cookie with filling. Sandwich with another cookie, flat-side-to-flat-side with filling in-between, pressing into each other slightly so that the filling spreads to the edges of cookie.
Refrigerate cookies at least 30-minutes to 1-hour before serving. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days (if they last that long!).