Pumpkin whoopie pies are soft, spiced sandwich cookies filled with maple cream cheese frosting. It's a cozy fall treat perfect for cool-weather baking.
Prepare the cookie batter: Cream together oil and brown sugar. Add pumpkin and eggs and mix together. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg, and mix to incorporate.
1 ¾ cups light brown sugar, 1 cup neutral oil, 1 ½ cups pumpkin puree, 3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 large eggs, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cloves, ½ tsp ground nutmeg
Bake the cookies: Using a small ice cream (cookie) scoop (#40), drop onto a lined or greased baking sheet. I like small whoopie pies (they do expand in the oven) so I make mine about two tablespoons in size to bake. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes until the dough springs back when you lightly push it with your finger. Let cool completely before filling.
Make the filling: Cream the butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla extract, maple extract, and powdered sugar, and mix until completely incorporated.
4 oz cream cheese, 12 tbsp (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp maple extract (optional), 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
Assemble the cookies: Use a spoon or small ice cream scoop to fill cooled whoopie pies with cream. Place a pie on top, sandwiching the pies.