Maine will always have a special place in my heart (👋 favorite place on earth) and as such, so do whoopie pies. It may have snowed here in Michigan yesterday but I’m holding onto fall with both hands (really tightly) so I found time for one last batch of pumpkin spice whoopie pies.
It was 70 degrees last week so I wasn’t ready for winter to hit. Since whoopie pies evoke memories of Maine, summer and all things warm and sandy, they make the perfect cool weather treat. Especially since these particular whoopie pies are filled with one of my favorite fall flavors: pumpkin spice.
When we adopted our dog a little over a month ago, I knew that walks would get a lot more difficult as the temperatures dropped. What I didn’t realize was that the sun was going to disappear. It’s dark for our early morning walk and it’s dark for our evening and late-night walks. I’m not sure where the sun has gone but luckily Rocky is big and scary and protects me on our moonlight walks. Just kidding, unless I’m being attacked by a squirrel he’s not likely to be of any help to me. Also, I’m officially not watching any more Law and Order before bed. Or during the day. No need to add fuel to my already overactive imagination.
One of my coworkers recently joked that he was expecting me to be making more with maple, especially since I was now living so much farther north. Well, I haven’t figured out a good recipe for maple butter yet (if you have one please drop what you are doing and send it to me immediately) but the maple cream cheese filling on these whoopie pies is amazing. Also addictive and sweet and did I say amazing?
If you aren’t going to eat these pumpkin spice whoopie pies immediately, make sure to refrigerate them in an airtight container. If left out, they start to get sticky and when you get around to eating them, you’ll have a tough time getting it off your fingers! In such cases, licking your fingers is highly encouraged.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups brown sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup softened butter, divided
- 1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 8 ounce cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/8 teaspoon maple extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a non-stick mat and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar, vegetable oil and ½ cup butter. Once combined, mix in the pumpkin, followed by the eggs one at a time and the vanilla. Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour mixture in 3 batches.
- Use an ice scream scoop to space 6 scoops of dough on the baking sheet. Bake for 12-15. Let cool completely on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack until ready to add the filling.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the remaining butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar. Once combined, mix in the maple syrup and the maple extract. Scoop the icing onto the flat side of one cookies and top with another. Store in the fridge.
Lightly adapted from Delish
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