Pumpkin Whoopie Pies & Cake Ball Fails: Baking Memories Over Picture-Perfect Treats

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Not everything I bake is for sale. Some treats are just for us — for the messy, laughing, flour-on-your-face kind of memories that make the holidays what they are.

This Thanksgiving, I tried something brand new: pumpkin whoopie pies. First time ever! I pulled out another one of my laminated kitchen favorites — Preppy Kitchen’s Pumpkin Whoopie Pies recipe — and decided to go for it. Since we are obsessed with autumn baking flavors in this house, these pair beautifully alongside my No-Gummy-Middles Pumpkin Bread recipe!

I used my 3-tablespoon cookie scoop (a Size 20 scoop) to portion the cakes, whipped up a cream cheese icing in my KitchenAid stand mixer, and piped the filling into each sandwich once the cakes cooled. Then I wrapped them individually in plastic wrap and tucked them in the fridge.

And can we talk about the cake balls? My son took a pass at making cake balls with me, and y’all — he could NOT get those balls to stay on the sticks. We were all laughing so hard, stuffing our faces, not caring one bit that nothing looked picture-perfect.

That’s the thing about baking at home. It’s not always about the boutique packaging or the perfect crumb. Sometimes it’s just about making the memories — the laughter, the taste-testing, the ‘oops’ moments that become the stories you tell for years.

A Quick Note on Cream Cheese Fillings

Because these whoopie pies have a cream cheese icing, they need to stay refrigerated. And if you’re a cottage food baker: check your state laws before selling anything with cream cheese! Many states don’t allow potentially hazardous fillings in cottage food products. These are a family treat, not a market item — and that’s perfectly okay.

Happy baking, friends — messes and all!