Vegan Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

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These vegan pumpkin whoopie pies with cheesecake filling are so easy to make and addictively good! They are cake-like spiced pumpkin flavoured cookies sandwiched with a rich, tangy cream cheese filling. These whoopie pies are moist, soft, tender, perfectly spiced and not too sweet, the perfect fall treat!

A stack of three vegan pumpkin whoopie pies on a metal plate, one with a bite taken out of it.

What Are Whoopie Pies?:

A whoopie pie is made of two soft, cakey “cookies” made by spooning mounds of a thick cake batter onto a baking tray so that they bake up into individual domes. These are then sandwiched together with frosting. They are essentially mini free-form sandwich cakes.

Traditionally they are made with chocolate cake and marshmallow frosting, though various other flavours exist, such as pumpkin, red velvet and gingerbread.

These vegan pumpkin whoopie pies combine tender spiced pumpkin cakes with a rich, creamy vanilla cheesecake filling. The filling is not overly sweet, so it offsets the sweetness from the cake perfectly, you won't be able to stop at just one!

A labelled photo of the ingredients needed to make vegan pumpkin whoopie pies.

Ingredient Details:

For The Whoopie Pies:

Tinned pumpkin puree: You need to use pure pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling. It is available from many larger supermarkets in the UK, or online. See instructions below for how to make your own.

Oil: Any neutral flavoured oil that is liquid at room temperature will work. I tend to use olive oil, but sunflower, canola, avocado or vegetable oils are also good.

Plain (all-purpose) flour: Just regular plain flour is best here. I haven't tested these whoopie pies gluten-free but I suspect that they would work ok with a plain GF flour blend.

Milk: Any variety of unsweetened non-dairy milk will work (except tinned coconut milk) but I like soy milk the best for baking as it has the highest protein content.

Brown sugar: Light brown sugar adds flavour and moisture, dark brown will work but will make the colour of the whoopie pies darker. I don't recommend using any other kind of sugar or sweetener.

Spices: I use ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; you can use 2 ½ teaspoons of pumpkin spice blend instead if you want.

Baking powder + soda: You need to use both, they are not interchangeable.

For The Cheesecake Filling:

Cream cheese: Use a firm vegan cream cheese so that the cheesecake sets properly, I use Violife.

Cashews: Blended soaked cashews provide body and creaminess.

Vegan butter: Helps the cheesecake to set, use a block style butter, not a spreadable one, or use coconut oil instead.

Icing sugar: I use icing (powdered) sugar as it dissolves easily. You can use caster or granulated sugar instead.

Lemon juice: Adds a bit of tang that tends to be lacking from vegan cream cheese. Fresh is best but bottled is also fine.

Cornflour (cornstarch): Helps to prevent the cheesecake from being watery, you can skip it if you don't have any.

Rows of vegan pumpkin whoopie pies in a parchment lined tin.

How To Make Vegan Pumpkin Whoopie Pies:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Step 1, soaking the cashews for the cheesecake.

Step 1: To make the cheesecake, cover the cashews with plenty of boiling water and leave to soak for 30-60 minutes.

Step 2, the blended cheesecake filling in a bowl.

Step 2: Drain the cashews really well then place them in a blender along with the cream cheese, melted butter, icing sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract and cornflour, blend until completely smooth then pour into a bowl and refrigerate overnight to set.

Step 3: To make the whoopie pies, stir together the plain flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda and the spices in a bowl.

Step 4: Add the pumpkin puree, oil, milk and vanilla extract and stir to make a smooth, thick batter.

Step 5, the batter piped in rounds onto a baking sheet.

Step 5: Scoop or pipe approx 2 Tablespoon mounds of the batter well spaced apart on a couple of lined baking sheets.

Step 6, the baked whoopie pies on a baking sheet.

Step 6: Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Step 7, the cheesecake mixture in a piping bag.

Step 7: Give the cheesecake a stir so that it is smooth, then transfer it to a disposable piping bag.

Step 8, rows of the whoopie pie cakes with the cheesecake piped onto half of them.

Step 8: Snip off the tip of the piping bag and pipe generous blobs of the cheesecake on the underside of half of the cookies. Gently press the other half of the cookies on top to make sandwiches.

Vegan pumpkin whoopie pies stacked on a wire plate, with mini pumpkins in the background.

Top Tips:

USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

For the teaspoon and Tablespoon measurements, please use proper measuring spoons, not just regular spoons. A teaspoon is 5ml and a Tablespoon is 15ml.

The cheesecake filling ideally needs to be made the day before you want to serve the whoopie pies as it needs at least 6 hours in the fridge to set.

When assembling the whoopie pies, take the time to pair cakes of similar shapes & sizes. The assembled whoopie pies will look better if you pick two halves that are the same size rather than pairing a larger one with a smaller one.

You can make smaller or larger whoopie pies by varying the amount of batter that you scoop out. The bake time will also vary, so keep an eye on them in the oven!

Make sure that the cakes are completely cold before adding the filling, otherwise the cheesecake will melt.

If you have a 2 Tablespoon cookie scoop then use that to portion out the cake batter, otherwise you can pipe it out, or simply spoon it onto the baking tray.

FAQ's

How should I store them?

Because of the cheesecake filling these vegan pumpkin whoopie pies must be kept refrigerated. Store them in a parchment lined airtight container in a single layer - do not stack them.

Because of the pumpkin puree and cheesecake filling, they can become a bit sticky and are therefore best eaten on the day they are made. They will keep for around 3 days however.

Can I freeze them?

These vegan pumpkin whoopie pies do freeze, but they will likely become sticky upon defrosting.

To freeze, simply open freeze the pies in a single layer on a tray, then transfer to a freezer bag when fully frozen. Freeze for up to 3 months and allow to defrost in the fridge to serve.

How do I make pumpkin puree?

Halve and de-seed an eating pumpkin (NOT a carving one) or a butternut squash. Place cut side down on a baking tin lined with parchment and roast for 45-75 minutes at 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/ gas mark 6 until the flesh is soft when poked with a sharp knife. The time it takes will very much depend on how large the pumpkin/squash is so just cook it until the flesh can easily be pierced.

Let cool until cool enough to handle, then scoop out the flesh, discarding the skin, and purée it in a food processor until smooth. Allow to cool completely before using in a recipe. Store in the fridge.

Can I make a different filling?

If you don't want to make the cheesecake filling then I suggest trying a coffee buttercream instead to make pumpkin spice latte whoopie pies.

Whisk together 100g softened vegan block butter and 200g icing (powdered) sugar with an electric mixer. Mix 4 teaspoons of instant espresso powder or coffee granules with ¾ teaspoon of boiling water and add it to the bowl. Continue to whisk for a good few minutes until very light and fluffy.

Rows of cookies for whoopie pies with cheesecake filling piped onto half of them.

More Pumpkin Recipes:

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