Two of my favorite things in this world are pumpkins and babies.
It should come as no surprise then that I treat my winter squashes with the kind of care and affection that I intend to someday devote to my future children…minus the eating part. Although, actually…I make no promises that I won’t ever lightly nibble on a chubby cherubic baby leg when it comes into my possession, but really who could blame me.
Anyways, my point being that when I was trying to decide what to make to celebrate the fact that the super sweet Rachel of The Avid Appetite is having a baby girl (!!!!), going pumpkin was a no-brainer.
And sandwiching some maple-marshmallow cream filling in-between some soft pumpkin cookie layers was a given.
I first met Rachel when we went out to dinner at a vegan restaurant with our mutual friend Lauren and we all hit it off instantly. We had such a fun time bonding over the food at the vegan restaurant we went to, chatting about blogging and just life in general. It’s always so great when total strangers can connect like that. Anyways, I am SO excited for her and husband and wish them all the best in the world! I’m sure their baby girl will be just as sweet as her mommy is.
Stop by these other blogs to see what sorts of deliciousness they’ve made to celebrate!
Garlic Mini Monkey Bread from Yums and Loves
Candy Stuffed Peanut Butter Bars from the Lean Green Bean
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple-Marshmallow Filling from Eats Well with Others
Baby Shower Chocolate Clusters from Keep It Sweet Desserts
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple-Marshmallow Cream Filling
Makes about 23 pies, adapted from Bon Appetit October 2009
Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 7 oz marshmallow fluff
- 2 tsp maple extract
- 3 cups AP flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp nutmeg
- 3/4 tsp cloves
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup packed golden brown sugar
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 15 oz canned pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup almond milk or regular milk
Instructions
- For the filling, using an electric mixer, beat powdered sugar and 1 cup butter in a large bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add marshmallow creme and maple extract. Beat until blended and smooth. Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
- For the cake, sift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cloves into a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars in another large bowl until blended. Gradually beat in oil. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions. Beat in pumpkin. Add dry ingredients in 2 additions, with milk added in-between, beating to blend between additions and occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Cover and chill batter for 1 hour.
- Arrange 1 rack in bottom third of the oven and 1 rack in top third of the oven. Preheat to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Spray lightly with nonstick spray. Spoon (or pipe) batter onto baking sheets (about 12 per sheet), spacing apart. Let stand 10 minutes.
- Bake cakes until tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking. Cool cakes completely on baking sheets on rack. Using metal spatula, remove cakes from parchment.
- Line cooled baking sheets with clean parchment. Spray with nonstick spray and repeat baking with remaining batter.
- Spoon about 2 tbsp filling on flat side of 1 cake. Top with another cake, flat side down. Repeat with remaining cakes and filling.
Love these, they really are perfect for a baby shower… and you crack me up with your baby fever:-)
What a fun way to celebrate! That maple marshmallow cream sounds beyond delicious.
yummmmm!!!! i could eat about 5 of those right now. LOVE pumpkin!
What a great treat for the virtual celebration! I would loooove to try one of these gems. 🙂
Yum 🙂 I’d be thrilled if these made it to my baby shower!
Pumpkins and babies DO both share tha adorable, innocent, roly-poly factor- whoopie pies are totally the perfect thing for celebrating…
Congratulations to Rachel! These pumpkin whoopie pies are perfect for a party 🙂
Cute idea, Joanne! Congrats to Rachel. I’m making these as soon as I have a kitchen back in working order!
This is a great idea Joanne! What a great treat for a baby shower. I love finger foods at parties like that. I ate a lot of pumpkin while pregnant and now the baby loves everything pumpkin!
I love it! I have always wanted to make a whoopie pie cookies and I love that it is pumpkin!!
Pumpkin and maple? What a great combination! Your mini whoopie pies are a great idea for a baby shower.
Can you believe I have never had a Whoopie Pie, but I am willing to bond over a few and a glass of milk.
These look so cute…perfect for the celebration! I like the idea of adding maple to the filling. I’ll have to try it.
These are amazing! Thank you so much for doing this – you ladies are the best!! 🙂 Pumpkin is one of my all-time favorite foods and the marshmallow maple frosting just puts them right over the top!
Love that you made these this time of year! I made some in the fall and I want to make more! I also love that you used ‘Fluff, butter and powdered sugar for the filling. I made a buttercream but want to use Fluff next time. Congrats to Rachel!
Sounds delicious! There’s no more perfect way to celebrate a baby than with a gourd that probably ways about as much as a newborn ;)…although technically you used the canned stuff, I suppose.
These look ridiculous! YUM! I love all things pumpkin and with the addition of a marshmallow cream filling with maple???!?! OH MY!
Yum! Pumpkin whoopie pies sound incredible. Baby humans, baby dogs, baby cats, I love em all!
ohe dear those whoppe pies are adorable and I love marshamallows!!!:)
Pumpkin with marshmallow filling? Brilliant! My whole family would really love these!
Babies, Whoopie Pies and Pumpkin sounds delightful!
trust me, you will nibble on baby toes also, they are irresistible! i love whoopie pies! just something about that perfect little sandwich!
YUM! I have a baby, okay, he’s 4 – but you could still make these for me if you want 🙂
These sound and look incredible…can’t really go wrong with pumpkin and maple!
They look fun to eat!
Pumpkin and maple is always a winning combination, and whoopie pies do seem like a perfect canvas on which to combine the two! That reminds me that I haven’t made whoopie pies in at least three years. I should probably rectify that situation immediately
I know nibbling on chubby fingers and toes is MY favorite past time. But I am sure these pumpkin whoopie pies would be a close second.
These whoopie pies look so good! Pumpkin and sugar, together at last. Wait, maybe together forever? 🙂
Aww, how sweet! Congratulations to Rachel on the impending arrival of her little girl! These Whoopie pies are the perfect way to celebrate, and the fact that they’re pumpkin makes them THAT much more awesome! And the addition of maple is just so darn good 🙂
As an aside, I was part of an ultimate frisbee team in college that used to chant “Eat the Babies!” before games. I always hated that chant.
these are certainly winners! what a great way to celebrate 🙂
what a great baby shower recipe! 🙂 whoopie pies are so cute, just like little ones!
I adore whoopie pies.
I love pumpkin too! Not as into babies, but I’m rethinking that because at this point I’m thinking they may be better than toddlers.
oooh, i like that filling, yes i do. very festive treat, joanne!
Your whoopie pies are almost as adorable as that baby will be!
The filling in these sounds so good! I make some with a whipped cream filling because I don’t like the usual frosting filling, but this is a great alternative too!
These are the cutest and most delish baby shower treats 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I want to have a baby again just so someone can throw a virtual shower for me and make whoopie pies. YUM. (And that’s a lie…I never ever want to have a baby again…)
I did my first virtual shower this past summer, so much fun! These whoopie pies sound amazing!!
Awww you guys are too cute with this virtual baby shower! And I can’t think of anything better to celebrate than these little sandwiches of pumpkin-marshmallow goodness.
yes and yes! i recently paired gingerbread with maple and it was a good decision…i can imagine how amazing these are!
Marshmallow fluff and pumpkin sounds like a killer baby combination. I can always count on you for interesting flavours and textures, Joanne. 🙂
how is the shower virtual? are you mailing the baked goods?
I made gingerbread whoopie pies this weekend and they were so good, but the filling I made was NOT photogenic.
Booooo.
I should have used a marshmallow filling!
These sound fantastic! I just moved to a new town and was set up on a blind date with a girl. We totally hit it off at a cute restaurant in town. I love bonding with people over delicious food! Even if it’s weird that I’m going on blind dates to find chick friends!!!
Love babies. Love pumpkin. Absolutely love anything maple. I think I could inhale these!
Whoopie pies are the best! I haven’t made them in too long. They definitely rank up there with babies. Love that filling! Perfect with the pumpkin.
Pumpkin. Maple. Marshmallow? That combination sounds so good I can’t even handle it! It does make me curious about swapping in sweet potato instead, since the marshmallow bit makes me think of casserole… Only, of course, a million times better.
So sweet of you ladies to do this. I love the combo of pumpkin and marshmallow. Feels very campfire-y!
I love babies too. And pumpkins. Good combination there- These look yummy. 🙂
How cute! Definitely perfect for a baby shower…but also quite perfect for having when no babies are on the horizon. Win-win, I’d say.
Aw these are the perfect adorable little thing to bring to a baby shower! I would take one (or ten) of these over a baby shower macaroon for sure!
These are toooo cute! I especially lvoe that you paired them with maple =)
Maple is my very favorite cold weather flavoring but I’ve never had it with pumpkin before. Inspired combination, lovely. 🙂
What a wonderful baby shower treat! Your creativity never ceases to amaze me.
OH my keep those babies away from you if ur hungry….. Love the look of these. They look moist and even dainty and perfect for a baby shower ( Virtual…..does that mean u ate them all?)
Perfect combination of ingredients! The filling looks delicious 😉 This was a great way to celebrate!
Have a nice week!
Yay for pumpkin and babies!! And I love this marshmallow filling just as much!!
Thats a lovely baby shower treat…looks great:)
Wonderful whoppies and wonderful shower. Congrats to the parents to be!
sounds like just the thing to celebrate a new baby – especially as babies make you hungry – but not hungry to eat the baby – just all the yummy celebration food
looks amazing & delicious
Hmmm. I thought that you were supposed to make whoopie BEFORE getting pregnant! (ha ha ha ha, sorry, couldn’t resist that one)
Can’t wait to make this….and eat it!!!