These Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies are made with an oat and almond flour blend, coconut sugar, and plenty of pumpkin and spice. The whoopie pies are soft, perfectly sweet, filled with a velvety maple cinnamon cream cheese frosting, and are the ideal fall dessert!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
This pumpkin whoopie recipe is adapted from my original pumpkin spice small batch whoopie pies recipe. And just like the original, the gluten free version packs the same amount of flavor with plenty of pumpkin, fall spices, and an eat-by-the-spoonful filling.
Even though these spiced pumpkin whoopie pies are gluten free, you will be hard-pressed to tell the difference.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- An easy recipe – Two bowls, no mixer, and a cookie scoop is all you need!
- Small batch serving – The recipe yields 4 generously sized whoopie pies. However, you can make a few more by making your whoopie pies smaller.
- Remarkably soft – The whoopie pies are soft like cake but sturdy like a cookie. Two things you want with a handheld dessert!
- Perfectly sweet – You will get plenty of pure sweetness with the coconut sugar. Plus, the maple syrup adds a delicious buttery caramel note.
- Lots of flavor – This dessert screams fall with the pure pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.
What is a whoopie pie?
I think it all depends on who you ask, but some consider it a cookie, while others consider it a cake. But, at the end of the day, the whoopie pie is two soft baked and flavored rounds with a filling sandwiched in the middle.
I tend to think of the whoopie pie as a soft-baked cookie sandwich because the whoopie pie is denser than a cake. It is still soft and moist, but I’m pretty sure if I served up a slice of a whoopie pie batter as a cake, I’d get feedback that it is way too dense.
Additionally, because it is a handheld and sturdy dessert, I lean more toward cookie. And a versatile cookie at that! You can make the whoopie pies in a variety of flavors – like my chocolate mint whoopie pies for example. And you can fill them with just about any frosting or filling you like!
Ingredients
- Oat Flour – The oat flour makes the whoopie pies lighter and softer. You can purchase oat flour, or make your own by grinding up gluten free rolled oats into flour.
- Almond Flour – The almond flour adds flavor, moisture, and texture. I recommend blanched superfine almond flour.
- Sweet Rice Flour – Sweet rice flour provides structure in that it’s properties mimic gluten. It also provides moisture.
- Tapioca Flour – Also referred to as tapioca starch. The tapioca flour adds texture and chew.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – I like to keep it easy and use pre-made pumpkin pie spice to make my pumpkin spice whoopie pies!
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda – Both will aid in texture and rise. I find that with some gluten free baking, both are needed to give the baked good a little help rising.
- Salt – Salt is a wonderful flavor enhancer!
- Coconut Sugar – Coconut sugar not refined like regular sugar, and offers a delicate sweetness with caramel notes. You can substitute granulated sugar if you prefer.
- Maple Syrup – Another refined free sugar, the maple syrup will add moisture along with a sweet buttery flavor.
- Egg Yolk – Only 1 egg yolk is all we need!
- Sour Cream – The sour cream helps the whoopie pies to stay soft and moist without thinning out the batter.
- Coconut Oil – The coconut oil provides fat to the batter. It can be replaced with melted butter.
- Vanilla Extract – Flavor!
Helpful Baking Tips
- Bring all of the refrigerated ingredients to room temperature – When all of the ingredients start at the same temperature, they will mix and bake more evenly.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together first – I prefer to whisk the dry ingredients together first so they get mixed evenly and are free of lumps.
- Use pure pumpkin – not pumpkin pie filling – Pure pumpkin is just that, only pumpkin. While pumpkin pie filling has a lot of added ingredients we don’t need (or want).
- Let the batter rest before baking – I said it before, but it bears repeating. The batter needs a little time to hydrate to bake with proper structure.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion your batter – The number 1 reason for this is that the scoop makes portioning the whoopie pie batter so much easier.
- Let the whoopie pies cool completely before filling – For the obvious reason – the filling will melt out of your pumpkin whoopie pies if you assemble the whoopie pies while they are still warm!
What To Make With The Leftover Pumpkin
You will have leftover pumpkin. Which, for this time of year isn’t a bad thing! You can bake another batch of pumpkin spice whoopie pies, or browse all of my pumpkin recipes. Below are some of my favorites for using leftover pumpkin:
- Pumpkin Spice Latte Overnight Oats – Your beloved PSL in breakfast form!
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread – I usually make batches of this throughout the season to snack on.
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Cupcakes – If you need a holiday party dessert, these cupcakes are a treat!
- Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding – Anytime I can skip the baking for dessert, I’m in!
- 6-Inch Pumpkin Pie with Cranberry Whipped Cream – For the traditional and iconic pumpkin dessert!
Recipe FAQ
Probably not. Not all gluten free flours are the same. I find the 1:1 blends to yield a much drier bake, and a lot of the ingredient ratios would probably need to be adjusted.
Yes. All of that moisture in the whoopie pie is inherently going to make them a little sticky. And the longer they sit out, the stickier they may get. I refrigerate my whoopie pies to preserve the filling and reduce the stickiness.
You can freeze un-filled whoopie pies for up to 3 months. I would individually wrap them and put in a Ziploc bag, then defrost in the refrigerator. I do not recommend freezing the maple cinnamon cream cheese frosting because the fat content in the frosting may cause it to separate when thawed.
More Small Batch Fall desserts
Just think of all the fall small batch desserts that can make up a beautiful sampler table! Cinnamon sugar pumpkin small batch bread, a mesmerizing pumpkin roll mini cake, gluten free apple spice cupcakes, pumpkin spice sugar cookies, and gluten free mini pumpkin pie! If I see that menu lineup on a holiday gathering invite, I’m in!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies
INGREDIENTS
Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 ounces cream cheese (cool temp.)
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (cool temp.)
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies
- 6 tablespoons gluten free oat flour
- 3 tablespoons blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons sweet rice flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 cup organic cane sugar (sub granulated sugar or coconut sugar)
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons full fat sour cream, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons cold pressed refined coconut oil, melted (or melted butter)
- 1/4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon pure canned pumpkin
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- The Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Frosting can be made in advance and refrigerated, or while the whoopie pies are baking and cooling. See the link to the separate recipe post for the frosting for more tips and FAQ's!
- In a small mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and maple syrup. Use a hand held mixer on medium speed to beat the cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy.2 ounces cream cheese, 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Continue to beat on medium high speed until light and fluffy. This may take about 2 minutes. Do not overmix, or the frosting may separate. Note – If you prefer a much thicker frosting, add more powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.1/4 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon salt
- The frosting is ready to use immediately, or it can be covered and refrigerated where it will thicken as it chills. Note – The frosting is not intended to be thick like buttercream.
Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the oat flour, almond flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.6 tablespoons gluten free oat flour, 3 tablespoons blanched almond flour, 2 tablespoons sweet rice flour, 2 tablespoons tapioca flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the sugar, maple syrup, egg yolk, sour cream, oil, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract. Whisk until blended and smooth. Sprinkle half of the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Then sprinkle in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until no dry streaks remain.1/4 cup organic cane sugar, 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, 1 large egg yolk, room temperature, 3 tablespoons full fat sour cream, room temperature, 2 tablespoons cold pressed refined coconut oil, melted, 1/4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon pure canned pumpkin, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Let the batter rest for at least 5 minutes – this allows the gluten free flours to hydrate.
- Using a cookie scoop scoop 8 equal portions of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet – at least 2 inches apart. Note – I use a cookie scoop that holds approximately 2 tablespoons of batter.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are set and spring back when gently touched with your finger. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet set on wire cooling rack for 5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to the wire rack to cool completely.
- Dollop equal portions of the frosting on half of the pies, assemble, and Enjoy!
RECIPE NOTES
- Oat Flour – You can purchase oat flour, or grind gluten free rolled oats into flour in a food processor or blender.
- Pumpkin – Depending on the brand, canned pumpkin can have different names, but is the same thing: Pumpkin Puree, Pure Pumpkin, 100% Pumpkin, Organic Pure Pumpkin. Just be sure it is not Pumpkin Pie Filling.
- Leftover Pumpkin – You will have leftover pumpkin, regardless of the size can you use. Check out my other pumpkin recipes to make another batch of pumpkin treats!
- Storing Leftovers – I recommend storing the whoopie pies covered in the refrigerator because of the dairy in the filling.
- Substitutions – I have only tested the recipe as written. The cane sugar is easily swapped 1:1 with coconut sugar or granulated sugar.
NUTRITION ESTIMATES
about the author ...
I'm Erin and I'm all about desserts - and a little bit of butter!
I've tested, written, and photographed hundreds of recipes on my website. Here you'll find the tastiest small batch desserts - all homemade, all simple, and all for you! Click here to learn more about me!