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Funfetti Whoopie Pies

cake· Cookies· dessert

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Funfetti Whoopie Pies – Soft and fluffy vanilla cake is loaded with sprinkles and sandwiched with creamy vanilla frosting to make a handheld version of a cupcake, also known as a whoopie pie. The perfect cookie that kids and adults will both enjoy!

Plate of Funfetti Whoopie PiesWelcome to June, guys! As I do at the beginning of every month, I have a brand-spanking new cookie recipe for you guys. The cookie recipe from last month was a HIT. But I have a feeling this month’s recipe is going to excite you even more.

I have to admit, its been a little bit of a struggle to think up new cookie recipe each month that is both unique and absolutely incredible. Because, obviously, you guys deserve nothing less than incredible.

For this month, rather than share a recipe that was in my typical repertoire, I thought up a completely new recipe that I hadn’t yet tried. And I am pretty damn proud of it! It came out better than I could have ever imagined and, as a result, I was eating them all day long until they were gone. No sharing these cookies with my husband’s coworkers – this CPA was going to have no issues getting rid of them on her own.

Enough of the anticipation. Let’s see the cookies! Say hello to Funfetti Whoopie Pies!

Stack of Funfetti Whoopie Pies Stack of Funfetti Whoopie Pies on a plate Funfetti Whoopie Pies with a bite out of one

If you haven’t had a whoopie pie, first of all, poor you! You’ve been missing out! Second of all, let me break it down for you: it is a combination of a sandwich cookie and a cupcake, where the creme-filed center is the same but the cookies are actually cake-like in texture. In other words, pure heaven.

Though I had made a few whoopie pies at home, I had yet to share a whoopie pie recipe for the blog. Shame on me, right? For my first, I had to go big. Which, in my world, obviously means making a whoopie pie that I’ve never tasted before but that I knew would be a show-stopper. So, to me, the choice was easy because funfetti=show-stopper.

Mixing sprinkles into the batter

To make this whoopie pie, you are basically making a cupcake because you have to make (1) a batter and (2) a frosting. The frosting is basically the same as what you would use for a cupcake recipe or cake recipe. So if you have one that you absolutely LOVE, then feel free to interchange it with my recipe below.

The cake, however, is a different story. We cannot use a typical funfetti cake recipe since the batter is too runny and will turn the cookies into flat pancakes. Therefore, we have to increase the flour and butter amounts to increase the thickness of the batter. For this recipe, there is about double the amount of butter and flour than your typical cake recipe.

See how thick they get? They stay perfectly round when scooping them on the baking sheet.

Funfetti Whoopie Pies dough balls

Once the cookies are baked and cooled, you simple frost them and pair them up and voila! You have yourself a whoopie pie!

If you’ve never made a whoopie pie nor a funfetti cake, here are some tips to ensure they come out perfectly the first time:

  1. For the sprinkles, make sure you use ice cream sprinkles (the long, cylindrical ones) and NOT nonpareils (the round, shiny ones). Nonpareils will leak once they get wet in the batter and turn it all kinds of colors.
  2. Make sure the cookies are COMPLETELY cool before adding the frosting, or else the frosting will melt everywhere and make a huge mess. Ew.
  3. For any whoopie pie or sandwich cookie, it is soooo important to make the cookies the same size. Otherwise, you’d have lopsided sandwiches. So if you never use a cookie scoop, now is the time to start! Here is the one I used for these whoopie pies. It’s about 1.5 tablespoons.
  4. Before you start frosting the cookies, pair them up. Even if you’re an absolute perfectionist, you will have some cookies larger than others. To make sure you don’t have one half of the sandwich larger than the other, pair them up before you get started.
  5. To make the frosting process easier, I recommend putting all your frosting in a gallon-sized plastic bag, cutting one corner off, and piping a circle onto one half of each pair. Much neater this way. But if you don’t care about how it looks, you can just spoon it on.
  6. Lastly, I did not put sprinkles in the frosting, for fear the whoopie pie would look like sprinkles overload. But if you need the extra sprinkles, go ahead and add them in!

Before I send you on your merry way, I just gotta share what makes these whoopie pies highly addictive…it’s the hint of almond extract! It’s a very tiny amount but, man, does it make a difference!!! So trust me – don’t leave it out!

There you have it: June’s cookie recipe, which now also happens to be my new favorite cookie recipe. Let me know how much you love it too, in the comments below. Enjoy!!

Closeup of Funfetti Whoopie Pies

Here are all the kitchen tools and serveware that I used in today’s recipe. For each item sold below, I make a small commission. I only recommend items that I own and love so you can trust that each recommendation is tried and true. Thank you for supporting CPA!

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Print Recipe

Funfetti Whoopie Pies

Soft and fluffy vanilla cake is loaded with sprinkles and sandwiched with creamy vanilla frosting to make a handheld version of a cupcake, also known as a whoopie pie. The perfect cookie that kids and adults will both enjoy!
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time8 mins
Total Time53 mins
Servings: 24 whoopie pies

Ingredients

For the cakes:
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 11 tablespoons butter unsalted, softened
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 2/3 cups spinkles (do not use nonpareils)
For the vanilla frosting:
  • 1 cup butter unsalted, softened
  • 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions

For the cakes:
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add sugar and butter together and beat until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add baking powder, extracts, and salt and mix until combined.
  • Add eggs, one at a time, until completely combined. Scrap the sides of the bowl to help the ingredients combine.
  • Add one cup of flour to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined. Add 1/3 cup milk and mix until combined. Repeat with another cup of flour and then the last 1/3 of milk. Finish with the last cup of flour and stop when it's combined but don't mix beyond that.
  • Remove bowl from stand mixer and scrape excess batter off the paddle. Add 2/3 cup of sprinkles to batter and gently mix with a spatula. Do not over mix or else the sprinkles will run and turn the batter different colors. It should only take about 10 stirs to combine, MAX.
  • Using a small cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons), scoop out batter and place on cookies sheets about 2 inches apart. You will probably need to use a third cookie sheet to fit all the cakes. Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean once inserted. I would err on side of overcooking instead of undercooking. If you undercook, the cookies will crinkle on the top and be doughy in the middle and not light and fluffy. I knew when mine were done when the bottoms were golden brown.
  • Once they are done cooking, remove from oven and let them cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet and then transfer parchment paper/silicone mat to cooling rack. Let them cool completely before adding frosting.
For the frosting:
  • Add butter to bowl of the stand mixer and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add 4 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and salt and mix. While mixer is going, add vanilla extract and cream. Once mixture is creamy, turn mixer to high and beat frosting for 3 minutes. Give it a taste and add more sugar, if needed.
  • Using a spatula, add frosting to a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Push all the frosting to the tip of the bag. Cut off a corner off the bag.
  • Once the cakes are cool, match them up to make sure the tops and bottoms are the same size. Top one half of each pair with about 1 tablespoon of filling from the ziplock bag. Top with the matching half. Repeat for remaining sets.
  • Serve whoopie pies immediately or store for up to 2 days.

Notes

Recipe for cakes adapted from King Arthur Flour

Pin for later:

Funfetti Whoopie Pies photo collage

More cookie recipes that you’ll love:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites with Fudge Frosting

Holding a Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites with Fudge Frosting

Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies

Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies decorated for valentines day

Triple Chocolate Soft Baked Cookies

Stack of Triple Chocolate Soft Baked Cookies

Comments

  2. Eleonore Houle says

    Is it possible to put them in the freezer for a while once they are done? If so, how much time can we leave them in the freezer?

    Reply

    • Sharon says

      I haven’t done this for this recipe but I researched similar recipes and they say yes. You can freeze for up to 3 months. Just make sure to wrap them individually first so they don’t stick together.

      Reply

  3. Lindsay Gullen says

    Made these for work and they were delicious! Although the tops were not as smooth as yours. Funny-looking things! I used the spoon and everything! What’s your secret?

    Reply

    • Sharon says

      I made them once and the same issue occurred! The cause is taking them out of the oven too soon. Leave them in for another couple of minutes and they’ll bake all the way through.

      Reply

      • Lindsay Gullen says

        Update:

        In spite of looking like red lobster biscuits, they won first prize at my work’s cookie competition (and they beat out the 5-star restaurant chefs)

        Reply

  4. Annemarie Stevens says

    Hi I love the idea of these whoopee pies but I’m allergic to nuts what can I substitute the almond essence with

    Reply

  6. Dawn says

    I just saw this recipe and would love to make these today. My husband is obsessed with Funfetti and it is his birthday. Do I have to use whole milk? I only have 1%. Would that work? 🙂

    Reply

    • Sharon says

      Yes so you can definitely switch in 1% if you don’t have whole milk! I hope you’re husband has a great birthday!

      Reply

  10. Anna says

    This looks so delicious. I was planning
    On make something like this for my
    daughter birthday . I am saving your
    recipe. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  16. Ashley says

    I love funfetti!! These look amazing (and actually pretty cute too!). I can’t wait to give them a try!

    Reply

  21. Jolina says

    Gah poor me! I’ve never had a whoopie pie. It’s not so common around here and certainly not where I grew up. So yeah I’ve definitely been missing out. These look amazing. And I would totally go OCD pairing them up LOL.

    Reply

  24. adriana says

    OMG these are so fun! I need to try your recipe – I bet they’re perfect as a party dessert! Yum!

    Reply

  31. Gloryanna says

    I LOVE LOVE funfetti anything so this recipe looks great! Plus, I was going to make funfetti cupcakes for my son’s upcoming birthday but you’ve inspired me! I may have to do these instead! Whoot!

    Reply

  33. Harmony, Momma To Go says

    I dont think Ive ever had a whoopie pie, but they are super popular in Maine where my MIL lives. I always thought they were marshmellow center… hmm maybe I will have to check into this!

    Reply

    • Sharon says

      I think you’re right – the original may have marshmallow cream! Hopefully you get to try this adaptation!

      Reply

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