Halloween Whoopie Pies are a fun, delicious treat for all of your little ghosts and goblins! Decorate them in classic black and orange colors or make them a bit spookier by turning them into spiders!
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When my oldest son was in kindergarten, he was allowed to bring in a treat for his birthday. After searching the internet for a fun treat idea, we decided on Whoopie Pies. In between the Whoopie Pie cakes, I used cake icing out of convenience, rather than marshmallow filling.
Those Whoopie Pies turned out amazingly good. I’m not just saying that because I’m about to tell you how to make them. Even his teacher, who retired after his class, said that they were the best birthday treat that anyone has ever brought in and asked me for the recipe.
I gave her the recipe and then somehow lost my own copy.
After searching online for cake mix Whoopie Pies, I think the recipe that I used before may have come from Betty Crocker or a recipe that was based off of Betty’s. I used that recipe as my inspiration for these Halloween Whoopie Pies, and I have to say – they are pretty amazing, as well!
Why This Recipe Works
- These Whoopie Pies are made from cake mix and filled with cake icing. They are kind of like having an easy-to-eat cake you can hold in your hand.
- The pudding in the mix makes the cakes more dense and the chocolate flavor even more rich!
- You can modify this recipe for any holiday or occasion by simply changing up the cake mix and pudding flavor, cake icing flavor, and food gel colors.
- They are easy to make and kids can help decorate them too.
What Do You Need to Make Halloween Whoopie Pies
You will need to pick up a few things, if you don’t already have them on hand, to make these Halloween Whoopie Pies.
The cake mix that I use for these Whoopie Pies is Devil’s Food, of course. You can use any chocolate variety that you prefer, as well as chocolate pudding mix.
In between the cakes, I used vanilla cake icing that I colored orange with food coloring gel and black edible sparkles (they can be hard to find, but black sprinkles work great too).
You may also want to use piping bags and tips to help evenly distribute the batter for the cakes, as well as for decorating the Whoopie Pies.
Tip: using food coloring gel gives a much more vibrant result than regular food coloring.
If you don’t want to use black sprinkles, you can also decorate the cookies using Halloween stencils and powdered sugar or make spiders using black rope licorice for the legs and candy eyes! I’ll show you how I decorate them in the directions below!
How to Make Halloween Whoopie Pies
Prep!
There really isn’t any prep work to be done for this recipe. Just have your ingredients all out and ready to go.
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Create!
Combine the Devil’s Food cake mix, water, vegetable oil, eggs, and pudding mix in a large mixer bowl and beat on medium until everything is well blended. The batter will be thick – this is what you want.
For larger whoopie pies, add 18 evenly sized (as best you can!) scoops of the batter on to Silpat-lined baking sheets in a round shape. You can also pipe the circles using a large piping tip and pastry bag for more even results.
Tip: For smaller Whoopie Pies, make 36 smaller circles with the batter.
Bake for 7-10 minutes, depending on the size of the pies. The cakes will be spongy and cooked through when they are done baking.
Meanwhile add the vanilla icing to a small bowl. Mix in orange food coloring gel until well blended and you reach the desired color.
Pipe (or spread) the icing onto the flat side of one fully cooled Whoopie Pie cake.
Top with a second cake. Don’t press down too hard or the icing may get squeezed out.
Decorate and Present!
A quick, yet festive, way to decorate these Halloween Whoopie Pies is to use black sprinkles or edible cake sparkles, if you can find them.
Simply sprinkle on the black sprinkles once the Whoopie Pies are assembled.
How to Make Halloween Whoopie Pie Spiders
Turning your Whoopie Pies into spiders is fun and easy. Kids love them and they are great for Halloween parties.
To make Halloween Whoopie Pie Spiders, use 4 pieces of black rope licorice for the legs. Lay the licorice onto the icing before topping with the second Whoopie Pie. Use a little bite of extra cake icing to stick candy eyes onto the tops of the pies.
Tip: You may want to color your cake icing black (or use chocolate flavor) for this version.
How to Stencil Designs onto Halloween Whoopie Pies
Stenciling Halloween designs onto Whoopie Pies is another way to make them even more fun!
Either purchase small halloween-themed stencils or print/cut out the desired designs you wish to stencil on.
With stencils, make sure the stencil completely covers the Whoopie Pie to ensure you don’t get powdered sugar where you don’t want it. Use powdered sugar and a sifter to lightly cover the stencil. Carefully remove the stencil to see your design!
Tips and Techniques for the Best Halloween Whoopie Pies
- For smaller Whoopie Pies, you can make 36 smaller circles with the batter.
- Using orange food coloring gel gives a much more intense color.
- Be sure the cakes are fully cool before adding the icing or you’ll end up with a big mess.
FAQ’s
- Where are Whoopie Pies originally from? There seems to be some debate online as to whether Whoopie Pies originated in Pennsylvania by the Amish or in New England, particularly in Maine where they are extremely popular.
- Do you need to refrigerate Whoopie Pies? Once assembled, you do need to store Whoopie Pies in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Use them within 2-3 days for best results.
Other Recipes to Try
- Gluten Free Halloween Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Mint Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Icing
- Vanilla Candy Cupcakes
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Halloween Whoopie PIes
Ingredients
- 1 15.25oz box Devil's Food cake mix
- 3/4 cups water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 4-serving box chocolate fudge instant pudding
- 2 16 oz tubs vanilla cake icing
- orange food coloring gel
- edible black glitter
- powdered sugar
- black licorice
- candy eyes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Combine the Devil's food cake mix, water, vegetable oil, eggs, and pudding mix in a large mixer bowl and beat on medium until well blended.
- For larger Whoopie Pies, add 18 evenly sized scoop fulls of the batter to Silpat-lined baking sheets in a round shape.
- For smaller Whoopie Pies, make 36 batter circles.
- Bake 7-10 minutes, depending on the size of the pies.
- Let fully cool before decorating.
- Color the vanilla icing by mixing it with orange food coloring gel until and mix well until the desired color is achieved.
- Pipe the icing onto the flat side one Whoopie Pie cake and top with a second cake.
- Sprinkle on the black sprinkles.
- See the notes section for how to stencil designs onto the Whoopie Pies and for how to make Whoopie Pie spiders.
Notes
How to Stencil Designs onto Halloween Whoopie Pies
Either purchase small halloween-themed stencils or print/cut out the desired designs you wish to stencil on. Make sure the stencil completely covers the Whoopie Pie to ensure you don’t get powdered sugar where you don’t want it. Use powdered sugar and a sifter to lightly cover the stencil. Carefully remove the stencil to see your design!How to Make Halloween Whoopie Pie Spiders
To make Halloween Whoopie Pie Spiders, use 8 pieces of black licorice for the legs. Lay the licorice onto the icing before topping with the second Whoopie Pie. Use a little bite of extra cake icing to stick candy eyes onto the tops of the pies. You may want to color your cake icing black (or use chocolate flavor!) for this version. ** Nutritional information is an estimate and may vary. It is based off of 18 small Whoopie Pies.Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on September 27, 2018. It was updated with more thorough instructions, tips, techniques, and FAQ’s in October 2019.
