If you ask me, whoopie pies are the perfect Halloween treat.
These soft chocolate sandwich cookies are filled with sweet marshmallow cream and decorated with spooky designs. The cake-like cookies have a rich cocoa flavor that pairs perfectly with the fluffy white filling.
They’re easy to make ahead of time and fun to decorate with orange and black icing. Kids love helping pipe on silly faces or drawing spider webs with a toothpick.
It’s a crowd-pleasing dessert that brings out the kid in everyone, perfect for Halloween parties or trick-or-treat night.
Why You’ll Love These Halloween Whoopie Pies
- Quick and easy prep – Using cake mix and instant pudding as shortcuts, these spooky treats come together in just 22-30 minutes, perfect for last-minute Halloween parties.
- Fun family activity – Kids will love helping decorate these whoopie pies with candy eyes, black glitter, and licorice to create their own Halloween monsters.
- Perfect party treats – These individual-sized desserts are easy to serve at Halloween gatherings and look impressive without requiring advanced baking skills.
- Simple ingredients – Most of these items are pantry staples or easy to find at any grocery store, making this recipe accessible for busy parents.
- Customizable decorations – You can get creative with the orange icing and spooky toppings to make each whoopie pie unique, from friendly faces to scary monsters.
What Kind of Cake Mix Should I Use?
For these Halloween whoopie pies, you’ll want to stick with a Devil’s Food cake mix since it gives you that rich, dark chocolate flavor that pairs perfectly with the spooky theme. Most major brands like Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker, or Pillsbury will work just fine – they all produce a moist, chocolatey base that holds up well when shaped into whoopie pie rounds. If you can’t find Devil’s Food specifically, a regular chocolate cake mix will work in a pinch, though you might not get quite the same deep, dark color. Just make sure you’re using a standard 15.25-ounce box size, as smaller boxes won’t give you enough batter for a full batch of whoopie pies.
Options for Substitutions
This spooky treat is pretty forgiving when it comes to swaps, so here are some easy substitutions:
- Devil’s Food cake mix: Any chocolate cake mix will work great here – German chocolate, fudge, or regular chocolate cake mix are all good options. The flavor will be slightly different but still delicious.
- Vegetable oil: You can swap this with melted butter (use the same amount) for a richer flavor, or try applesauce for a lighter version – just use 1/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup.
- Vanilla cake icing: Cream cheese frosting works wonderfully too, or you can make your own buttercream if you prefer. Just make sure it’s thick enough to hold its shape between the cookies.
- Orange food coloring gel: Liquid food coloring works fine, but you’ll need more of it to get that bright orange color. Start with a few drops and add more until you get the shade you want.
- Black licorice: If you’re not a licorice fan, try chocolate sticks, pretzel sticks, or even strips of black fondant for decorating.
- Candy eyes: You can make your own using white chocolate chips and mini chocolate chips, or pipe them on with white and black icing.
Watch Out for These Mistakes While Baking
The biggest mistake when making whoopie pies is overbaking them, which turns these soft treats into dry, crumbly disappointments – pull them from the oven as soon as the tops spring back lightly when touched, usually 8-10 minutes. Another common error is making the cookies too large, since they’ll spread during baking and become difficult to handle, so stick to about 2 tablespoons of batter per cookie and leave plenty of space between them on the baking sheet. When mixing your orange filling, add the food coloring gel gradually since a little goes a long way, and always let your cookies cool completely before filling or the icing will melt and create a messy situation. For the best results, store your finished whoopie pies in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving, which helps the filling set and makes them easier to eat without everything sliding around.
What to Serve With Halloween Whoopie Pies?
These spooky treats are perfect on their own, but they’re even better when served as part of a Halloween spread alongside other themed goodies like candy corn, chocolate chip cookies, or mini cupcakes. A tall glass of cold milk is always a hit with kids (and adults!) when you’re serving rich, chocolatey desserts like these. If you’re hosting a Halloween party, consider setting up a dessert table with these whoopie pies as the centerpiece, surrounded by other orange and black treats. For a fun twist, serve them with hot chocolate or apple cider to keep everyone warm during trick-or-treating season.
Storage Instructions
Keep Fresh: These spooky treats stay soft and delicious when stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If your kitchen is really warm, pop them in the fridge to keep that creamy filling from getting too soft. Just separate each layer with parchment paper so they don’t stick together.
Freeze: Whoopie pies are perfect for making ahead! Wrap each one individually in plastic wrap, then store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. This is great for Halloween prep since you can make them weeks in advance and just thaw them out when you need them.
Serve: Let frozen whoopie pies thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving – they’ll be perfectly soft and ready to eat. If you stored them in the fridge, just let them sit out for 10-15 minutes to take the chill off. The filling will be much creamier at room temperature!
| Preparation Time | 15-20 minutes |
| Cooking Time | 7-10 minutes |
| Total Time | 22-30 minutes |
| Level of Difficulty | Medium |
Estimated Nutrition
Estimated nutrition for the whole recipe (without optional ingredients):
- Calories: 4700-5100
- Protein: 20-25 g
- Fat: 210-240 g
- Carbohydrates: 670-730 g
Ingredients
For the chocolate cakes:
- 1 box (15.25 oz) devil’s food cake mix
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 box (4-serving) chocolate fudge instant pudding
For the filling:
- 2 tubs (16 oz each) vanilla cake icing
- Orange gel food coloring
For decoration:
- Edible black glitter
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Black licorice
- Candy eyes
Step 1: Prepare the Oven and Batter
- 1 box (15.25 oz) devil’s food cake mix
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 box (4-serving) chocolate fudge instant pudding
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
In a large mixer bowl, combine the devil’s food cake mix, water, vegetable oil, eggs, and chocolate fudge instant pudding mix.
Beat everything on medium speed until well blended and smooth, making sure there are no lumps in the batter.
Step 2: Portion and Bake the Whoopie Pie Cakes
- cake batter (from Step 1)
Line baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper.
Using a scoop or spoon, dollop even portions of batter onto the prepared baking sheets in round shapes—make 18 rounds for larger Whoopie Pies or 36 for smaller ones.
Bake in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes, depending on size, until the cakes are set and spring back to the touch.
Once baked, let the cakes cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
I recommend keeping a close eye near the end of baking, as these cakes can go from perfect to overbaked quickly.
Step 3: Color the Vanilla Icing
- 2 tubs (16 oz each) vanilla cake icing
- orange gel food coloring
While the cakes cool, scoop the vanilla cake icing into a bowl.
Add orange gel food coloring and mix thoroughly until the icing is uniformly orange and reaches your desired shade.
You can adjust the intensity by adding a little coloring at a time.
For a brighter and more festive look, I always start with a small amount and build up the color gradually.
Step 4: Assemble the Whoopie Pies
- cooled cake rounds (from Step 2)
- orange-colored vanilla icing (from Step 3)
Pair the cooled cake rounds by size.
Pipe or spread the orange-colored icing onto the flat side of one cake from each pair, then gently sandwich with another cake.
Repeat for all pairs, making sure not to overfill to prevent the icing from oozing out.
Step 5: Decorate the Whoopie Pies
- edible black glitter
- black licorice
- candy eyes
- confectioners’ sugar
Sprinkle edible black glitter (or black sprinkles) over the assembled Whoopie Pies for a festive finish.
For extra Halloween fun, you can use black licorice to create spider legs and attach candy eyes with a dab of icing, or stencil designs with confectioners’ sugar using a small sieve.
I think adding the candy eyes and licorice ‘legs’ turns these into adorable spider treats that kids love.
Mouthwatering Halloween Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
For the chocolate cakes:
- 1 box (15.25 oz) devil's food cake mix
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 box (4-serving) chocolate fudge instant pudding
For the filling:
- 2 tubs (16 oz each) vanilla cake icing
- orange gel food coloring
For decoration:
- edible black glitter
- confectioners' sugar
- black licorice
- candy eyes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large mixer bowl, combine the devil's food cake mix, water, vegetable oil, eggs, and chocolate fudge instant pudding mix. Beat everything on medium speed until well blended and smooth, making sure there are no lumps in the batter.
- Line baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper. Using a scoop or spoon, dollop even portions of batter onto the prepared baking sheets in round shapes—make 18 rounds for larger Whoopie Pies or 36 for smaller ones. Bake in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes, depending on size, until the cakes are set and spring back to the touch. Once baked, let the cakes cool completely on a wire rack before decorating. I recommend keeping a close eye near the end of baking, as these cakes can go from perfect to overbaked quickly.
- While the cakes cool, scoop the vanilla cake icing into a bowl. Add orange gel food coloring and mix thoroughly until the icing is uniformly orange and reaches your desired shade. You can adjust the intensity by adding a little coloring at a time. For a brighter and more festive look, I always start with a small amount and build up the color gradually.
- Pair the cooled cake rounds by size. Pipe or spread the orange-colored icing onto the flat side of one cake from each pair, then gently sandwich with another cake. Repeat for all pairs, making sure not to overfill to prevent the icing from oozing out.
- Sprinkle edible black glitter (or black sprinkles) over the assembled Whoopie Pies for a festive finish. For extra Halloween fun, you can use black licorice to create spider legs and attach candy eyes with a dab of icing, or stencil designs with confectioners' sugar using a small sieve. I think adding the candy eyes and licorice 'legs' turns these into adorable spider treats that kids love.
