As much fun as I had posting football themed recipes last month, the Super Bowl is over and it’s time for the next big thing: March Madness! (I’m excited because I may not be a sports fan, but I’m a big fan of cute party food.) ; ) So, while on the lookout for basketball theme treats, these whoopie pies from Cookin’ Cowgirl caught my eye right away! They’re adorable, delicious, AND have an awesome pun in their name. Yes! They’re “hoopie” pies!

The cake is pumpkin flavor (mmm!) and the filling is a cream cheese frosting. You can keep the decorating ultra-simple with classic basketball stripes, or you can write a team or college name on top. For a sports theme birthday party you could write your child’s name or age instead. It’s SUPER easy to personalize these little guys!

How to make basketball “hoopie” pies

A few notes before we get started. For the frosting, I made half a batch of my regular cream cheese frosting recipe. You do not have to make frosting if you are just going to serve these as little decorated cakes though. I did use a whoopie pie pan for this recipe, but this batter is THICK, so you could probably get away with out one. I got mine at Williams-Sonoma, but I have seen them at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s and Walmart. Also, the reason these hoopie pies are so pretty and orange is because there is pumpkin puree in them, as well as Wilton’s orange icing color. I got my icing color and my black sparkle gel at Walmart. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt.

*In a small dish, beat egg. In a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar and butter until smooth. Mix in pumpkin. Add half of the beaten egg; discard the rest. Mix in vanilla. Dip the end of a knife in the orange gel and add the color to the bowl. Stir. Add flour mixture to wet mixture and stir just to combine.

Spray the whoopie pan with cooking spray. Fill each well of the whoopie pie pan about 3/4th the way full, or about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter in each. {This batter is VERY thick, so I used the back of a spoon to move it around a little so it would be smooth on top}. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Cool in pans, on cooling rack for a few minutes, then turn pan over and let pies fall out. Cool completely on rack before frosting or decorating. Use black sparkle gel to make the lines like on a basketball, and to write logos or letters.