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Gingerbread Whoopie Pies

5 from 3 votes

Soft gingerbread whoopie pies with a lemony cream cheese filling - a wonderful holiday treat!

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GIngerbread Whoopie Pies with Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

Gingerbread Whoopie Pies with Lemon Cream Cheese Filling – soft and sweet and loaded with gingerbread flavor with the perfect lemon filling!

Back in the day, before blogging full time, I occasionally traveled on business from Tennessee to Portland, Maine.  Whenever I planned a visit to the area, my co-workers requested that I bring back a bakery box full of authentic whoopie pies for them to share.  This was life before 9-11 and flying was much easier.  Those authentic whoopie pies were enormous chocolate cream filled delights and it made me very happy to deliver them fresh – door to door.

The one thing I’ve never understood about Whoopie Pies, is the name.  They’re soft like cake, and sandwiched together like a cookie, and they are not at all like a pie.  These treats have several names typical to different regions around the country, but I’ll always associate them with my visits to Portland, Maine, home of the world’s largest Whoopie Pie weighing in at 1,062 pounds.  That’s a lot of Whoopie!

 

GIngerbread Whoopie Pies with Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

For your gingerbread craving

As much as I love chocolate, I’ve been craving gingerbread and well, it’s the holidays.  I needed a bite of gingerbread and a sip of spiked egg nog so I was off to the kitchen to bake these super easy, soft, spicy and delightful Gingerbread Whoopie Pies with Lemon Cream Cheese Filling.

 

GIngerbread Whoopie Pies with Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

These are the perfect size, just about three good bites.  A bit of tangy lemon zest in the filling really brightens the warm spices and molasses.

 

 

GIngerbread Whoopie Pies with Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

Uncomplicated to make and super easy to eat – they are the perfect holiday treat!

 

 

GIngerbread Whoopie Pies with Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

 

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A stack of gingerbread whoopie pies with lemon cream filling

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Gingerbread Whoopie Pies

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time: 11 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 26 minutes
Yield: 26 sandwich cookies
Course: Dessert
Author: Tricia
Pin RecipePrint RecipeRate Recipe
5 from 3 votes
Soft gingerbread whoopie pies with a lemony cream cheese filling - a wonderful holiday treat!

Ingredients

For the gingerbread:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground all-spice
  • ½ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 8 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
  • ¼ cup unsulphured molasses
  • 3 tablespoons crystallized ginger, chopped fine
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup buttermilk

For the filling:

  • 6 ounces cream cheese, cut into 6-8 pieces, room temperature
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted plus extra for garnish (measure, then sift)
  • zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt.
  • In a separate large bowl, combine the brown sugar, melted butter, molasses and crystallized ginger. Whisk until combined. Add the egg and buttermilk and continue to whisk until blended.
  • Add the flour mixture and fold together using a rubber spatula. Do not over mix.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, roll the dough into a ball and place 2-inches apart on the cold baking sheet. Bake until the cookies are puffy, about 11-12 minutes. Let the cookies cool in the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
  • Repeat with the remaining dough using a cold baking sheet each time.
  • To prepare the filling, beat together the 6 tablespoons butter with 1 cup of powdered sugar. Once smooth and blended, add the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix until incorporated. With the mixer running on medium, add the cream cheese one piece at a time then add the vanilla and lemon zest. Pipe onto half the cookies and top with a matching size cookie, bottom side down.
  • Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Recipe Notes

  • Refrigerate leftover cookies in an airtight container.
  • Cookie recipe adapted from December/January 2016 Cook's Country Magazine
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition

Calories: 190kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 106mg | Potassium: 85mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 290IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg

Here are a few more Gingerbread recipes you might enjoy:

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50 Comments

  1. Cindy

    5 stars
    This is a primo recipe. My PA Dutch heritage demands whoopie pies of all kinds—I have made them and eaten them. But this is my first time baking the gingerbread variety. My husband and I loved them. I carefully froze some for an upcoming faux Thanksgiving dinner, fingers crossed they hold their shape and flavor. Thanks, Trish!

    Reply

  2. Angela

    They are delicious, but are the balls supposed to flatten out when they baked? Mine were still very fluffy, so it was hard to put the frosting in between. Any suggestions?

    Reply

    • Tricia Buice

      Hi Angela. Yes the balls should have flattened out. Make sure you are lightly scooping flour into the measuring cup and leveling off the top. Perhaps there is a bit too much flour. Not sure what they look like but maybe you can cut them in half and put the icing in between the layers? This is a solid recipe and hopefully it will turn out better next time.

      Reply

    • Tricia Buice

      The lemon zest just brightens the filling – I would not add lemon extract as it is not meant to overpower the gingerbread, in my opinion 🙂 I think you’ll find the hint of lemon is just enough. Good luck and hope you enjoy!

      Reply

  7. Mary Jean

    How far in advance can you make the whopping pie I know I cannot make the cream in advance. I do a lot of baking during the holiday so what I can make in advance is helpful.

    Reply

    • Tricia Buice

      Hi Mary Jean. I’m sorry but I have not tested freezing these cookies (unfilled.) I also haven’t tested how long the cake portion would stay good unfilled in the refrigerator. These cookies stay great for 4-5 days in the refrigerator so if that works for your timetable, that’s what I would do. If you want to try and freeze the unfilled cakes, I would flash freeze first by layering them on a parchment or waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Once frozen, they could be stacked between waxed or parchment paper and stored in an airtight container for maybe a month. Hope that helps, sorry I didn’t have the perfect answer! Fudge, toffee and brittles store so much better don’t they!

      Reply

  10. Susan

    Would you believe I’ve never made a Whoopie Pie! I guess it’s because I didn’t grow up with them and never even heard of them until 5-10 years ago. Not something you’d see in the Danish bakeries in the small, Wisconsin city where I grew up. I do need to put them on my culinary Bucket List though since the ideas are endless and I think I know two little boys who would love them 🙂 I love gingerbread and your gingerbread version, Tricia!

    Reply

  18. Monica

    What gorgeous photos, Tricia! I was also thinking about whoopi pie the other day…along the lines of peppermint chocolate. Now, gingerbread and lemon is a wonderful surprise and it sounds so good. They look so beautiful on your platter and I can almost feel that soft texture in each bite. Such a special treat!

    Reply

    • Patricia Hand

      So I made these today, taste is wonderful, I followed directions and used a tablespoon cookie scoop to spoon them on the pan. They cooked up more like a cookie, not a flat , soft Whoopi pie texture. Disappointed in that. The filling is so DRY when I was trying to mix it with just a cup of confectioners sugar and butter, I had to add a little milk to it. So the filling taste good but SO irritated the Whoopi pie cake is like a cookie? Probably will not make again.

      Reply

      • Tricia Buice

        Sorry you had trouble Patricia. However, you must have made an error because this is a fool-proof recipe I’ve made many times. Be sure you’re not using a hot pan when putting in the oven. Regarding the filling: it sounds like you omitted the cream cheese in the filling recipe, and perhaps your butter was cold, and not warm enough to blend. As you can see in the pictures these are not big giant thick cookies. When sandwiched together however, then are plenty thick enough. Again sorry they didn’t meet your expectations but glad the flavor was good.

        Reply

  23. Chris Scheuer

    Oh Tricia, these are beautiful and they look crazy delicious. I love the flavor of gingerbread and find it’s so fun to incorporate into things other than gingerbread men. Love, love, love your falling powdered sugar. So pretty!!!

    Reply

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