These Gingerbread Whoopie Pies combine soft and moist gingerbread cakes sandwiched together with a simple and delicious cream cheese frosting. They're a classic, easy-to-make holiday recipe that is perfect for sharing with your loved ones!
Adjust oven rack to 2nd level position (just above center) and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground ginger. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, vegetable oil, full-flavored molasses, egg, warm water, and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
⅓ cup Granulated Sugar, ⅓ cup Dark Brown Sugar, ½ cup Vegetable Oil, ⅓ cup Full Flavored Molasses, 1 Large Egg, ¼ cup Warm Water, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Add in the whisked dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter will be thick, but still easily scoopable.
Using a 1 ½ tablespoon-size cookie scoop, drop the batter onto the lined baking sheet, spacing each cake about 3 inches apart. I got 6-9 cakes on each baking sheet. They will spread out, but not by a lot.
Place in the oven and bake at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes or until the center of the cakes spring back when lightly pressed. The gingerbread cakes should be soft and have a slightly domed top.
Allow cakes to cool slightly on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Trying to remove them right away might leave some of the cake stuck to the parchment paper. The cakes take about 10-15 minutes to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Using your hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the unsalted butter and cream cheese together until well blended and smooth. Add in the vanilla extract and mix until blended.
½ cup Unsalted Butter, 8 oz Cream Cheese, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Add in the sifted powdered sugar, then mix together at low speed until the cream cheese frosting has fully come together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
2 cups Sifted Powdered Sugar
Using a small spatula or piping bag with a decorating tip of your choice (I recommend the 1A), add the cream cheese frosting to the bottom of a whoopie pie cake. Then top with another cake. Enjoy!
Notes
This recipe makes 12 fully assembled gingerbread whoopie pies.
I used a 1 ½ tablespoon-size cookie scoop which gave me roughly 3-inch diameter whoopie pie cakes. Space the cakes 3 inches apart on the parchment paper-lined or silicone baking mat lined baking sheets.
I preferred using rimmed baking sheets because I feel like it gave the gingerbread cakes more of a dome.
You could even get away with using the 2-inch cookie scoop if you wanted to make them a little bigger. Baking time may need to be increased by 1-2 minutes.
Cream cheese frosting makes enough with about 1 cup remaining, which can be kept stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.