Gingerbread Whoopie Pies - Beyond the Butter (2024)

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!

Classic Gingerbread Whoopie Pies

The classic whoopie pie has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid, so the more whoopie pie recipes I can share here on Beyond the Butter, the better! So say hello to these gingerbread whoopie pies!

This recipe is adapted from my small batch gingerbread cupcakes recipe. I used vegetable oil in place of buttermilk and added in some dark brown sugar to give them that moist texture.

The cream cheese frosting comes from my single layer red velvet cake recipe. It's easy to make and pairs perfectly with gingerbread!

The recipe makes 12 fully assembled whoopie pies which can easily be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or—my favorite—kept frozen for up to 3 months, so you can enjoy them much later.

Here's what you'll need to make these yummy homemade gingerbread whoopie pies!

• All-Purpose Flour. I used the King Arthur brand, but use what you like best. I did not make this with any other type of flour.
• Baking Soda and Baking Powder. Both leavening agents are needed. Make sure they have not expired.
• Spices. You'll need ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, ground ginger, and salt.
• Vegetable Oil. You could also use canola or coconut oil as a substitute.
• Sugars. You'll need both granulated sugar (or organic pure cane sugar sugar) and dark brown sugar. You can use light brown sugar as a substitute for the dark brown sugar.
• Egg. Just one is needed and make sure it's also at room temperature. I do not test any egg substitutions.
• Full Flavored Molasses. I used the Brer Rabbit brand. As a substitute, you can use a light molasses. Do not use blackstrap molasses. It's bitter and not used for baking.
• Cream Cheese. This is only for the frosting. It's best softened to room temperature.
• Water. To the wet ingredients, you'll add ¼ cup of warm water.
• Unsalted Butter. Also just for the frosting and should be at room temperature.
• Vanilla Extract. Used for both the gingerbread cakes and the cream cheese frosting.
• Powdered Sugar. This is only for the cream cheese frosting. Make sure it's sifted prior to adding it to the frosting mixture.

I did not test this recipe using alternative flours, egg substitutes, or dairy-free butter.

The Best Baking Tools

Below are the recommended baking tools needed to make this recipe.

How to Make to Make Gingerbread Whoopie Pies (from Scratch)

Making these gingerbread whoopie pies from scratch is pretty easy, and you won't need a mixer—at least for the gingerbread pie cakes part!

Whisk the dry ingredients. I know this is a step skipped sometimes, but it is a good idea to combine all of your dry ingredients together first. This helps when blending everything together.

You'll need a medium-sized mixing bowl and a whisk.

Mix the wet ingredients. Whisk together the sugars, oil, warm water, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl.

Add the dry to the wet ingredients. Add the whisked dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. This means just until the dry ingredients disappear into the wet ingredients. Over-mixing can lead to denser whoopie pie cakes.

Scoop and bake. I used a 1 ½ tablespoon-size cookie scoop, large-rimmed baking sheets, and parchment paper.

Scoop and place onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches of space between each whoopie pie cake. I got 6-9 gingerbread whoopie pie cakes on each baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 350ºF.

Wait 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack. Otherwise, they'll stick to the parchment paper. Once transferred, they'll cool pretty quickly.

Frost, then enjoy! Mix up the cream cheese frosting—room temperature unsalted butter and cream cheese is best. Sifting your powdered sugar is also highly recommended for the best frosting!

You can frost each gingerbread whoopie pie with either an offset spatula or fill a large piping bag fitted with a (recommended) 1A decorating piping tip.

Start at the center and swirl your way out, but don't go all the way to the edge. Top with another gingerbread whoopie pie cake, and that's it!

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