Gingerbread Whoopie Pies are soft cake-like cookies spiced with ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and molasses sandwiched around cream cheese frosting. Both the cookies and the frosting are super quick and easy to make, with no refrigeration required, and do not require any fancy ingredients or equipment.
They are fun to make around the holidays, a fun twist on gingerbread cookies, just like these Ginger Molasses Cookies with Maple Glaze or these classic Snowball Cookies Without Nuts.
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💡 Recipe Inspiration
I first had a whoopie pie at a bakery in Burlington, VT. We took a trip to Burlington for a babymoon in the fall before our first baby was born. It was a chilly day and there was a light drizzle. We found a bakery coffee shop with lots of wooden chairs, tables, and steamy windows. I chose a pumpkin whoopie pie for the two of us to share. It was so good and such a nice spot to duck in from the cold.
A few weeks later some friends brought over pumpkin whoopie pies for Friendsgiving. They were also very good and got me thinking that I’d like to try making a gingerbread version. What really makes this recipe good is the extra ginger combined with the cream cheese filling icing.
🛒 Gingerbread Whoopie Pie Ingredients
Below are the ingredients to make the whoopie pie cookies.
- Butter: I use salted butter.
- Brown sugar: For sweetness and color, compliments the flavor of the molasses.
- Molasses: For that signature taste in gingerbread cookies.
- Eggs: Use large eggs.
- Plain yogurt: I use full-fat plain yogurt.
- Flour: All-purpose unbleached flour.
- Salt: Brings out the other flavors and contrasts the sweetness.
- Baking powder: For leavening.
- Baking soda: For leavening.
- Ginger, Cinnamon, Cloves: Classic gingerbread spices. The recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of ginger, in addition to the other spices, for a zingy ginger taste.
Below are the ingredients needed to make the Cream Cheese Frosting filling.
- Cream Cheese: This calls for two whole 16oz packages of cream cheese. I always wonder if this is way too much (two packages is a lot of cream cheese!), but it always turns out to be just the right amount.
- Butter: I use salted butter.
- Powdered sugar: Be sure to use powdered sugar, not another type of sugar.
- Vanilla extract: To add a subtle vanilla flavor.
To learn more about these cookie ingredients, see my Guide to Cookie Ingredients.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
🎁 Gingerbread Whoopie Pie Cookies
These gingerbread whoopie cookies are designed to be fluffy cake mounds that you can scoop and place on a baking sheet with an ice cream or cookie scoop. To ensure light and fluffy whoopie pies, do not over-mix the batter.
I scoop 2 tablespoons worth of dough with a cookie scoop creating nice round mounds of dough on the cookie sheet
Be sure not to overbake these cookies as they can dry out (since they are more cake-like than chewy cookies).
For more on baking cakey cookies, see my Guide to Crispy, Cakey, and Small Batch Cookies.
Expert Tip: Because these cake-like cookies can dry out easily, do a "test" cookie first to determine if the 11-minute allotted baking time needs to be adjusted for your oven.
🧁 Cream Cheese Frosting
This luscious, rich, and creamy cream cheese frosting is the perfect complement to the ginger spiced molasses cookies. It is a thick frosting that will not squeeze out when you take a bite and provides the perfect contrast to the sweet spiced cookies.
📝 How to Make Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make Gingerbread Whoopie Pies.
*Note that the recipe card with instructions and ingredient list is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar.
Step 2. Add the molasses and mix to incorporate.
Step 3. Add the eggs and combine.
Step 4. Add the yogurt and combine
Step 5. Add the salt, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix to combine.
Step 6. Add the flour and mix to combine.
Step 7. Place 2 tablespoons worth of dough on a cookie sheet, in the same way, you would drops of chocolate chip cookie dough. Use a cookie/ice cream scoop if you have one.
Bake for 11 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Step 8. To make the filling, with a hand-held mixer combine the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
Step 9. To assemble the whoopie pies, layer the cream cheese icing filling between the two cookies to make a sandwich. To not overcomplicate things, the icing can just be spread on the cookie with a knife.
If you prefer a very finished look, you can use a piping bag to add the cream cheese to each cookie sandwich.
✏️ Gingerbread Whoopie Pie FAQs
These whoopie pies can be made 3 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Because the filling is thick, it will not seep into the whoopie pie and will hold up well in the refrigerator for a few days.
Store these gingerbread whoopie pies flat on a plate or baking sheet, or sandwiched between pieces of wax paper. Do not stack the whoopie pies directly on top of each other.
Yes, whoopie pies can be frozen. Lay them flat on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then remove, place in a gallon-sized freezer bag, and return them to the freezer. They will last up to 3 months
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If you tried this Gingerbread Whoopie Pies Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I appreciate your feedback!
Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Whoopie Cookies
- 8 tablespoon butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon ginger
- 1½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
Cream Cheese Filling
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened 2 packages
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar.
- Add the molasses and mix to incorporate.
- Add the eggs and combine.
- Add the yogurt and combine.
- Add the salt, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix to combine.
- Add the flour and mix to combine.
- Place 2 tablespoons worth of dough on a cookie sheet, in the same way, you would drops of chocolate chip cookie dough. Use a cookie/ice cream scoop if you have one.Bake for 11 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- To make the filling, with a hand-held mixer combine the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
- To assemble the whoopie pies, layer the cream cheese icing filling between the two cookies to make a sandwich. To not overcomplicate things, this can just be done with a knife.
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