Ginger Whoopie Pies
If you’re a fan of cake-like cookies sandwiched with frosting, then you already know that you’re into whoopie pies. Aside from being an excuse to eat 2 cookies at once, these whoopie pies are also a great excuse to make this delicious whipped cream cheese frosting. I sometimes find that cream cheese frosting is too dense and heavy, so I decided to add in a bit of cream to see what would happen. Something amazing happened. It’s my new favorite cream cheese frosting. It’s light and airy but still has the great, rich taste of cream cheese frosting. Go ahead, give in and make these.
INGREDIENTS
COOKIES
- 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, soft
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup molasses
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
FROSTING
- 12 oz. cream cheese, cold
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
- 4 cups (1 lb) confectioners sugar, sifted
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
HOW TO MAKE IT
COOKIES
- Preheat oven to 375F and line baking trays with parchment paper
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg – set aside
- In your electric mixing bowl, beat together the butter, shortening and brown sugar until it’s smooth and fluffy
- Add in the egg, beating until it’s well incorporated – stop mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl
- Add in half of the dry ingredients, mix to combine
- Then add in the molasses, the remaining dry ingredients, and lastly the buttermilk – don’t overmix
- Once the dough is made, scoop out approximately 1/8 cup using a spoon or small ice cream scooper (I used one with a 1 1/2″ diameter)
- I got about 36 individual cookies, but you could totally make these larger if you wanted
- Bake for 10-12 minutes (check doneness with a toothpick)
- Set aside to cool while you make the frosting
FROSTING
- With an electric mixer and paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes
- Reduce speed to low and add sugar, ½ cup at a time
- Lastly, switch to a whisk attachment and add the vanilla and heavy cream, and beat on high until the frosting has lightened and is fluffy and smooth
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER…
- Once the cookies have COMPLETELY cooled, you’re ready to assemble
- I used a piping bag and round tip to pipe circles of frosting onto the flat side of the cookies, but you could totally just load it up with your spatula and sandwich another cookie on top – YUM!
Source: Adapted from King Arthur Flour