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Mini gingerbread whoopie pies are the perfect little treat for the holiday season! Make this for all your festive holiday gatherings or a baby shower, like the one we’re having today!
Jason’s dad’s side of the family is from Pennsylvania and they adore whoopie pies. The first time I ever went up there to visit them, I unintentionally brought my pumpkin whoopie pies and they were DEVOURED. We like to joke that those were the treats that I won the family over with ;)
A month ago, Jason and I went up to Pennsylvania again to celebrate his grandma’s 90th birthday. The day before, I just so happened to make these mini gingerbread whoopie pies, and again, coincidentally, had them around to bring up again to his family. They were devoured again; they sure love their whoopie pies up there!
So this mini gingerbread whoopie pie has the moistest gingerbread flavor cake base and the filling is a lemon cream cheese frosting. Oh my gosh. Have you ever had lemon and gingerbread together before? If you’ve haven’t, you MUST try it. It sounds like it’d be weird but it’s such a unique pairing and tastes amazing.
Mini Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
For the whoopie pies
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (60 g) whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup (114 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup (55 g) dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup (253 g) molasses
- ½ cup (118 ml) buttermilk
For the lemon cream cheese filling
- 4 tablespoon (56 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 4 ounce (113 g) cream cheese, softened
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 °F (191 °C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Mix in half of the dry ingredients, the molasses, the remaining dry ingredients, and then the buttermilk.
- Drop the batter onto baking sheets using a medium cookie scoop (or 1 1/2 tbsp.).
- Bake the cakes until puffed and set, about 9-12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets until firm then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- In the meantime, in a clean bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat the butter and cream cheese together. Carefully add the powdered sugar until incorporated, then add the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and juice of 1 lemon. If the frosting is too runny, add more powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time. If the frosting is too stiff, add a tbsp. of milk at a time until desired consistency.
- To assemble whoopie pies, spread a heaping tablespoonful of filling onto the flat side of half the cakes then top with the second, unfilled cake, rounded side up.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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Have you tried freezing these? I usually do all my Christmas baking early Dec. and put in freezer and pop out whenever I need a treat.
No, I haven’t tried freezing them. I don’t know if it’d work to freeze them – unless you froze the pies and filling separately.
These look like a great alternative to my gingerbread cupcakes! On a side note I’m also from Pennsylvania and everyone I know calls them gobs instead of whoopie pies… just curious if that’s the same with your in-laws?
Hi Julia! No, it seems that all the family members call them “whoopie pies!” Gobs is an interesting name! Thanks for sharing! I like that :)
I did a little google-ing to find the term is a bit more local than state wide. I thought I’d share a tid bit of why people around here call them that :) “According to the Tribune-Democrat, folklorist and archivist Susan Kalcik believes that Johnstown’s Gob, the popular cake-like pastry, became a favorite dessert because of local coal miners and steel workers. Men carried them in their lunches and “the little cake with the icing on the inside instead of the outside served its purpose,” explained Kalcik. She is convinced that the name “gob,” often known as Whoopie Pies in other parts of the state, was derived from the miners. “Lumps of coal refuse were called gob piles. These working people adapted the name to the dessert,” said Kalcik.” taken from http://www.visitjohnstownpa.com/things-to-see-do/history-heritage/its-johnstown/
REALLY wish I could drop what I’m doing and make these fun whoopie pies! My favorite flavors!