Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
These gingerbread whoopie pies are extra soft and fluffy with a lightly spiced vanilla ricotta filling. They're so moist and packed with molasses and ginger for the perfect holiday treat!
Servings: 12 pies
Ingredients
For the gingerbread whoopie pies:
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar
- 5 tablespoon molasses
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk or 3/4 cup plain yogurt + 3 tbsp milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice
For the ricotta cheese filling:
- 32 ounces ricotta cheese drained
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger optional
Instructions
For the whoopie pies:
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves..
- In a separate bowl, beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and beat until well incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until very well combined. Add the vanilla extract and beat until everything is smooth and incorporated.
- Add about half of the dry ingredients and half of the buttermilk into the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed until just combined, scraping the bowl as necessary. Add in the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk to the batter. Beat on low or stir until just combined. The batter should be thick and fluffy.
- Spoon small mounds of batter, around 2 tablespoons each, onto the prepared baking sheets. Leave room for the pies to spread (around 12 pies per large baking sheet). Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the top is dry to the touch and springs back when gently poked. Let the pies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the whipped ricotta filling:
- Using a blender, stick blender, or food processor, blend the drained ricotta, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and ground ginger until smooth and creamy. Do not over whip which releases too much liquid. Refrigerate until ready to use.
To assemble:
- Once the pies are completely cooled, spoon around 3-4 tablespoons of the ricotta filling onto the flat side of a pie and top with another. The filling can make these whoopie pies soggy over time, so I recommend filling these whoopie pies right before serving. Enjoy!