Gingerbread Whoopie Pies

Gingerbread Whoopie Pies!

What the heck is a Whoopie Pie? Apparently, Amish wives used to put these soft cookie sandwiches in their farmer husband's lunchboxes, and upon discovering them the men would yell "Whoopie!" Whatever their origin, these adorable little sandwiches are becoming modern in a big way. Over the past few weeks, I kept seeing different versions of whoopie pies on holiday magazine covers: pumpkin, gingerbread and chocolate cookies filled with marshmallow frosting.
Since it's Christmas time, I decided to make a gingerbread version with a marshmallow frosting rolled in crushed peppermint pieces. After a brief snafu (read about it here), I realized these whoopie pies are not only incredibly cute, but a great holiday flavor combination.

Gingerbread Whoopie Pies

• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Marshmallow Filling

• 1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow cream
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup crushed peppermint candy

Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add molasses and egg; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into a thick flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a nonstick Silpat sheet. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. I found it was easiest to cut the gingerbread dough into 1" strips, then into 1" squares and then roll them between my hands. Once they resemble 1" balls, roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.



Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

For the filling, mix marshmallow cream, butter and cream cheese in medium bowl until well blended. To assemble whoopie pies, place about 1 tablespoon filling on the flat side of 1 cookie. To make it easier, cleaner and more professional-looking, I spoon the frosting into a Ziploc bag, cut off about 1/4" from one of the corners, and pipe the frosting onto the cookie. Top with a second cookie, pressing gently to spread the filling. Repeat with remaining cookies. Roll the edge of each cookie in crushed peppermint candy, making sure the candy adheres to the frosting. Store whoopie pies between layers of wax paper in airtight container in refrigerator up to 5 days.