December 20, 2011

hello christmas!

evening all! with only a few days till christmas and an already bulging belly (and a few requests), i thought it incredibly appropriate to share the new baked love in my life. the gingerbread whoopie pie. a few have asked what a whoopie* is...i however, just love saying the word whoopie. i even half close my right eye like i'm some kinda gangsta talking about some sweet new drug i just scored. what am i even talking about? i must be high on baileys fudge. i scored this sweet recipe online (thank you pink parsley) and it totally delivered. not only is gingerbread the taste of christmas for me, the uncooked batter is to die for. i don't recommend eating too much of it if you want something to show for all of your hard work (unless you have a kitchenaid and it's all done for you!) these were a complete darling to make. they held their shape in the oven and made the house smell divine. the key to whoopies (and cupcakes for that matter) is to keep an eye on them. with 24 or so whoopie discs in the oven at a time, they don't take too long to cook. there's an art to baking and it's kinda like a relationship, you have to stay committed and you will be rewarded. probably explains why i'm boyfriendless as i clearly put baking before boys! i would LOVE to see what you make if you do decide to grab yourself some festive whoopie action. they're well worth the effort...if only for the taste testing of the lemon cream cheese filling..YUM!



gingerbread whoopie pies.

3 3/4 cups plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda (bicarb)
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup molasses (golden syrup)
3/4 cup buttermilk

Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

12 ounces (340g) cream cheese, cold
8 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract plus more as desired
zest of 1 lemon
3 3/4 -4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted




Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg, beating until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed.

With the mixer on low speed, mix in half the dry ingredients. Add the molasses (syrup), then the remaining dry ingredients. Finally, add the buttermilk, mixing until just incorporated.

Use a medium cookie scoop or a pastry bag fitted with a round tip to form the cookie shapes on the prepared baking sheet. Space the cookies a few inches apart, and bake 9-12 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through, until the cookies are cooked through and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger.

Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Meanwhile, make the filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla, lemon extract, and lemon zest, and mix to combine. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the sugar. Once it is incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy.

Match the cookies together by size, and pipe or spread filling over half the cookies. Form sandwiches with the remaining halves, and serve or store in an airtight container. Makes around 28 pies.












*whoopie pies are a dessert that consists of two cake-like cookies sandwiching a creamy, frosting-like filling. it is easy to think of them as a more portable version of a cupcake, where the frosting is inside of the cake and there is no wrapper to contend with.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us Laura :)

I'm going to give them a go this week. I must also confess I have fallen in love with your blog! I just spent a good hour or more eyeing off your pretty pictures & reading :) I also just became a liker of your 2 facebook pages.

Gosh you are one multi-talented lady :)

Kindred Spirits said...

I love your blog. Just discovered you and what a great discovery it is!, Belinda

Kate said...

I must admit that my Kitchen Aid was one of the only things I missed from home. But I must also admit that before we left home and I was baking up a storm that I never was able to capture a good in progress baking shot. I am super impressed with yours.
Gorgeous as usual. x

Anonymous said...

Ooh, these look just like ginger kisses...thanks for sharing the recipe am keen to try it :)

Kylie said...

I was going to ask you for this recipe Laura, so thank you for getting it out there because I forgot.
I am going to make these in the next couple of days so I'll let you know what I think...
Why do your whoopies look so perfect and mine look like cr**? I've got a Kitchenaid so it's not that...at least they taste good x

Trudy Florence said...

YUM! I hope our conventional oven can deal with this. I may end up just making Dutch spiced biscuits, I don't want the whoopie's to fail, I would be so sad. xxx

Bungalowgirl said...

Oh Merry Christmas to you too! Thanks so much for sharing, these look super super yum. Also getting my thrills looking at your kitchenaid shots too. I saw the pistachio up close and personal in Myer the other day.... melx

Lea said...

Laura these look divine. I'll add it to my Christmas Eve Bbaking list I think. Yours turned out beautifully. They all look so perfect, the right size and shape and perfect amount of puff and beautifully photographed too;)

Zara said...

These look so good. And thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I have a bit of a craving for gingerbread and these fit the bill perfectly. x

Hello Vintage said...

My Mum would love these as she loves store bought 'Ginger Kisses' which look really similar. Will have to try these out, thanks! Sherry :)