Whoopie Pie Ginger Cookies

Rich and indulgent Whoopie Pie Ginger Cookies. Full of holiday season flavors thanks to ginger notes in the dough  are combined with a dairy free cream filling based on coconut milk. The whole recipe is not only super easy to make, it’s also entirely vegan and gluten free. Truly a showstopper and a must make at any time.

In my childhood I loved sweet indulgences. Well, I still do. Some of my favorites were the usual suspects like candy bars. Before I became vegan I got them for myself very often.

I guess you are not surprised to find out that I didn’t wait long until I made a vegan version of my old favorites.

I’m thinking of my Vegan Caramel Shortbread (Copycat Twix Style) or the Vegan Snickers Bars. No need to miss any of these – with only plant-based ingredients they are even better than the original.

Besides those candy bars, I had a big soft for whoopie pies. So it was only a matter of time to create my own whoopie recipe.

Of course you can find so many mind-blowing combos like chocolate, pumpkin, and red velvet whoopie pies, but none will taste like these whoopies here.

But that’s not all you can enjoy in this recipe. If you know me already a bit, I take my own directions. So here is the question: who does not love chewy ginger cookies?

Yes, guess what, we will combine awesome ginger cookies with a whoopie pie filling in one tasty dessert recipe.

I know you will love these Whoopie Pie Ginger Cookies. They are truly the best of both worlds, satisfying, infused with fresh ginger, warming, creamy, timeless, elegant, drool worthy, remarkable, shareable, and seriously a must make for everyone.

What is a Whoopie?

For those of you who never had any whoopies, let me tell you a bit about them. Basically, they are a dessert like a traditional chocolate cake with a cream filling made from heavy cream, butter and cream cheese.

As you can see from this list of ingredients, this is a long way from being dairy free or plant based of course. But how amazing would it be to have a version that is?

People talk about whoopies also in a less strictly traditional way.

It’s a broad term and you can do a lot of things, like we are today – a sandwich cookie with a whoopie pie filling.

How to make Ginger Cookies in one bowl?

Before we make a sandwich cookie, we have to bake the cookies first, of course. As I said, I’m going for some holiday season spices in this recipe – fresh ginger is just so good.

What is even better is that you can make these in one bowl. The dough is based on the one I used in my Vegan Strawberry Sandwich Cookies.

Use some gluten free flour, mix with maple, peanut butter, and of course don’t forget to add fresh ginger.

Wrap the dough in plastic a wrap, form a cookie roll and let it chill a bit. After that you can easily slice the cookies, bake them for 5 minutes and cool for 10 minutes.

If you like it a bit fancier, use a whoopie pie pan, then there is no need for slicing cookies from the dough though.

Make an easy dairy free filling for these Whoopie Pie Ginger Cookies

A classic whoopie filling is made from butter, cream, or marshmallows. But what one can so if you don’t want to or can’t have dairy?

Use the chilled coconut milk! Make sure it is well chilled, so you can easily scoop the cream from the top. Set the liquid aside and use it for smoothies and such.

Now combine the chilled coconut cream, vanilla, and maple syrup in a bowl. Use a hand mixer until the cream transform into real heavy cream. Set aside again.

Lastly, we are going to use agar agar. Carefully read the directions since the amount you need will depend on whether you are using flakes or powder. Mix with the heavy cream filling and you are good to go to assemble. Use a pastry bag to spread some thumb-thick filling on one cookie.

Put another cookie on top, and repeat the same with the remaining cookies. If you are really lazy, skip the pastry bag and use a teaspoon.

What is agar agar?

Agar agar is an amazing vegan alternative to animal bone based gelatin made from seaweed extract. It’s basically a thickener, which is absolutely needed in these Whoopie Pie Ginger Cookies for stabilizing the vanilla cream filling.

Otherwise it might turn out runny, so you need either agar agar powder or agar agar flakes.

It’s neutral and tasteless so you can combine it with everything. It stays firm even at high outside temperatures, so no need to worry about the weather any time.

You can find agar agar at any Asian, organic shops and of course online.

It has no calories, sugar, carbs. Also, it’s free from gluten, soy, egg, starch, milk and preservatives. So overall it is a much healthier alternative to gelatin.

If you try Whoopie Pie Ginger Cookies, share your excitement tag me on Facebook and Instagram.

Take a picture! See you soon and happy baking, Florian.