Have you seen the long laundry list of ingredients in store bought allergy friendly Whoopi Pies? We have only found one brand to buy and wow! So while I was working on my cookbook The Big Book of Gluten Free Baking I knew I wanted to add some gluten free Whoopi pies to the variety of recipes.
In my cookbook I offer a red velvet Whoopie pie that is out of this world. And today I’m sharing my apple cinnamon ones so even if you don’t have my cookbook yet. You can still make this delicious dessert as well.
A couple of things that are pretty important. I recommend using Spectrum brand of shortening, it is more firm and will help your whoopie pies grow higher instead of spreading wider.
Your Whoopie Pie mix is going to look like a thick cake batter. You will need to chill the dough for 2 hours before baking. This will help the batter set and keep them from spreading too much.
I also used my special Stay Gluten Free All-Purpose flour blend to make these. You can get the recipe here. If choose not to use it, make sure to read my notes on my other recommendation.
Lastly, I do love how using the silicone baking mats to help prevent cookies from spreading, but for this recipe, I would line your baking sheets with parchment paper. When I first baked these on a silicone baking mat, the mat gripped the edges so they wouldn’t spread, but when lifted them up so they had a hollow groove in the center of the bottom.
I hope you love these! As always please tell me what you think. Either post a pic in my Stay Gluten Free Community here, leave a comment below or email me directly.
Paola Anna has helped thousands of people live a delicious gluten free life. Her gluten intolerance and her boys’ food allergies have inspired her to be an advocate for the gluten free community and create recipes that the whole family will love. You can sign up to be a Gluten Free Insider at her website stayglutenfree.com
Apple Cinnamon Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 cups Apple Cider
- 375g (3 cups) SGF All-Purpose Blend Link to recipe in post above
- 1 tsp Xanthan gum
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp Ground ginger
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) Earth Balance Dairy free butter sticks
- 100g (1/2 cup) Organic cane sigar
- 100g (1/2 cup) Organic light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Avocado oil
- 3/4 cup Unsweetened applesauce
- 2 Large eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Filling
- 51g (1/4 cup) Palm Shortening
- 4 ounces Dairy free cream cheese
- 1 tbsp Coconut milk beverage
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 300g (2 1/2 cups) organic powdered usgar
Topping
- 2 tbsp Organic cane sugar
- 1/4 tsp Ground cinnamon
Instructions
Cookies
- Add the apple cider to a small saucepan to reduce it over medium-high heat while you stir it occasionally until you are left with 1/2 cup. You should start checking it after 15 minutes to see how well it is reducing, then every 5 minutes there after. Let it cool for 10 minutes.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg together.
- In a mixing bowl using an electric mixer cream the butter, and sugars together for 1 minute until smooth.
- Add the oil, applesauce, eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. The mixture will look curdled.
- Add the flour mixture and begin mixing as you slowly add the 1/2 cup of the reduced apple cider in. Mix on low until completely combined. The batter will be thick and creamy. (Like a thick cake batter)
- Cover the bowl and chill it for 2 hours to set.
- Before the batter is done chilling preheat the oven to 350 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (I do not recommend silicone baking mats as they can grip the edges of the cookie and not the middle. leaving it hollow.
- Using a 1 inch ice cream scoop transfer tablespoon size mounds of batter onto the prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart.
- In a small bowl mix the 2 tbsp of sugar and 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon together. Sprinkle over the top of each mound of cookie batter.
- Bake 10-12 minutes until the centers of each cookie appear set. The cookies in general will still be very soft.
- Cool them on the baking sheet for 10 minutes then gently transfer them to a wire rack using a spatula to cool them completely. Prepare the filling.
Filling
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the shortening and cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
- Add the coconut milk and vanilla and mix together.
- Add the powdered sugar (sift if necessary) and mix until smooth.
- Pair the cookies by size and spread a layer of filling on the inside of one cookie and top it with the other to form a "sandwich". Repeat this step with the remaining cookies.
Notes
- As with all my recipes, if you can tolerate dairy feel free to make the proper substitutions to include it.
- I have also used reduce apple juice to make these.
- Save time and reduce the apple cider the day before. Store it in an airtight container overnight and bring it to room temperature before using it in your baking.
- If you so not use my SGF special blend of GF All- Purpose flour, I highly recommend using King Arthur's Measure for Measure. Omit the xanthan gum since this blend already includes it.
- The size of the ice cream scoop or melon baller really matters. If you have too much or too little batter per mound, they won't rise as they should.
- Store sandwiches in an airtight container for up to 3 days or refrigerate them for up to 5 days.
- I really recommend using Spectrum brand shortening. It is more firm and will help prevent these cookies from spreading. I do not recommend using Nutiva shortening in this cookbook. It is very buttery and your cookies will spread.