Apple Cider Whoopie Pies
- Total Time
- About 55 minutes, plus chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1¼cup/300 milliliters apple cider
- 1½cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
- 1teaspoon baking powder
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼teaspoon baking soda
- 1½teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½teaspoon ground ginger
- ½teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 6tablespoons/85 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus 2 tablespoons melted
- ½cup/110 grams packed dark brown sugar
- 1large egg
- ¼cup/60 milliliters apple butter
- ¼cup/50 grams granulated sugar
- 6ounces/170 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- ½teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Cakes
For the Filling
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
327 calories; 17 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 41 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 24 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 230 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring the apple cider to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Continue to cook the cider until it has reduced to ¼ cup/60 milliliters, about 16 to 18 minutes. Let cool completely. (You can pop the reduced cider in the fridge or freezer to cool faster while you continue.)
- Step 2
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, beat the room-temperature butter and brown sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add egg, apple butter and reduced apple cider, and beat until combined. Your batter may look like it has separated slightly, and that’s O.K. Add the dry mixture and mix just until combined, again scraping the bowl as necessary.
- Step 3
Portion the dough into 2-tablespoon scoops on 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets, about 1½-inches apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until the cakes are puffed and set, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer sheets to racks. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ½ teaspoon cinnamon and the granulated sugar. Brush the tops of the warm cakes with a bit of the melted butter and gently toss them in the sugar mixture. Set aside to cool completely.
- Step 4
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and beat to combine. Spread about 2 tablespoons of filling on the flat side of half of the cakes. Top with the other halves.
Private Notes
Comments
these are wonderful as is. For pete's sake a confection stands on its own. stop stressing about whether or not whoopie pie meets some childhood definition of the word. You can get your ratio or lard or fluff someplace else. And they are not donuts so expect a cake like texture. Cream cheese frosting is always good period. Use apple butter and not some watered down sub. it has more intense flavor plus you can have fun using up the jar.
Easy and do look like the picture, with dense texture. Flavor is heavy on ginger, taste like gingerbread cake, apple flavor is Very subtle. As a pro pastry chef I think they are worth perfecting so next time going to double apple butter and skip the cider reduction, reduce the ginger by 1/2 and use cake flour for more tenderness. Skip the melt butter at end & just toss in sugar. #30 scoop yields 19 pieces = 9 sandwiches. Cream cheese icing makes it! Delicious for snack, dessert or breakfast!
My bakery makes whoopee pies, and we have done many variations. This particular variation takes the cake. (It didn't hurt that I used apple cider I made using an old-fashioned cider press.). My one addition was to spread a shmear of extra apple butter on the inside of the cake, before adding cream cheese filling - extra luscious and moist and appley. Next time maybe a layer of caramelized apples?
These were a fun Saturday afternoon treat! They were especially good with a cup of coffee.
just made these and they are amazing! I used a tip below about using apple juice concentrate (1/4 cup) if you do not want to reduce cider and I made a cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Delish! I am going to store cakes at room temp and icing in fridge and put together tomorrow.
Made these for a Thanksgiving pot luck and they were a huge hit. Got a ton of compliments and was asked if I could make these every year! I know the rule is to make the recipe as written the first time around… but I did make 2 suggestions per comments. I used cake flour instead of AP and, instead of making the cider reduction, doubled the apple butter. I also used vanilla paste instead of extract, just for personal preference (and I like the little vanilla specks it leaves). I piped the icing on and they were visually beautiful. I felt like a professional. Would recommend!
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