Molasses Whoopie Pies Recipe (Amish Whoopie Pies) - Amish Heritage (2024)

Amish Molasses Cookies

There are many different recipes for Amish molasses cookies, and most of them are similar. They usually contain molasses and spices, and it's a great combination.

I have another molasses cookie recipe on my blog (soft and chewy Amish Gingersnap Cookies), and they are also quite delicious.

But this recipe for molasses crinkle cookies gets icing sandwiched between two cookies creating delicious molasses whoopie pies. However, these molasses cookies are also great on their own. So if you prefer, you can skip the frosting and enjoy them as cookies rather than as whoopie pies.

Ingredients

1. Butter (room temperature): Provides richness and flavor to the cookie, contributing to a soft and tender texture.
2. Crisco shortening: Adds moisture to the dough and helps create a tender and chewy texture in the cookies.
3. Light brown sugar: Sweetens the cookies and also contributes to their chewiness. The molasses content in brown sugar adds depth and richness to the flavor.
4. Light-tasting molasses: Introduces a distinct molasses flavor that is characteristic of these cookies, enhancing the overall taste and contributing to the chewiness.
5. Large eggs: Act as a binding agent and contribute to the structure and richness of the cookies.
6. Sour cream: Adds moisture and a subtle tang to the dough, contributing to the overall softness of the cookies.
7. All-purpose flour: Provides the structure and bulk of the cookies, serving as the main dry ingredient.
8. Baking soda: Helps the cookies rise by leavening the dough and contributes to their soft and chewy texture.
9. Baking powder: Another leavening agent that helps the cookies rise, providing a lighter texture.
10. Salt: Enhances the overall flavor by balancing sweetness and highlighting other taste elements.
11. Ground cinnamon: Adds warmth and a sweet, spicy flavor to the cookies.
12. Ground ginger: Contributes a subtle, warm spiciness to the cookies, complementing the molasses flavor.
13. Ground cloves: Adds a hint of zest and warmth, enhancing the overall spice profile of the cookies.

Molasses Crinkle Cookies Recipe

These soft ginger molasses cookies with shortening are easy to make.

I mix the dough with my Kitchen-Aid mixer and let it do the work for me.

The dough is a bit sticky, so it's good to refrigerate it for a few hours or overnight before rolling the dough into balls. Then the dough balls get rolled in sugar and placed on a baking sheet.

I use my small cookie scoop (about a tablespoon) to make mini whoopie pies (using a cookie scoop helps to create uniform-sized cookies). But feel free to make them any size you want.

Dipping the cookie balls into sugar adds a pretty touch, but it also makes them sweeter. So you can skip this step if preferred or dip only the tops of the cookies in sugar.

Also, make sure you don't overbake the cookies, or you will end up with crunchy cookies instead of chewy cookies.

Cool the cookies on a wire rack. Then spread the frosting on one cookie and place a second cookie on top.

Wrap the assembled whoopie pies in plastic wrap. They keep the best when individually wrapped and stored in an airtight container.

Frosting for Molasses Whoopie Pies

These molasses cookies are delicious without frosting. So if you don't feel like taking the time to frost them, you'll still have amazing cookies to eat.

But adding the frosting, which turns them into traditional whoopie pies, makes them even more delightful.

Feel free to use your favorite frosting to fill these molasses whoopie pies. But the cookies are already sweet, so you probably won't want to add an overly sweet frosting.

I am adding an Amish whoopie pie filling recipe. However, it contains raw egg whites (pasteurized egg whites are a great option). I am leaving a link that informs you of the risk of consuming raw egg whites.

If you don't feel comfortable using this frosting recipe, feel free to use a different one such as the buttercream frosting I use in pumpkin whoopie pies, marshmallow filling, or cream cheese frosting.

For a fun twist during the holiday season, fill them with eggnog buttercream to make a holiday cookie sandwich.

Can I Freeze Molasses Whoopies with Frosting?

Yes, you can freeze these molasses crinkle cookies. Freezing cookies helps to keep them fresh.

Wrap them individually in pieces of plastic wrap, then place them into an airtight container.

You can freeze them for up to a couple of months. Just make sure to remove them from the freezer at least a half-hour before you want to eat them (unless you like frozen cookies).

What Kind of Molasses Should I Use to Make Amish Soft Molasses Cookies?

Molasses is a common ingredient that gets used frequently in Amish households.

For example, Amish Peanut Butter Spread is often made with molasses. Amish Wet-Bottom Shoofly Pie and Shoofly Cake are both breakfast desserts containing molasses.

And when baking with molasses it's good to use lighter-tasting molasses so that it doesn't overpower all the other flavors. (Unless you love a strong dark molasses flavor.)

Brer Rabbit molasses is great to use for these molasses crinkle cookies. You can use either the full flavor brer rabbit or the mild flavor. But I do not recommend using blackstrap molasses.

I like to use Golden Barrel baking molasses when making shoofly pie, and it can also be used for making these cookies.

King Syrup is another one of my favorites, although technically it's syrup and not molasses. But sometimes I use it in place of molasses. Or I use a combination of both for a milder flavor.

Amish Whoopie Pies Introduced from Holmes County, Ohio

I grew up New Order Amish in the Lancaster, PA area. And we baked molasses cookies as far back as I can remember.

But I had never tasted molasses crinkle whoopie pies until my sister-in-law from Ohio introduced us to them. And I fell in love with the first bite!

Because of the distance and limited travel, it's not very common for Amish people to marry outside of their community or state. But my brother got married to a gal from Holmes County, Ohio.

We had been back and forth with a couple of New Order youth groups from Holmes County for many years. But he was the only one who ever married someone from there. And we thought it was pretty cool to be so connected with another community.

Amish Molasses Crinkle Whoopie Pies Recipe

These soft and chewy molasses crinkle cookies are delightful! But add frosting to the cookies, and they are AMAZING molasses whoopie pies!!

Nutrition

Serving: 1small whoopie pieCalories: 425kcalCarbohydrates: 70gProtein: 5gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 273mgPotassium: 118mgFiber: 1gSugar: 39gVitamin A: 154IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 2mg