Low Carb Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Keto Cheesecake Buttercream are a low carb remake of a classic childhood favorite.
One of the things I love about a ketogenic way of eating is that it's fairly easy to remake just about any recipe into a keto version of itself. Childhood favorites and classic comfort foods are some of my favorite recipes to play with.
Growing up, treats like whoopie pies were a rare thing in my lunchbox. My mom had a very regimented idea of what lunch should be: a sandwich (tunafish or pb&j were her staples), a piece of fruit (usually an apple), and a carton of milk. Cookies in any form were a rare occurrence, but they’d occasionally show up. Whoopie pies were always a favorite and I thought they’d be the perfect treat to keto-fy.
What Are Whoopie Pies?
Whoopie pies are essentially a cookie sandwich. Not just any cookie though; two round cake-like cookies are sandwiched together with a cream filling.
Ingredients for These Low Carb Chocolate Whoopie Pies:
- Almond flour or almond meal
- Unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- Beef gelatin (I use Vital Proteins)
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Swerve Confectioners
- Stevia glycerite
- Vanilla
- Blackstrap molasses
- Egg
How to Make Whoopie Pies:
Whoopie pies are made similarly to other cookies. To yield the right cake-like texture for these cookies, the dough is a bit fluffier than normal cookie dough and a bit thicker than regular cake batter. It’s basically a cross between cookie dough and cake batter.
Once the dough/batter is made for whoopie pies, it’s scooped onto baking sheets and baked. I like to use an ice cream scoop to measure out the dough, which ensures the cookies are the same size. This helps make sure the cookies can easily be paired up to make into cookie sandwiches.
Where Did Whoopie Pies Originate?
The origin of whoopie pies is contested, with the following states claiming to be the birthplace: Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Virginia. Whoopie pies are the official state treat of Maine and additionally are a Pennsylvania Amish tradition. (Read more about the origin of whoopie pies on Wikipedia.) No matter where they were invented, whoopie pies are a delicious creation.
Is a Whoopie Pie a Cookie or a Cake?
Whoopie pies are a bit of a cross between a cookie and a cake. The cookies are very cake-like in texture, much more light and fluffy and less crunchy than a typical cookie. For a whoopie pie, two of these cake-like cookies are sandwiched together with a creamy frosting, or sometimes a marshmallow filling.
Are Whoopie Pies the Same as Moon Pies?
Whoopie pies and moon pies are not the same thing. The cookies used to sandwich whoopie pies together are cake-like in texture and typically chocolate flavored. However, the cookies that sandwich moon pies together are much crunchier and usually graham cracker flavored. Whoopie pies classically have a creamy vanilla frosting filling (although they can sometimes have a marshmallow filling). Alternatively, moon pies always have a marshmallow filling (and it’s not quite as much filling as whoopie pies have). Lastly, moon pies have a chocolate coating, while whoopie pies don’t.
More Low Carb Cookie Recipes to Try:
- Vanilla Almond Shortbread Cookies from Healthy Sweet Eats
- Keto Flourless Chewy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies from Peace, Love and Low Carb
- Low Carb Keto Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from The Keto Queens
- Chocolate Whoopie Pies:
- 140 g (1 ¼ cups) almond flour or meal (both will work here)
- ¼ cup (20 g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon beef gelatin
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 48 g (about ⅓ cup) Swerve Confectioners
- 4 drops stevia glycerite
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
- 1 large egg
- Cheesecake Buttercream:
- 1 cup (½ batch) of my Low Carb Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe here: https://www.healthysweeteats.com/vanilla-bean-low-carb-cheesecake-frosting/)
- Preheat the oven to 350F; line 1 large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat liner.
- Whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, beef gelatin, baking powder, and salt, in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Beat together the butter and Swerve Confectioners, and then beat in the stevia glycerite, vanilla, molasses, and egg.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet and let the batter rest for 3 minutes.
- Use a 1-tablespoon scoop to measure out the dough. Roll each into a ball and arrange them on the baking sheet about 1 inch apart (they should all fit on 1 large baking sheet). Slightly flatten each ball to a circle about 1 ¾ inches.
- Bake until the cookies are set, about 10 minutes, rotating the tray once halfway through, and then cool completely.
- Once cooled, sandwich 2 cookies together with a slightly heaping 1 tablespoon of buttercream.
- Store the whoopie pies covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
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