This paleo whoopie pie recipe is SO. GOOD. Seriously. I’m in love. But what’s not to love about marshmallow creme stuffed between 2 soft chocolate cookies? And they’re gluten free and paleo too?! I mean, COME ON!
What is a whoopie pie?
Traditionally, a whoopie pie consists of two chocolate cookies stuffed with marshmallow creme, or some kind of frosting. The cookies are typically soft and almost cake like. These days, there’s a lot of unique twists on the traditional chocolate whoopie pie recipe. Flavors like gingerbread, strawberry, pumpkin, and even peppermint are just a few of the variations you can find.
How to make whoopie pies
Start by baking the cookies and setting them aside to cool. No matter what filling you choose to put in between the two cookies, they’ll need to be completely cooled. If the cookies are still warm when you’re assembling the whoopie pies, the filling will melt and they won’t stay together.
Directions for paleo chocolate whoopie pies:
Combine the almond flour, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add in the eggs, vanilla, maple syrup, and oil and mix again until everything is well incorporated. Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the batter onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes. If you like a softer cookie, stick to 11 minutes, if you like the edges to be just a little crispy, bake for the full 13 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the pan. While the cookies are cooling, prepare the marshmallow creme.
Directions for paleo marshmallow creme:
Add 1/4 cup of water to the stand mixer bowl. Slowly sprinkle the gelatin into to water, stirring as you go so it doesn’t clump up. Set aside to let bloom (rest) while you’re heating the sugar mixture.
Into a medium saucepan, add the maple syrup, honey, and remaining 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Once it starts bubbling, turn the heat down to medium low and let it simmer until it reaches 240℉. This usually takes anywhere from 10-15 minutes. You’ll need an instant read thermometer or a candy thermometer for this process. Once the sugar mixture reaches 240℉, turn the mixer fitted with a whisk attachment to medium speed, and slowly (and carefully!) poor the sugar mixture into the water/gelatin mixture. Mix on high for 5 minutes, then add in the vanilla and salt. Mix for 5 more minutes on high. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, and then turn the mixer on again for a minute or 2.
Do whoopie pies need to be refrigerated?
These whoopie pies will keep well in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can store them in the fridge if you’d like to serve them cold, but it’s not necessary. Because this paleo whoopie pie recipe is made from almond flour, they will soften over time. Almond flour is a very moist flour, and as such, it’s just the nature of paleo baked goods to soften in the following days. If you’re going to be serving these to guests, I recommend baking them the same day.
I had so much fun creating this recipe for you because whoopie pies were one of my favorite desserts as a kid. I hope you love them as much as I do!
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Paleo Whoopie Pie Recipe (gluten free)
Ingredients
- FOR THE COOKIES
- 2 2/3 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons raw cocao powder
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- FOR THE MARSHMALLOW CREME
- 1 cup water divided 1/4 cup and 3/4 cup
- 1/2 tablespoon grass fed beef gelatin
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 level cup thick honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- small pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- FOR THE COOKIES:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉
- Combine the almond flour, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Add in the eggs, vanilla, maple syrup, and oil and mix again until everything is well incorporated.
- Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the batter onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan. While the cookies are cooling, prepare the marshmallow creme.
- FOR THE MARSHMALLOW CREME:
- Add 1/4 cup of water to the stand mixer bowl.
- Slowly sprinkle the gelatin into to water, stirring as you go so it doesn’t clump up. Set it aside to let bloom (rest) while you’re heating the sugar mixture.
- Into a medium saucepan, add the maple syrup, honey, and remaining 3/4 cup of water.
- Bring the maple syrup mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat.
- Once it starts bubbling, turn the heat down to medium low and let it simmer until it reaches 240℉. This usually takes anywhere from 10-15 minutes. You'll need an instant read thermometer or a candy thermometer for this process.
- Once the sugar mixture reaches 240℉, turn the mixer (fitted with a whisk attachment) to medium speed, and slowly (and carefully!) poor the sugar mixture into the water/gelatin mixture.
- Mix on high for 5 minutes, then add in the vanilla and salt.
- Mix for 5 more minutes on high.
- Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, and then turn the mixer on again for a minute or 2.
- Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature, generously frost the bottom of one cookie, and place another cookie on top of the creme to make a cookie sandwich. Enjoy!
Is there anything that the beef gelatin could be substituted for? Thanks so much!
Hi Melanie! Agar agar is a common vegan substitute for beef gelatin – but I’ve never tried it and couldn’t tell you how much to use, or if it would work well in this recipe. I know that it’s for sure not a 1:1 sub so you’d have to do a little research and experimenting. Let me know how it goes if you ever try it out!
This recipe looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it. I like the big size and also think they would be adorable in “mini” size to serve at a party. If I made the cookies half the size, do you think they would bake in half the time?
That would be super cute! I’d start with a little less than half the time, and then keep an eye on them from there. Let me know how they turn out!
Thank you for this recipe!
I made them small using a 1 TBSP scoop and baked for 8 minutes. Fabulous!! It is the best chocolate cookie ever! And the marshmallow cream is delicious! After scooping a generous amount of cream onto the cookies, I still had a lot of cream leftover. Will it be good in the refrigerator for a while?
Yay! So happy you love them, Sue! Thanks for the review. 🙂 The marshmallow cream will firm up and become less spreadable if you store it in the fridge, but it will still taste delicious and keep just fine.
OMG. Don’t usually write recipe reviews but I had to comment on this one! This is so good. I didn’t think that there was any way the cream would turn out well, or white, but I was wrong. Such a great recipe!
Thank you Stephanie! This made my day! I appreciate you taking the time to write a review – it helps a lot! Enjoy the whoopie pies!
What kind of oil do you use for the 1/2 cup in the cookies? Coconut? Vegetable?
While the chocolate is still super fudgy and delicious, the cookie part got very soft after a few hours. Just wondering if I should use a different oil or bake longer.
Hi Sue! I use avocado oil but any oil should work. Unfortunately, baked goods made from almond flour will soften over time. That’s just the nature of almond flour. However, I don’t recall mine getting overly soft, or too soft to handle. Mine held up just fine! I would recommend trying to troubleshoot this issue by baking them longer. I’ll make this recipe again soon and see if I need to rework the oil ratio…but I think baking them a little longer should do it! 🙂
Thank you for your reply! I’ll bake them longer next time and also watch the website to see if you think the oil should be adjusted. The taste is like the perfect brownie/cake and marshmallow so I will not give up.
Hi Sue! I finally got around to seeing if this recipe was recorded correctly. I definitely think the oil measurement was off – thanks for bringing it to my attention! I looked everywhere for my original hand written recipe and couldn’t locate it to see what changes needed to be made. But I played around with it a few more times and am super happy with the updated recipe. Let me know what you think! And thanks again for letting me know something was off. 🙂
Can I leave the coconut sugar?
Hi Antonia! No, I’m sorry, you can’t leave the coconut sugar out of these. They wouldn’t turn out. Let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂
Is this 2 plus 2/3 cup almond flour or 2/3 cup x 2?
2 full cups plus another 2/3 cup. 🙂
I’m obsessed with this recipe! Would love if you could figure out how to turn these into a pumpkin spice whoopee pie.
I love them too! Thanks Allison! Pumpkin sounds amazing – mission accepted 🙂
Can the marshmallow fluff keep for a day in the fridge before using or will it turn into gelo?
I don’t recommend it because the consistency will change. It will no longer be spreadable. However, it still tastes great. So if you didn’t care about the consistency, you could definitely refridgerate.