Chewy Ginger Sandwich Cookies with Orange Cream Filling
These chewy ginger sandwich cookies with orange cream filling are made with just the right amount of molasses and brown sugar to round out that classic gingerbread flavor you love, with a bright and zesty orange cream for a refreshingly modern twist.
Prep and line: preheat your oven to 350°F and line three baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1 cup white sugar in a small, shallow bowl and set aside.
Combine flour, leavener, spices, and salt: combine the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a small bowl and stir until well combined. Set aside.
Cream butter, shortening, and brown sugar: cream butter, shortening, and brown sugar (not the granulated coating sugar), using a hand or stand mixer for 1-2 minutes on medium-high until light and fluffy.
Add egg, molasses, and vanilla: add in the egg, molasses (grease your cup with baking spray for easy release!), and vanilla extract, and beat just until blended and smooth.
Add in dry ingredients: dump in the flour mixture, and mix on low speed, just until fully combined.
Scoop and round: scoop dough into small 1” to 1 ½” balls, and use your hands to round them off. Set the finished ones aside on one of the prepped baking sheets while you finish scooping and rolling the rest of the dough (an ice-cream scoop works well here for easy portioning and shaping).
Coat in sugar: one or two at a time, roll the dough balls in the granulated sugar you set aside in the first step until well coated. Place dough balls at least 2” apart on the other prepared baking sheets.
Bake until crackly and set: bake for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies have flattened, crackled, and feel set on top when gently pressed (they’ll still be a little soft in the centers though).
Cool fully before frosting: allow cookies to fully cool while you prepare the frosting.
TO MAKE THE FROSTING:
Beat together all ingredients: place all frosting ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Beat on low speed using a hand or stand mixer, just until the ingredients are roughly combined, and then 1 minute on medium speed until smooth and fluffy.
TO ASSEMBLE THE SANDWICHES:
Marry the cookies: pair cookies according to the best matches by size and dimension on your work surface or a baking sheet with the flat bottoms facing up.
Fill with frosting: using a pastry bag, or a spoon/ice cream scoop and a dinner knife, top one cookie in each pair with 1-2 tablespoons of frosting each. Spread frosting into an even layer (about a ¼" thick) until it's just shy of the edge (if piping into a neat, even layer, you don't need to spread it out any further).
Sandwich and enjoy! Top the frosted cookie with its partner to make a sandwich, and gently press the cookies together until the filling reaches the edge of the cookies. Allow sandwiches to sit at least 24 hours if possible before enjoying so the filling can soften your cookies to the perfect texture, then enjoy these deliciously spiced and creamy sandwiches!***
Notes
*Zest then juice: if you plan on juicing your orange for the filling liquid, be sure to zest it first as it’s difficult (and dangerous) to try and zest a cut and/or juiced orange.
**Milk, cream, or orange juice: you're welcome to use whatever flavor of liquid you'd like in your filling. I default to milk, but you can use cream for a slightly richer filling, or orange juice if you really want to amplify that orange flavor in your filling by juicing your orange(s) after you zest it.
***They get better with age: unlike many cookies which I recommend eating fresh for the best experience, the melding together of the cookies and filling for these sandwiches can take a little time. Therefore I recommend waiting 1 or even 2 days after you make these guys to eat them. For that 1-2 days, simply store them wrapped airtight at room temperature.
Just a classic gingerbread cookie: I love these cookies in their full sandwich form. BUT, the cookies themselves are so delicious, you can definitely just bake up some plain cookies (which will land somewhere between a ginger snap and chewy molasses cookie), and just skip the filling altogether!
It’d mean so much to me if you could please give the recipe card a ⭐ rating on the site and leave a comment to help others find this sweet recipe! Xo, Jocelyn @ Mint+Mallow