Gingerbread-Raspberry Sandwich Cookies combine two distinct, delicious flavors: spicy gingerbread cookies and tart raspberry filling.
When I asked my daughter Eliza if she had any great holiday cookie ideas this year, without any hesitation, she suggested a novel idea I never would have come up with on my own: Gingerbread-Raspberry Sandwich Cookies. I shouldn’t have been surprised; last summer, she’d asked me to make are a raspberry gingerbread cake, and the combination was spectacular.
I knew these cookies, destined for the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap (an event that gives bloggers a chance to share sweets while helping raise money for children’s cancer therapies), would turn out just right, and they did. Eliza’s idea turned into one of my all-time favorite cookies.
Banish from your mind thoughts of dry, dense gingerbread cookies. These addictive, buttery cookies are full of spicy goodness. They’re so delicious in their own right that we used the same recipe to make gingerbread people for the cookie decorating party we hosted this year.
Don’t let the tempting tastiness of these gingerbread cookies stop you from turning them into sandwiches, though; with the tart sweetness of the dense raspberry filling, they’re truly exceptional. Made from fresh or frozen raspberries, the deep pink filling tastes like a less sweet version of See’s raspberry cream filling.
Julie Ann of Salt Sugar Sea, one of the bloggers who received my cookies, won my heart with her thoughtful thank you note. Great manners aside, she said that the raspberry filling in my cookies was “actually better” than See’s. Since See’s raspberry creams are a favorite in my house, that is high praise!
Thank you to Stephanie of Victory Club for sending me Cinnamon Shortbread and Jamie of Love, Jamie for sending me White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies. Such a treat to open boxes of cookies made with love. Take a moment to check out their recipes for more cookie inspiration! Happy holidays!
Gingerbread-Raspberry Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients
- Cookies
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- pinch white pepper
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter softened but still cool
- 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- Filling
- 12 ounces fresh or frozen raspberries
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter softened but still cool
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon Chambord
Instructions
- For the cookies, whisk flours, salt, and spices in a bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, combine butter and brown sugar with the paddle attachment, beating until light and fluffy. Add honey and molasses and mix until fully incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in three additions, mixing just to combine after each addition. Form the dough into a flat disk, wrap tightly with plastic, and refrigerate for several hours (or up to two days) before continuing. Remove dough from the refrigerator about an hour before rolling.
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. On a floured surface, roll dough to a thickness between 1/8 and 1/4 inch. Stamp dough with a 1 1/2-inch round cutter and place cookies on prepared baking sheets about 1/2 inch apart. Bake until the cookies begin to brown around the bottom edge, about 10 t0 12 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.
- For the filling, bring the raspberries to a boil over moderate heat in a small saucepan. Continue boiling for about a minute or two, stirring and crushing the berries with a wooden spoon to release their juices. Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the raspberries over a clean saucepan, pressing down to extract as much of the juice as you can. Place the raspberry juice back on the stove and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Stir the juices occasionally at first and then more frequently as the sauce thickens to prevent scorching. Continue cooking until the juices take on a jam-like consistency and have reduced to about 1/4 cup. Cool before continuing.
- Combine reduced raspberry juices, butter, Chambord, and the powdered sugar in the bowl of a standing electric mixer. With the paddle attachment, stir on low speed to combine. Increase mixer speed and beat until well combined, thick, and shiny. If the mixture feels too soft and gooey, add a bit more powdered sugar.
- Pipe or spread about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of a gingerbread cookie before topping it with another cookie. Press the two cookies together gently to spread the filling to the edges. Continue with remaining cookies and filling.
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PIN GINGERBREAD-RASPBERRY SANDWICH COOKIES FOR LATER
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I don’t think I ever would have thought to pair raspberry and gingerbread, but these cookies look and sound amazing! I love the pretty color of the raspberry filling. Gorgeous!
Thanks so much! They taste as good as they look!
Love them!
Thank you! Happy baking!
These were delicious! I cut a small shape out of the top cookie for the filling to show through, like a linzer cookie. They were really pretty.
So glad you enjoyed these cookies! I love your idea of cutting a shape in the top cookie! Genius!