I have been doing this keto thing for a long time now, and between my archives and my cookbooks, I have created thousands of delicious keto recipes. Lately, I’ve been digging through some of my older recipes, finding tasty items that need an update. And these Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies were high on my list!
What’s not to love? Soft cake-like chocolate cookies with a keto peanut butter mousse filling? But the older recipe was a little heavy and higher in carbs, and the photos were very outdated. So I set myself to the task of making them better than ever. And I am glad I did!
Being Canadian born and raised, whoopie pies were not something I grew up with. I’d never even heard of them until I moved to Boston. I had to ask a coworker what they were when they appeared on a plate of baked goods at an office meeting.
But once I gave them a taste, I could understand the appeal. And after I went keto, I decided I needed to give them a low carb makeover. But of course, my love for peanut butter and chocolate won out and I had to add a little flavor twist!
🌟 If you love peanut butter and chocolate treats, try my Keto Peanut Butter Cookies or my No Bake Keto Peanut Butter Pie next!
Why You Will Love These Keto Whoopie Pies
- Classic texture: Soft cake-like chocolate cookies and a creamy filling, just like classic whoopie pies!
- Delicious flavor: Nothing beats peanut butter and chocolate.
- Easy to make: The whole recipe comes together in about 35 minutes, so you can make them any time you have a craving.
- Family friendly: These sweet treats appeal to adults and children alike.
- Low carb and gluten-free: With no grains or added sugar, and only 4.4g net carbs per serving, these whoopie pies are perfect for keto diets.
Ingredient Notes
- Almond flour: I find that almond flour works best for keto whoopie pies, but you can use sunflower seed flour for a nut-free version. Coconut flour will not work in this recipe.
- Cocoa powder: Dutch process cocoa gives you the richest chocolate flavor.
- Protein powder: A little added protein powder helps the cookies rises better. Please see the Tips for Success section for more information.
- Sweetener: I recommend erythritol sweetener for the cookies, and powdered sweetener for the filling.
- Heavy whipping cream: A little cream goes in the cookies, as well as in the filling.
- Peanut butter: My personal favorite is Santa Cruz no stir creamy peanut butter.
- Cream Cheese: This gives the filling more structure.
- Baking staples: Butter, egg, baking powder, vanilla, and salt.
How to Make Keto Whoopie Pies
- Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, and salt until well combined.
- Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the egg, butter, vanilla, and heavy cream until you have a soft cookie dough.
- Form the cookies: Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a lined cookie sheet. Press down to about half an inch thick.
- Bake: Bake at 325ºF until the cookies are puffed and barely firm to the touch. Remove and let cool completely.
- Prepare the filling: Beat the peanut butter, cream cheese, sweetener and vanilla extract, then beat in the heavy cream until well combined.
- Assemble: Add one tablespoon of filling to the bottom of one cookie and top with another cookie.
Tips for Success
Whoopie pies are somewhere between a cake and a cookie. To get that nice tender texture with a rounded top, I created a soft cookie dough. It should be sturdy enough for you to roll into balls, but it shouldn’t be overly firm. If yours is too thick, add a bit more cream.
Protein powder is a key ingredient for making softer, cake-like cookies. It helps them rise and hold their shape in the absence of gluten. You can use whey, egg white, or plant based protein. But I caution against using beef protein or collagen protein as it will make them rather gummy and hard to cook through.
I used chocolate whey protein powder for more flavor and sweetness. You can also use vanilla. If you only have plain, you will want to add another teaspoon of cocoa powder and some additional sweetener.
Want to make these without the peanut butter? Prepare the cookies as directed and use the filling from my Keto Gingerbread Whoopie Pies. You will need about 1.5 times the filling.
Sweetener Options: I recommend erythritol for the cookies, as allulose will make them very soft and more fragile. You can use it if you must, but just be aware that it will affect your results. The filling takes powdered sweetener, but it can be any variety you like best.
More Keto Recipes to Love
Keto Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookies
- 1 3/4 cups (196 g) almond flour
- 1/3 cup (28.67 g) cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup (36.67 g) granulated sweetener, erythritol recommended
- 1/4 cup (27 g) chocolate whey protein powder, or egg white protein powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (75.67 g) butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 to 3 tbsp (30.43 g) heavy cream
Peanut Butter Filling
- 6 tbsp (97.38 g) creamy peanut butter
- 2 oz (56.7 g) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup (47.5 g) powdered sweetener
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp (45.65 g) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder and salt.
- Stir in the egg, butter, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is like a soft cookie dough.
- Form the dough into generous 1 inch balls. Place at least 2 inches apart on baking sheets and press down with the heal of your hand to about half an inch thickness. You should get 24 balls.
- Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until the cookies have risen and are just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool completely on the pan.
Filling
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sweetener, and vanilla extract until smooth. Beat in the whipping cream until well combined.
- Add about 1 tablespoon of peanut butter filling on the bottom-side of one chocolate cake. Top with another cake, bottom-side in, pressing gently until it spreads to the edges. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can make these keto whoopie pies without dairy. Try replacing the butter with avocado oil, and the heavy cream with coconut cream. Then use your favorite cream cheese alternative in the filling.
This keto whoopie pie recipe has 7.2g of carbs and 2.8g of fiber per serving. That comes to 4.4g net carbs per serving.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I just made these Whoopie Pies. They are so good. My husband likes them, too. I had just a small amount of filling left, so I added about 1 tbsp HWC to it and, voila! I have about a half cup of peanut butter mousse. Thank you, Carolyn, you are my first go-to when I’m looking for a recipe.
Janet Hubble….
love these. my husband says he wants the filling to be stiffer so it dosent squish out. any ideas?
Add less cream!
Where are the baking instructions for this recipe?
I recently had a keto chocolate on chocolate whoopie from a semi-local keto bakery. They are very pricey, and I want to make my own at home. I noticed that their chocolate filling was very stiff/dense and didn’t squeeze out at all and it was really rich and sweet too (with no aftertaste)! I loved the filling! Of course, the bakery isn’t going to share their recipe. I haven’t tried your chocolate frosting recipe yet, but how would I make the frosting firmer, so it doesn’t squeeze out when biting into the whoopie pie?
https://lobsteranywhere.com/new-england-style/history-whoopie-pies/
Maine made the whoopie pie it’s state dessert in 2011 and has had an annual festival for over ten years. We’re from Maine originally, and we’re ready to make these special treats today. My family is totally in love with your recopies. Today’s keto/low carb is not what it was 10+ years ago. Amazing!!
Am I just missing it or is it getting covered by an ad….I can’t see where it says how long to bake these?
It’s a very old recipe that used to live on A Sweet Life, which is now defunct. So… it needs updating but I will have to test it first.
Carolyn, as an adoptive New Englander married to a native one, whoopie pies were a big deal in our household until we switched to a sugar-free, low carb life’s. So, I’m excited to see this recipe! While I love chocolate and peanut butter together as much as you do, my husband’s favorite whoopie pie is chocolate with a peppermint crème filling. Any suggestions on how to modify the filling to make a peppermint crème version? Thanks in advance for your help!
Hi Carolyn, it was already asked but can I substitute egg white protein powder for the whey protein powder? Love your recipes! Kim
You should be able to, yes.
Hi!
Can I substitute the stevia wirh something else?
Yes, more Swerve is fine.
Hi Carolyn!
I haven’t been eating low carb/sugar free for very long but I have to tell you, your recipes are by far some of my favorite! I LOOOOVVEE the peanut butter filling in this one, sometimes I make it just to eat by the spoonful. I’ve tried (without success) to replicate this cookie sandwich with peanut butter cookies. Can you suggest any tips for making it peanut butter, or point me in a direction for a suitable recipe? All of the low carb/sugar free Peanut buttercookie recipes I’ve tried so far have been gross, too hard or crumbly…or just not good at all! 🙁
Try the cookie part from this recipe: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2014/06/low-carb-nutter-butter-ice-cream-sandwiches.html
Actually, try that recipe I gave you but if you want a really soft PB cookie, use all almond flour and no coconut. I used coconut to give these cookies a little more firmness to hold up to the ice cream filling.
Thanks muchly! I’ll let you know how it works out. 🙂
These look delicious, I want to make these and decorate the tops for the holidays. My question is, how could I make these non-gluten free, non-sugar free? What steps/items do I need to change in the recipie?
Thanks!
I think you should probably look for a conventional recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies. Almond flour and wheat flour do not translate to each other very well
This sounds interesting, you’re so great carlyne.
What can you substitute for whey protein powder?
Can you make it without it?
You could use hemp protein instead.
I’ve eaten whoopee pies since I was a kid in Pennsylvania which was, ahem, a long time ago. Not sure where they originated though different regions of the U.S. claim them for their own. I always thought they were from the Amish, but folks in Boston think otherwise. Either way, I loved them as long as the cream filling wasn’t too sweet. Glad to see this healthy alternative since the original ones are not for me anymore! Thank you!
Mmmm these look good. Might I drop a hint for some seasonal pumpkin whoopie pies with cinnamon cream-cheese filling…? 😀
Do you have a recipe for that? My granddaughter cannot eat peanut.
I have the same issue. I have successfully used creamy almond butter from either Whole Foods or Open Nature in the same quantities that have fooled the most avid peanut butter lovers (just be careful of almond allergies, not trying to fool them!). Other brands work just fine, the taste will be slightly different from peanut butter, but still just as delicious!
Like you, I had never even heard of whoopie pies, not until encountering recipes for them online. I have lived all over the US and abroad, but not since the 1980’s so I guess they must be a relatively recent phenomenom. But a low carb version, sounds like it might be interesting. I am always looking for small treats, both sweet and savory, to serve with tea, to my naturalized but still a “limey” at heart hubby.
Whoopie pies are not recent….my mom found a whoopie pie recipe back in the early to mid 70’s in our local newspaper (in Boca Raton, FL) from a snowbird (a woman from Maine) who shared this amazing little delicacy. These little gems were a 4th of July hit every year when I was a kid.
I’m happy to be able to make these keto friendly versions. In fact I am going to make some tomorrow. yum.
I’m from Maine and grew up on Whoopie Pies, they are a favorite of our family. Ever since we have taken on this low carb lifestyle my husband comments how he misses Whoopie Pies. Thank you for positing this recipe I am going to make them for him this weekend. Now can you turn my pumpkin whoopie pies into a low carb recipe please… 🙂
Whoopi pies come from Maine. I grew up on them! They are wonderful little treats!