No Bake Gingerbread Pie
Get ahead of the busy Christmas season with this make-ahead No Bake Gingerbread Pie in a speculoos cookie crust with homemade whipped cream. Made without Cool Whip!
Less than one week until Christmas! Are you hosting Christmas dinner?
I’ll be cooking dinner at my parent’s house since my apartment is too small to host, but unlike Thanksgiving I have more leeway with the menu.
Although we’ll be serving our favorites such as stove top scalloped potatoes and green bean casserole without mushroom soup, I have total control over dessert whereas for Thanksgiving, Dad (and only Dad) makes the pumpkin pie. No exceptions.
Last year I made this No Bake Gingerbread Pie for fun, but it turned out so well I made a note to blog it this year.
As the name suggests, it’s a no bake cream pie that tastes exactly like gingerbread but in pie form. It’s much easier (and probably even faster) than cutting out and decorating my small batch gingerbread cookies.
If there’s one flavor that sums up Christmas in one bite, it’s gingerbread. And like most cream pies, it can be made ahead of time since it needs time to chill.
That is ideal if you have a busy holiday season and need to plan ahead, either for guests or for Christmas dessert.
What is gingerbread?
Gingerbread is a Christmas dessert made up of a few key ingredients giving it its namesake flavor – molasses, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove. You can refer to my gingerbread cake for a traditional recipe.
I don’t consume anything gingerbread until Black Friday, then it’s #gingerbreadallthethings until December 31. I even drink gingerbread lattes to go with my gingerbread pie.
How do you make a no bake pie crust?
For the no bake pie crust, you mix together cookie crumbs and melted butter. Then you chill it before filling so you don’t tear it up.
To pair nicely with the gingerbread pie crust, I used speculoos cookies (sometimes spelled speculass) for the crust, which is a spiced shortbread cookie.
Specifically, I used Winternacht Spekulatius Cookies sold at ALDI nationwide.
They are German spice shortbread cookies similar to gingerbread cookies and have various shapes such as windmills, animals, and St. Nicholas.
If you can’t find those or speculoos cookies, you can easily substitute gingersnap cookie crumbs.
How To Make Gingerbread Pie
Making the filling for your gingerbread pie is easy! You beat together powdered sugar, cream cheese, molasses, spices, and vanilla then fold in homemade whipped cream. Once chilled, the whipped cream helps firm up the filling.
Most no bakes pie use Cool Whip, so I opted to make whipped cream from scratch.
And since nobody likes an extra step, I make all of the whipped cream at once for both the topping and the filling. That way you don’t have to make it twice.
How long does No Bake Gingerbread Pie last?
It’s best to eat a no bake pie within 24-48 hours because the homemade whipped cream isn’t stabilized like Cool Whip.
However, I’ve had leftover pie in my fridge for up to a week after serving. The whipped cream will deflate a little, but the pie is still edible.
Can you freeze No Bake Gingerbread Pie?
Yes, you can freeze this gingerbread pie. In fact, I prefer freezing over refrigerating because it makes the pie easier to cut into clean slices.
To thaw a no bake pie, transfer it to the refrigerator a few hours before you want to serve it.
More Gingerbread Recipes
Can’t get enough? Here are more gingerbread recipes for you to make:
- Gingerbread Blondies
- Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes
- Gingerbread Cheesecake
- Mini Gingerbread Cheesecakes
- Christmas Popcorn with a gingerbread coating
Want more no bake pie recipes? Check out my No Bake Peanut Butter Pie, No Bake Chocolate Pie, and No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Pie.
No Bake Gingerbread Pie
Get ahead of the busy Christmas season with No Bake Gingerbread Pie in a speculoos cookie crust with homemade whipped cream. Made without Cool Whip!
Ingredients
- 2 cups speculoos or gingersnap cookie crumbs plus more for garnish
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
- 8 ounces (1 block or 8 tablespoons) full-fat cream cheese, room temperature and not cold to the touch (do not sub fat free or whipped)
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together cookie crumbs and melted butter. Pat into a 9-inch pie plate. Chill for at least 30 minutes before filling.
- In a large mixing bowl (with whisk attachment if using stand mixer), beat the heavy cream until it starts to thicken, about 1 minute.
- Gradually beat in 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla then continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 2-3 minutes (when you pull the beaters up, peaks will form and not fall over). Transfer to another bowl and keep cold in the refrigerator.
- In the same mixing bowl (no need to clean bowl - switch to paddle if using stand mixer), beat together the cream cheese and remaining 3/4 cup sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Beat in molasses, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Scrape down the bowl.
- Reserve about half of the whipped cream for the topping. Fold the remaining whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until fully incorporated.
- Spread the filling into the pie crust. Top with the reserved whipped cream then garnish with cookie crumbs. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.
Pie is best served within 24-48 hours due to the whipped cream deflating but can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Looking for more no bake pies? Check out No Bake Chocolate Pie, No Bake Strawberry Pie, and No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Pie.
- Looking for more gingerbread? Check out Gingerbread Cheesecake, Gingerbread Cake, and Small Batch Gingerbread Cookies.
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Hello from France ! I love your recipes. I wish i’ll try this one because i love gingerbread and i love “american pies” with wipped cream on the top ! In France, we love these biscuits “Spekulatius”. We call them “Speculoos”. Bye.
Yes, speculoos is another name for them! Hope you enjoy the pie :)
This Pie screams holidays. I took this pie to a church pie auction. Lots of bids and ooohs and aahs. I do not have an Aldi’s near me so I used a different spiced cookie. Thanks for sharing recipe. I almost wanted to keep pie for myself. Lol
Thanks for the feedback! I totally understand about using a different cookie. Glad you were able to adjust and enjoyed the recipe!
Chef Thomas Joseph published a video on using gelatin to keep whipped cream from deflating. I’m going to try using when I make your pie for my family. If permitted, I can share the link.
That is certainly one way to make it if you need the pie to last longer! If you try it, let me know how it goes.
If you want to freeze it do you do that before or after topping with whipped cream?
You can freeze it with the whipped cream.