Over the weekend Shane and I spent some time with friends we don’t see nearly as often as I’d like. A few of the girls were standing around chatting and, though I don’t remember why, at one point the conversation turned to carrot cake. I learned it was a favorite of many people, and we all agreed it absolutely had to be paired with cream cheese frosting rather than vanilla. I left the party that afternoon with carrot cake on my brain, and since I’m always looking for an excuse to make cream cheese frosting (it’s far and away my favorite!), I decided I’d bake one.
The plan changed quickly from cake to whoopie pies when I found a recipe I wanted to try in one of my cookbooks, but I’m pretty sure you can’t go wrong with either. These little cookies were just like mini cakes – light and fluffy, and studded with orange specks from the carrots. I made my go-to cream cheese frosting then popped it in the fridge for about 15 minutes to firm up so it would pipe perfectly between the cookies. The combination was beyond delicious! I think these whoopie pies would be a great option if you’re looking for an Easter dessert, especially since they can be transported so easily.
A few things worth noting: I used a small cookie scoop to portion the batter and despite starting with perfect little mounds, the cookies didn’t all bake into circles of exactly the same size (some were more oval-shaped). It wasn’t a big deal to me, just be aware you might have to spend a few minutes matching the shapes to make the sandwiches depending on the way your cookies bake. Also, I left mine plain, but if you prefer you could definitely add nuts or raisins to your cookie dough along with the carrots. Speaking of the carrots, I grated mine by hand with a box grater. I generally let my food processor do the work of shredding carrots, but I think the resulting pieces of carrot would have been too large in these small cookies.
Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies
adapted from Whoopie Pies by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt together. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Finally, add the grated carrots, beating to distribute evenly.
Chill the batter in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
Using a small cookie scoop (mine measures about 1 1/2 inches across – you’ll need to adjust the baking time accordingly if yours is larger), portion the batter onto one of the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake (one sheet at a time) for about 12 minutes, or until the cookies spring back when gently pressed. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes then remove the cookies to the wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with all of the dough, alternating baking sheets.
Makes about 20 sandwiches
Cream Cheese Filling
from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar 1/2 cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl in between additions. Beat in the vanilla extract. With mixer on medium, beat for another minute or so, until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
Match the cookies in pairs by size. Transfer the filling to a piping bag and pipe a small amount onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair. Sandwich the cookies together, and press the filling to the edges.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Mmmmm – yum. I am also a huge fan of cream cheese frosting! I was hoping to make carrot cupcakes for Easter – carrots, Eater bunny…ha ha, right? 😉
I looove carrot cake, and this is a great alternative to just having a slice. Love this!
I’ve been on the search for some kind of carrot cake whoopie pie. These look awesome. Kind of like an inside out carrot cake.
Very cute….I would have added all those goodies of course…but the fact that they are chocolate-free is a good thing for me. They are so cute!
These look fabulous! I love carrot cake and totally agree that it must be cream cheese frosting.
My husband loves carrot cake, and I know if I made these for him I wouldn’t hear the end of the praises. Thanks for sharing. This is going on the list of to-do’s this week.
I go absolutely nuts – maybe too nuts – for carrot cake, and I love this way to make ’em mini! What a great idea and fun recipe. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I know I will love these!
This is so great! My sister’s fiance is from Maine and, unbeknown to me, apparently whoopie pies are very popular there! However, I don’t really enjoy the traditional flavors, but I absolutely love carrot cake and cream cheese frosting. I have to send this recipe to my sister so I can finally partake in their whoopie pie obsession! Thanks so much! Once again, a great take on an old tradition.
These look amazing. I love carrot cake, and cream cheese frosting is delicious. I don’t know if I’d be able to stop eating these.
Can never go wrong with carrot cake and cream cheese in my opinion. I am so impressed with your caramels down there. I would love to try this. They would make such sweet gifts.
What a great version of whoopie pie!
ok seriously…might be the best whoopie pie I’ve come across yet…carrot cake is my favorite!! Love your photos!
looks delicious sounds similar to pumpkin whoopie pies must be fabulous
Love these whoopie pies. It’s like tiny piece of carrot cake pie in your hands. Thanks for sharing. Lovely pics!
I think this is by far my favorite whoopie pie variation. LOVE carrot cake!
Grumpy would be all over these! Carrot cake is his very favorite!
I am so jealous and wish I was eating those right now! They look delicious!!!
These looks so awesome. I would love to try it! I can’t wait!
I made these today and they turned out great except I think I’m going to cut the ginger to 1/2 a teaspoon. Just a personal preference. I made these around 12 and it’s not even four yet and all I have is one left! And no, I wasn’t the one that ate them all..lol. I feel lucky there is that one left, hidden now..lol
@Kathy – I’m glad they were a hit! I may have hidden a few here for myself when I made them too…
I’m from Pennsylvania and whoopie pies are said to have originated in the state. And yet, I’ve never tried one! I’m not a big fan of cakey items, but I could totally do a carrot cake!!!
These look divine, what a perfect twist on the good ‘ol whoopie pie!
i could probably eat a handful of these! i love carrot cake!
A friend gave me that Whoopie Pies book for Christmas. I need to try more from it. Carrot cake sound really good!
My first time making whoopie pies and they turned out perfect, everyone loved them! Thanks for the great recipe!
These are too cute! I totally agree about cream cheese frosting – I can’t imagine carrot cake without it.
These look so pretty! I love cream cheese icing:-)
Sooo good, I just ate my last one! I made this and took them to work. Ammmaaazzzinnng! Everyone loved them and kept coming up to me and saying how fab they were! Going to make again for a treat for Easter for my family!
Looks amazing! I was planning on making carrot cake cupcakes over spring break but I think I’ll try something new.
I just made these for our easter dinner tomorrow! They turned out wonderful! I’m going to have to find a way to hide them from everyone until tomorrow!
I saw this and had to try it. However, due to some diatary issues, in my house, I had to use my carrot cake recipe so forming dough balls wasnt an option. Instead I used muffin pans with with the little cupcake papers. I filled them a little under half and stucl them in the oven for the temp my recipe called for but kept a close eye on them. After they were done and cooled I cut the muffins in half and used the cream cheese filling I found here. its been 5 hours since I made them and they’re almost all gone. Will make these again!
these look freakin’ amazing!
also, congrats on being featured in the food now e-mail i just received!
that’s pretty cool 🙂
Awesome whoopie pies! I like these almost as much as I do the chocolate ones. They didn’t last even a day!
I follwed your recipe and the carrots turned green after 1 day in the refrigerator! Why? Carrots were fresh, pies refrigerated immediately after cooling!
@Anon – the cookies themselves turned green or the little bits of grated carrots in them? Either way, I’m not sure what would cause that to happen. I’ve made these several times and never had that problem, and I know a lot of readers have made them too without a similar issue.
@Anon – I googled a bit to try to figure this out and found an article that’s useful: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/food-science/food-science-when-good-carrots-turn-green-052210
Looks like the carrots turn green when the batter contains too much baking soda or the baking soda isn’t evenly mixed in the batter. Not sure which was the case for you, but as I mentioned before, I’ve never had the problem so I don’t think it’s an issue with the recipe. It’s safe to eat either way so hope you didn’t throw them away 🙂
I got this book for Christmas and am slowly working my way through. I found what seems to be two mistakes in the cookbook version of the carrot cake whoopies—mine says 20 minutes. That’s WAY too long! I baked them for 10 minutes today and they were much better. (I calibrate my oven with a thermometer every time I bake.) Also, compared with the texture from the other recipes, this winds up dry and rather dense. Do you think there is some liquid missing? I’m inclined to try adding 1/4-1/2 cup milk next time I make them. The classic chocolate are spot-on with what I get at the Amish Market.
Hi,
I am wanting to make these but am not sure what confectioners’ sugar is?? 🙂
They sound delicious!
@Elise – Hi, and thanks 🙂 Confectioners’ sugar is powdered sugar. It’s a really super fine sugar.
I just made these as a treat for my work friends. Of course I tasted one for quality control purposes, and they are delicious! They’re a nice departure from the usual cupcakes. Thanks for sharing 🙂
My FIL’s favorite dessert is carrot cake, but he’s also diabetic and rarely has dessert in the house. I made these for his birthday since they’re easily portion controlled and I’m pretty sire I’m going to be his favorite person.
I found sticking the dough in the freezer between scoopings helped the dough stay cold and retain its shape better during baking.
These were great! The sticky dough broke my cookie scoop, and I didn’t use a piping bag for the frosting (just plopped some on with a spoon), so they were “rustic” hahaha – they disappeared so fast I actually wondered if I’d forgotten to put them out. 🙂 Thanks for the awesome recipe!
I just made these and they are amazing!!!!!
I just used your cream cheese frosting recipe with a splash of lime to top my strawberry limeade cupcakes and it was AMAZING! Thank you!