Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies
Carrot cake whoopie pies are sandwiched together with cream cheese frosting. This dessert is perfect for Easter!
With Easter approaching and people getting ready to entertain, I chose to bake carrot cake whoopie pies with cream cheese frosting. This is essentially a portable, individual-sized carrot cake. How perfect is that? You’ll also like my frosted carrot cake cookies!
Why this recipe works: The whoopie pies use the same ingredients as carrot cake, but are piped into circles and baked for less time. The rich cream cheese frosting is sandwiched in the center and complements the carrot cake whoopie pies wonderfully.
Overview: How to make carrot cake whoopie pies
- Make the carrot cake whoopie pie batter: Whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside. Beat butter, sugar and brown sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients just until combined, then stir in shredded carrots by hand. Transfer batter to a piping bag with a large round tip.
- Bake the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat and pipe the batter into circles, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Bake whoopie pies at 350 F for 12 minutes. Cool completely.
- Make the cream cheese frosting: Beat together the butter and cream cheese. Add confectioners’ sugar and until combined, then add vanilla. Transfer cream cheese frosting to a piping bag.
- Assembly: Match the whoopie pies up by size and pipe cream cheese frosting on to one cookie. Place the matching cookie on top and gently press down.
Helpful tips for whoopie pies
I have a few tips to achieve success in making carrot cake whoopie pies. First, make sure all your ingredients are room temperature. This ensures that the ingredients are evenly combined. Second, use the small grate when grating the carrots. This will make it easier to shape the batter into circles.
I find that the best way to make these whoopie pies is to transfer the carrot cake batter into a frosting bag and pipe the batter onto the baking sheet. This method allows you to create the perfect circle cakes that can be sandwiched together. The alternative is using a spoon to scoop the batter onto a cookie sheet. This works, but you will probably sacrifice the circle shape. Nevertheless, the carrot cake whoopie pies will still taste delicious!
Use a silpat mat if you have one. It doesn’t move around like parchment paper does when piping batter onto it (I learned this when making macarons!) Try to find a silpat mat with circle outlines for equally-sized whoopie pies!
Tips for making cream cheese frosting
Cream cheese frosting is very sensitive to temperature. Make sure your ingredients are room temperature, but not too soft. You should be able to press into the butter with your finger to leave an indentation, but the butter stick doesn’t spread and melt away. Do not overmix cream cheese frosting because this will make it too thin. If the frosting isn’t thick enough, place the bowl in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes, then mix again.
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Get the Recipe: Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
Whoopie Pies
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) finely grated carrots¹
Frosting
- 1 cup (226 g or 8 oz) cream cheese,, room temperature
- ¼ cup (56 g or 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, , room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (187 g) sifted confectioner’s sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with a silpat mat or parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Fold in the grated carrots.
- Transfer batter to a frosting bag fitted with a round tip. Squeeze out rounded portions of batter, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter, onto one of the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about an inch apart. Alternatively, you can use a small cookie scoop to transfer batter, but I find the icing bag is a faster method and creates a nice round shape.²
- Bake each batch for about 12 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly golden around the edges. 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 the rest of the batter. ³
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until creamy and lump-free. Transfer to a frosting bag fitted with a tip.
- Match the cookies up into pairs based on size and fill with cream cheese frosting. Store in the fridge and let them come to room temperature before serving.
Notes
Carrot cake whoopie pies recipe adapted from The Baker Chick.
