Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot cake is one of my favorite desserts ever, but I’ve had so many that are boring and bland. It has to be moist, full of spices, and have raisins sprinkled throughout. It’s associated with Easter, but I would eat it any time of year.

While I love a slice of carrot cake, I can also appreciate making that cake into a smaller form when I’m not feeding a lot of people. These whoopie pies, or gobs as my family likes to call them, are basically like a portable piece of carrot cake and the best dessert to make this Spring. The cake is moist and full of flavor from the carrots, orange zest, and spices. The raisins give it the perfect amount of extra chewiness and texture. Then the cream cheese frosting brings the whole dessert together. Try baking these this weekend for Easter or just because you’re craving something delicious.

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 13 minutes

Yield: 11 medium size pies

Ingredients:

Whoopie Pies:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 egg, room temperature

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• zest of 1 orange

• 1 cup grated carrots

• 1/4 cup raisins

Cream Cheese Filling:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:

Whoopie pies:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.

2. In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Remove bowl from the mixer. Add the orange zest, grated carrots, and raisins and fold in with a wooden spoon or spatula just until combined. The dough will be very sticky.

4. Drop cookies using medium cookie scoop (1 1/2 tablespoons) onto baking sheets. They should be about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until the edges are just lightly brown and the cookies bounce back when touched. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on high speed until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, salt, and powdered sugar. Beat on low for a couple seconds until combined and then beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes.

2. Store frosting in the refrigerator if you aren’t using it right away.

Sandwich the pies together:

1. Once the cookies are cool, place the frosting into a piping bag. Pipe a thick layer of frosting on the flat side of one cookie and use another to sandwich together. Repeat with remaining cookies.

2. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can place into a ziploc bag with the end cut off or just use a knife to spread the frosting on.

3. Store the whoopie pies in the refrigerator and let sit out for about 30 minutes before ready to eat. They also freeze well when individually wrapped.

Other dessert Recipes