I am so eager for spring to get here. It’s not that this has been a really terrible winter. Actually, It’s been quite mild compared to years past. But I am no friend of the cold. I refuse to go outside(other than for obvious reasons)if it’s under 70 degrees out. I wouldn’t even consider bundling up and playing in the snow. Skiing? Snowboarding? Snowmobiling? Haha! Nope. I will stay where it’s warm, thank you.
By the way, there is a Giveaway going on right now. Click here to enter!
Anywho, it’s been so nice here the last few days that I decided a spring-ish dessert was in order. So I made these carrot cake whoopie pies. Carrot cake is such a spring time dessert to me, even though carrots are harvested in the fall. It must be the ‘bunnies are a symbol of spring time and bunnies eat carrots so carrots are a symbol of spring time’ sort of thing.
These whoopie’s are just like having your own miniature carrot cake that you can carry around and eat without a fork. Um, that’s awesome, no? The cookie layers(which have more of a cake texture) are so soft and fluffy, with yummy shreds of carrot and spices.
I sandwiched a big dallop of cream cheese frosting, flavored with almond, in the middle of the carrot cake cookies. I just love a whoopie pie that’s stuffed with a big cloud of frosting. These cookies are good chilled as well. I like them that way just because I love a good slice of ice cold carrot cake. But maybe I’m alone in that prefrence?
- 2 C. Flour
- ¾ t. Ginger
- 1½ t. Cinnamon
- ½ t. Nutmeg
- ¼ t. Salt
- 1½ t. Baking Soda
- 1 t. Baking Powder
- 2 T. Butter, softened
- 2 T. Coconut Oil
- ½ C. White Sugar
- ½ C. Brown Sugar, packed
- 2 Eggs
- 1½ t. Vanilla
- ¼ c. Apple Sauce
- 1½ C. Carrot, grated
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 6 oz. Butter, softened
- 6 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
- 3 C. Powdered Sugar
- 1 t. Almond Extract
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
- Place the butter, coconut oil, white and brown sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy, scraping the sides down once.
- Add the eggs the butter and sugar and beat in well. Add the vanilla and apple sauce to the mixture and mix together. Add the flour mixture and mix in until just combined.
- Add the grated carrots to the mixture and mix until just distributed.
- Line a baking sheet with a non-stick mat or parchment paper. Place rounded Tablespoon fulls of the batter 2 inches apart on the baking sheet(I prefer to use a scoop that is 1 T. in volume for even sized cookies).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are just firm. Place cookies on a wire rack to cool.
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- Place the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat together on medium speed until light and smooth, scraping down the sides occasionally.
- Add the powdered sugar to the butter and cream cheese, 1 C. at a time, mixing in well after each addition. Add the almond extract and mix in well. Turn the speed up to medium/jhigh and beat the frosting for 1 minute, or until smooth and creamy. Mixture will be thick. Place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
- Pipe a circle of frosting on top of the bottom side of a cooled cookie half. Top with another cookie half and press together lightly. Fill the remaining cookies with frosting and store in an airtight container.
Oh my, I totally hear ya on the cold. I’m so over it and have been LOVING the beautiful weather the last 2 days. I don’t do any winter sports and just make baking my sport all cold-season 🙂
These whoopie pies are perfect for spring! They have Easter written all over them!
Holly, I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s not a winter sports person! I think baking should be a winter sport, haha! We would be MVPs for sure!
Oh, my!!! These look so good!!
Katie! Thank you! I just love seeing you over here =)
Almond cream cheese frosting!? Amazing. Also I totally get your bunnies-eat-carrots-so-it-must-be-spring thing. Makes perfect sense to me!
Thanks Karen! I’m glad you get the bunny/carrot thing. Sometimes I wonder what everyone else thinks of the carrot thing! Cause it’s a HUGE deal, I know 😉
these look great. i love the almond-flavored frosting!
Thank you Dina! Almond flavored anything is always good, isn’t it?
Your pictures are incredible! Pinning all of them! Carrot cake is definitely at the top of my dessert favorite list, so these will be a must for me this weekend!
Thank you so much Hailey! Carrot cake is at the top of my dessert list as well! Hope you get a chance to make them!
Has anyone frozen these? I’d like to make them ahead of time for Easter. I suppose I could freeze the cookies and frost them Easter morning.
The cookies themselves should freeze well, but I would definitely frost them the day of =)
Thank you! I love these even with no frosting. I think I’ll make a whole wheat batch with less sugar and some raisins and nuts and they’ll be breakfast cookies for busy school mornings! My son tells all his friends his mom gives him cookies for breakfast ; )
You are a cool Mom! That’s a great breakfast cookie idea…I’ll have to try it with my kids!
Hi…I’m a little confused. I no longer see the recipe in this post. I was planning on making these today. Is there a way to get the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Erin! My recipe plug-in has been experiencing some technical difficulties, so sorry! It should be working now. Let me know if you still can’t see the recipe.
How or where can I find the receipe for these whoopee pies. I have gone through the photos several times and gone to several other areas and not seeing the acutal receipe.
Would love to have for Easter!
Hi Laura! My recipe plug-in has been experiencing technical difficulties, I am so sorry for the trouble! Try looking again, it should be fixed now. =)
Help! I can’t find the recipe for these on your site anywhere! Maybe I’m crazy but all I can see are the pictures!
Hi Amanda! My recipe plug-in has been having some issues, but it should be working now! So sorry for the inconvenience!
Hi Kayley I hate winter too. Your recipies are quite simple and will try some. Can you please give meanings to your abbreviated measures – T – teaspoon or tablespoon, C – cup ? Etc. Thank you so much.
Hi Madeleine! Sure! T stands for tablespoon, t stands for teaspoon, C stands for cup. I don’t use abbreviations in any of my current recipes, just the older ones. Sorry about that!