Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats. If you have a Silpat, use it. If you don’t, consider buying one. They are awesome.

Start by toasting your walnuts (if you’re using them). Heat a small pan over medium heat. Do not put any oil in the pan!. When hot, add the walnuts and toast for about 2 minutes, shaking the pan regularly, until the nuts are lightly browned and fragrant. They will literally smell like toast. Remove walnuts from the pan and set aside until ready to use.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, vigorously whisk the brown sugar, granulated sugar and eggs until they are pale yellow and fluffy. This should take about two minutes. Then whisk in the coconut oil, applesauce and vanilla.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Please don’t over-mix, people. It will make your whoopie pies dense. Fold the carrots and toasted walnuts into the batter. Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Scoop rounded tablespoons of batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Use wet fingers to form the “cakes” into more even circles if you need to.

Bake one sheet at a time for 9 minutes each. When done, the cakes should spring back when you press them gently. Do not over-bake them. You want them to be golden and fluffy, not browned and dry. (I know from experience.) Remove your cakes from the oven and let them cool on the pan for 3-5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. This should take about 10 minutes. Repeat baking the rest of the cakes.

While your cakes are baking/cooling, prepare your maple cream cheese frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a mixing bowl using a hand-held electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and maple syrup until it’s creamy and smooth. Refrigerate your frosting until ready to use.

When your cakes are cool, spread a heaping tablespoon (or more, if you don’t mind slightly messy pies) onto the flat-side of one cake. Top it with another cake, flat-side down. Repeat with the remaining cakes and frosting.

You can serve your whoopie pies at room temperature, but I like to chill them for an hour or so before eating. I dig a cool whoopie pie (it also firms up the icing), but do what you prefer. If you’re storing these bad boys for later, make sure to keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.