Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

I like to think of these cookies as good for me because of the amount of carrots they contain. . They are delicious on their own with no filling, but these were going to church with me, so they got the whoopie pie treatment. They are crispy on the edges and soft and moist inside, and the flavor is certainly carrot cake-like.

I love the photos of these on Sarah's blog. In fact I decided to make them because of the photos, and because they are different than the usual whoopie pies. I added more flour and a bit of baking powder to my version, because I have issues with spreading dough in my oven. These baked up very nicely for me, but you might want to try Sarah's version with less flour, unsalted butter, and candied ginger.

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies
adapted from In Praise of Leftovers, originally from Epicurious
Makes 2 dozen

Cookies:
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks salted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups grated carrots (approximately 4 medium)
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Filling:
12 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots & nuts at low speed, then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Drop dough by rounded 1-1/2 tablespoon 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake until cookies are lightly browned and springy to touch, 12 to 16 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets on wire rack for a few minutes, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

While cookies are baking, blend filling ingredients until smooth. After cookies are completely cooled, sandwich flat sides of cookies together with a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling in between.