These easy carrot cake whoopie pies are made with a cake mix for a quick and easy handheld dessert. They’re soft carrot cake cookie sandwiches with a rich and creamy filling.
There’s an easy way to make deliciously soft whoopie pies and that’s using a box cake mix. These are super quick to mix together and the scratch marshmallow filling is so good.
Table of Contents:
These are great Easter whoopie pies, but they’re also a great treat for springtime, or any other time you get a carrot cake craving.
Whoopie pies are like a combination of cookies and cake and I love how these are so convenient to eat because they’re a handheld treat you don’t even need to eat with a plate and a fork.
Ingredient Notes:
Now let’s talk about just some of the ingredients in carrot cake whoopie pies. (The printable list of all ingredients are in the recipe card below.)
Ingredients for the cookies:
Carrot cake mix: You’ll need a carrot cake mix to make the soft carrot cake cookies. This is what makes this recipe so quick and easy.
Cheesecake instant pudding: Pudding gives a boost of cheesecake flavor and adds a lot of moisture to help make the cookies soft and delicious.
Water, oil and eggs: You’ll add these to give the cookies a lot of moisture and to help them rise.
Ingredients for the filling:
Milk and cheesecake pudding: A little of the cheesecake pudding mixture will be mixed with the milk and added when making the filling to add a nice flavor.
Butter: Unsalted butter is what you’ll use for the filling. Butter just adds good flavor and makes everything better.
Vanilla extract: This just adds extra vanilla flavor and I love to add it to almost all my baked goods. It’s just a good flavor enhancer.
Cheesecake pudding: You’ll only add a couple of tablespoons of pudding mix to give the filling a bit of a cheesecake flavor.
Marshmallow cream: These are the main ingredients for the filling and what makes it so delicious and fluffy.
Confectioner’s sugar: This will add sweetness to the filling and help thicken it up a bit.
(Make sure to check out the FAQ section below in this post for ingredient and substitution questions.)
How to make these whoopie pies:
Let’s talk about how to make easy carrot cake whoopie pies. (The printable instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Step 1:
First, you’ll make the whoopie pie cookies. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, spray them with a bit of non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
If you only have one pan, that’s okay. You can bake in batches.
Step 2:
In a large mixing bowl, beat all the whoopie pie ingredients with an electric mixer until well mixed.
Step 3:
Now, add the batter to a freezer bag or a piping bag. Snip off the bottom tip of the bag.
Next pipe the batter into small circles onto the cookie sheets.
Make sure you’re piping small circles and there should be about 15 on each baking sheet.
Step 4:
Next, bake the whoopie pies for 12-15 minutes until they’re set.
Step 5:
Once they’re baked, just remove the cookie sheets from the oven and place them on a cooling rack for a couple of minutes.
Step 6:
After a couple of minutes, remove the cookies from the cookie sheets and set them directly onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Step 7:
Once the cookies are cooled completely, place them in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes to firm them up.
These cookies need to stay chilled because they can get a little sticky if they’re left at room temperature for too long.
Step 8:
While the cookies are cooling, make the filling. Add the 2 tablespoons of pudding mix to the milk and mix until the pudding has dissolved.
Step 9:
Now add the room-temperature butter to a large mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
Step 10:
Add the pudding and milk mixture and mix again.
Step 11:
Add the salt, vanilla and marshmallow cream and mix until well mixed.
Step 12:
Add the confectioner’s sugar and on a higher speed for about 3 minutes until the frosting is fluffy.
Step 13:
After the cookies have been chilled, add the filling using either a spoon or a piping bag.
Only add the filling to half the cookies, then top with another cookie.
Make sure that the flat sides of the cookies face the filling.
(Remember that the instructions will also be in the recipe card below.)
Easy Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies (with cake mix)
Ingredients
For the whoopie pie cookies:
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box carrot cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
- 1 (3 ounce) box cheesecake instant pudding mix, reserve 2 tablespoons for the filling (use vanilla pudding mix if you can't find cheesecake)
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
For the filling: (*see notes section for an even easier filling option)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese instant pudding mix, reserved from making the whoopie pie batter
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (7 ounce) container marshmallow cream (fluff)
- 3 cups confectioner's sugar
Instructions
For the whoopie pie cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, spray them with a bit of non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat all the whoopie pie ingredients with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined.
- Pour the batter into a freezer bag or into a piping bag. If using a freezer bag, seal it or zip it closed. Cut the bottom tip of the bag off and pipe the batter into small circles onto the cookie sheets. Pipe about 15 circles onto each cookie sheet (each circle should be about an inch and a half). Make sure the circles are about 1 inch apart as they will spread a little when baking. Be very careful not to pipe large circles. They need to be small as large whoopie pies can tend to be too delicate.
- (If your oven only fits one cookie sheet or you only have one cookie sheet, just bake in batches, refrigerating the dough between batches.)
- Bake the whoopie pies for 12-15 minutes until they're set. Make sure not to bake too long or they will be dry.
- Once baked, remove the cookie sheets from the oven and cool for a couple minutes on a cooling rack. After a couple minutes, remove the cookies from the cookie sheets and set onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once the cookies are cooled completely, place the cookies in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes to firm them up. They need to stay chilled otherwise they can get a little sticky and they'll be delicate.
- After they've chilled, add the filling with either a spoon or piping bag onto half the cookies, then use the other cookies to top the filled cookies. The flat sides of the cookies should face the filling.
For the filling: (*see notes section for an even easier filling option)
- Add the 2 tablespoons of pudding mix to the milk and mix until the pudding has dissolved.
- In a mixing bowl, add the room-temperature butter and mix with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth.
- Add the pudding and milk mixture and mix on medium-high until smooth.
- Add the salt, vanilla and marshmallow cream and mix on medium-high until well mixed.
- Add the confectioner's sugar and mix on medium until well combined, then on medium-high to high for about 3 minutes until it's fluffy.
Notes
Nutrition
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Tips & FAQs:
No, you could probably use any flavor.
You can use vanilla pudding mix instead.
Probably, although I have not tested that out, so I can’t guarantee it will turn out the same.
Yes, it’s generally the same thing.
No, those are not the same and won’t work interchangeably.
Yes, but omit the other salt that’s called for in the recipe.
Yes! An easy way to do it is to purchase two cans of whipped premade frosting. That works as well.
The circles should be about an inch and a half around. Any larger and the whoopie pies will just be too large and delicate once baked.
Make sure to keep the cookies refrigerated as they are so soft that they will become sticky if left at room temperature for long.
Measure it with your heart. You can add as little or as much as you prefer.
The cookies will look a little browner around the edges and they’ll look firmed up.
I have not tried freezing these. If you do want to try, place them into the fridge to chill and firm up, then add them to a freezer bag and place them into the freezer to freeze.
To thaw, pull the freezer bag out of the freezer and place the cookies in another airtight container and let them defrost in the fridge so that they don’t get sticky.
Store these in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5-6 days.
These whoopie pies can be served and eaten either at room temperature or chilled. They do tend to get a little sticky when left at room temperature for long though.
Video:
Supplies used for this recipe:
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- Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Hand mixer
- Cookie sheets
- Parchment paper
- Piping bags
- Spatula
- Oven mitts
- Cooling rack
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