Carrot cake is one of the most underrated desserts of all time. The fact that it’s made with a vegetable turns a lot of people off, but you’d have to be crazy not to love the taste. Honestly, it’s pretty much exactly the same as spice cake, just with some carrots folded in. I’ve also noticed that a lot of people associate carrot cake with spring (Easter>Easter bunny>carrots), but I feel that the cinnamon, nutmeg, and other spices inside give off fall vibes. Overall, carrot cake is a severely underappreciated fall dessert!

Another dessert that is often overlooked is oatmeal sandwich cookies, or “whoopie pies” as they’re sometimes called. Oatmeal cookies in general tend to get a bad rap for being healthy and bland, but they’re actually delicious when done right! Does anyone else remember those Little Debbie’s oatmeal crème pies? Those were the bomb! They certainly weren’t healthy, nor were they bland. Again, a highly underrated dessert!

In honor of these unsung heroes of the dessert world, I wanted to try combining them both into one recipe. By sandwiching some (vegan) cream cheese frosting between carrot cake cookies, I was able to achieve this! The carrot cake cookies are simply oatmeal cookies with the addition of spices and shredded carrots, perfect for fall, spring, or really any time of the year. This marriage of desserts will appeal to everyone, even non-fans of the two desserts separately!

Print

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies With Cream Cheese Filling (Vegan)

Enjoy all the flavors of carrot cake, but in cute cookie form! With cream cheese filling sandwiched between two spiced carrot cookies, this dessert is sure to please any crowd.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Cooling/Frosting Time 15 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 12 sandwich cookies

Calories 621.7 kcal

Author Ayaka

Ingredients

For the Cookies

• 1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water (1 chia “egg”)
• 1 cup softened vegan butter such as Earth Balance sticks
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats

For The Cream Cheese Filling

• 1/2 cup softened vegan butter such as Earth Balance sticks
• 8 oz vegan cream cheese such as Kite Hill or Tofutti
• 3-5 cups confectioners sugar

Instructions

For the Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Stir together the chia seeds and water and set aside for 5-10 minutes to thicken.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well combined.
4. Add chia egg, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla and beat well.
5. Fold in the shredded carrots, then mix in the flour and oats just until combined.
6. Scoop heaping tablespoon sized balls of dough into prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 2″ between cookies.
7. Bake for 12-14 minutes, then set cookies aside to cool completely.

For the Filling

1. Add the softened butter to a large mixing bowl and mix on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat thoroughly to combine. Add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until frosting is thick and spreadable and desired sweetness has been achieved.

2. Spread a generous amount of cream cheese frosting onto the flat side of half of the cookies, then top with the remaining cookies to create sandwiches.

3. Enjoy!