Another giant bag of giant carrots this week?

No big whoop.

Make little whoopie pies. Little carrot-cake whoopie pies.

Carrot-Cake Whoopie Pies

Adapted from a recipe for Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies I ripped out of Gourmet about 10 years ago. I prefer a zippier, “cakier” cookie than the original recipe yields, so I up the flour a bit, change the spicing, and make sure to squeeze some of the moisture out of the carrots. The filling’s your call — I’m a sucker for cream-cheese frosting — but if you’re into Fluff, go for it.

Makes a dozen sandwich cookies.

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• scant 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp light brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup grated carrots (dry them slightly by wrapping and squeezing them in a paper towel)
• 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup raisins

Position your oven’s racks in the upper-third and lower-third positions, and prep two baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners. In a pinch, you can simply butter the pans, but that’ll result in a crispier cookie. Maybe you want that, maybe you don’t.

Preheat oven to 375º.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt.

With a stand or hand mixer, cream together the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the carrots, walnuts, and raisins, mixing on a very low speed, trying to keep the pieces intact. Tip in the flour, and mix until just combined.

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto the baking sheets, respecting a 2-inch gap between cookies (they will spread). Bake for 6 minutes. Rotate and switch the pans from top to bottom. Bake another 6-8 minutes, until the cookies are light golden brown.

Cool on the sheets for a minute or two, then carefully remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Don’t worry if they seem soft; they’ll firm up.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

• 6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• pinch of cinnamon (optional)
• 1-2 tsp lemon zest (optional)

Beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Cream until smooth, then mix in the zest.

Marry up the cookies by size and shape, sandwiching a generous bloop of filling in between. Will keep in an airtight container for a week, but they’re best within a few days.