Carrot Whoopie Pies

Nutrition Fact: October is National Dessert Month, and with the holiday’s right around the corner, desserts are all around us. Enjoying the occasional dessert this holiday season does not mean you have to sacrifice your health and waistline.  By making a few, healthy ingredient substitutions such as using whole wheat flour, sugar substitutes, and egg whites/substitutes, you can have your dessert and eat it too while still managing your weight and chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.  This recipe saves you roughly 125 calories, 15g of sugar and 11g of fat per serving compared to a traditional whoopee pie.

Makes: 12 Pies

Ingredients:

Cookies:

Cooking spray

½ cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

¼ cup canola oil

½ cup egg substitute

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup old fashioned, rolled oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups shredded carrots

Filling:

8 ounces fat free cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons real maple syrup

2 tablespoons Splenda

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray. Set aside.
3.  In a medium bowl, combine the Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, applesauce, oil, egg substitute, and vanilla; mix well. Set aside.
4.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
5. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the sugar (wet) mixture to dry ingredients (all at once) and mix well. Stir in the carrots.
6. Scoop mounds of batter the size of a heaping tablespoon onto the baking sheets. Space them about 2 inches apart to get a total of 24 cookies (2 sheets of 12). Bake for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
7. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese frosting ingredients until smooth and fluffy. Spread a light layer of frosting in between two cookies and sandwich together.

Nutrition Information per serving:

Calories: 175 cal, Fat: 5 g, Protein: 6 g, Carbohydrate: 26g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 8 g, Sodium: 415mg

Adapted from: http://www.diabetes.org/mfa-recipes/recipes/2014-01-carrot-whoopie-pie.html