Devils Food Whoopie Pies with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting are the best chocolate sandwich cookie. Transform a boxed cake mix and bake up a batch of these classic chocolate whoopie pies for a decadent, unique dessert. Fill with this rich caramel cream cheese frosting – perfect for parties!
Chocolate cake is my weakness. Drizzle caramel over the top and I’m dead. That’s my inspiration for these Devils Food Whoopie Pies. There’s nothing better than taking a bite into soft, melt in your mouth, chocolate heaven… and you’ll never guess how easy! The secret ingredient: boxed cake mix.
Devils food cake mix combined with instant chocolate pudding mixmakes this cookie batter so silky and rich. While it bakes, it rises into soft, perfect little chocolate pillows. You could fill these babies with a standard buttercream but no, not you. You’re adventurous. You’re bold. You want to try something new. You…. just really like caramel. 😉
I got the inspiration for this caramel cream cheese frosting from another blogger’s recipe for Churro Cookies. You may have seen my review of them on the blog a couple weeks ago. You will notice some subtle differences. The biggest difference is that I use more powdered sugar to create firmer frosting. I think this frosting elevates the whoopie pie and takes them from classic to fan-freaking-tastic.
There’s something unexpected and child-like about a whoopie pie. I brought these to a family Christmas gathering last week and my family absolutely loved them! They’re pretty tough critics, too. Although, I don’t know many people who can hate on chocolate and caramel. Try them for yourself with the recipe below.
Happy Holidays!
Kelsey Renee
Devils Food Whoopie Pies with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 box devils food cake mix
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 box chocolate instant pudding mix (4 servings)
For the Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- ½ cup butter (1 stick) (softened)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered (Confectioners) sugar
- 1/3 cup caramel sauce
Instructions
- 1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- 2. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper (if you do not have 3 cookie sheets, bake the cookies in batches).
- 3. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, water, oil, eggs and pudding mix. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed until well combined. Then, turn to high speed and beat for one minute.
- 4. Spoon cookie mixture into a gallon size resealable plastic bag. Cut a half-inch hole in one of the bottom corners. Pipe approximately 3 dozen circles onto the cookie sheets. Leave one inch between circles as cookies will spread.
- 5. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Allow cookies to cool for 2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Cookies must cool completely before filling.
- 6. While cookies are cooling, prepare the caramel cream cheese frosting. Add butter, vanilla and cream cheese to a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat ingredients on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Add caramel and continue mixing until fully combined.
- 7. Turn mixer to low speed. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Beat until no lumps remain. Store frosting in refrigerator until ready to assemble cookies.
- 8. To fill, use a spoon or small spatula to spread 1- 2 tablespoons of frosting on the bottom (flat side) of cookie. Top with a second cookie (flat side down) to create a sandwich.
- 9. Store whoopie pies in an airtight container on the kitchen counter for 2 to 3 days or in the refrigerator for 5-6 days.
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