Name: Caramel Whoopie Pies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 large egg; ½ cup oil; ½ cup brown sugar; ½ cup plain Greek yogurt; ¼ cup caramel; 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1/3 cup unsalted butter; 3 tablespoons powdered sugar; 2/3 cup mascarpone; 3 tablespoons caramel; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; Pinch of salt

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Whoopie Pies are fun and delicious! These Caramel Whoopie Pies have a caramel mascarpone filling that makes them perfectly decadent! You’ll love the rich caramel flavor, the soft cakey cookies, and the luscious creamy filling.

Low angle shot of caramel whoopie pies on a white plate.

Apparently, Whoopie Pies are the official state treat of Maine (who knew states had official treats?!) Legend has it that these cakey sandwich cookies were invented in Maine in the 1920s—first sold by a bakery (Labadie’s Bakery) in Lewiston, Maine in 1925.

The classic version combines rounds of cakey chocolate cookies sandwiched together with a marshmallow cream or buttercream filling.

This version substitutes rich, creamy caramel cookies for chocolate, and the filling is made with mascarpone and more caramel.

I love cake and I love caramel (and while I’m at it, I love Maine, too!), so these Caramel Whoopie Pies are obviously among my favorite cookies.

overhead shot of the ingredients to make the caramel whoopie pies cookies.

Ingredients you need

The ingredients for these caramel whoopie pies are pretty simple. Here’s what you need:

Brown sugar: You can use light or dark brown sugar.
Yogurt: Use full-fat plain yogurt here. I recommend Greek yogurt, which is extra thick and creamy, but really any full-fat yogurt will do.
Caramel: You can use either homemade or store-bought caramel sauce.
Oil: Any neutral flavored oil works here; canola oil, safflower seed oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, etc., all work fine here.
Egg: Use a large egg. Pull the egg out of the refrigerator 15 minutes or so before you start the recipe to bring it to room temperature.
Flour: Use bleached or unbleached all-purpose flour.
Baking powder: This helps the cookies rise and spread. Use a double-acting baking powder for best results.
Salt: Use a fine-grained sea salt or other fine salt without additives.
Butter: Use unsalted butter. Let it stand on the counter for about 20 minutes to come to room temperature.
Vanilla extract: Always use pure vanilla extract or substitute an equal quantity of vanilla bean paste.
Confectioners’ sugar: Also called powdered sugar.

overhead shot of the ingredients to make the caramel filling.

Tools you need

There are a few basic pieces of equipment that will make cooking these Caramel Whoopie Pies easy, but you can use what you have on hand, too.

Stand mixer: I always like to use my stand mixer when making cookies because it’s easy to mix hands free. But you can also use a hand-held electric mixer or simply a wooden spoon for mixing by hand.
Silicone baking mat: This keeps cookies from sticking to the pan. I love to use a silicone baking mat because it is reusable. If you don’t have one, you can line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
Baking sheet: Use a large baking sheet so that you can make multiple cookies at once.
Piping bag: I like reusable piping bags for eco reasons, but you can also use disposable piping bags. If you don’t have piping bags, you can use a resealable plastic bag with one corner cut off.
Wire rack: A simple wire rack helps the cookies cool quickly and evenly.

step one of making caramel whoopie pies. — combine the wet ingredients

step two of making caramel whoopie pies. — combine the wet ingredients

How to make them

These Caramel Whoopie Pies look impressive, but they’re really quite easy to make. Here’s how:

Beat the wet ingredients together and then beat in the dry ingredients.
Use a piping bag (or a resealable plastic bag with the corner cut off) to pipe the dough into 2-inch rounds onto a silicone baking mat.
Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
While the cookies are cooling, make the filling by creaming the butter and powdered sugar together and then beating in the caramel, vanilla, salt, and mascarpone.
Apply the filling to the flat side of half of the cookies using a piping bag or knife and then complete the sandwich with the remaining cookies.
Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

low angle shot of a pile of whoopie pies on a plate.

More cookie recipes you’ll love!

If you love these Caramel Whoopie Pies, be sure to try some of my other cookie recipes. Dulce de Leche Cookies are also caramel flavored sandwich cookies, but they’re a completely different take.

I also love poppyseed-filled Kolacky, Honey Cookies flavored with orange and cinnamon, Rhubarb Cookies, Jewish cookies like Hamentashen and Rugelach, Quaker Oatmeal Cookies,spicy Ginger Snap Cookies, And Lemon White Chocolate Cookies.

If you have an air fryer, you can make cookies in it, too! Try Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies and Air Fryer Hot Cocoa Cookies.

Or try one of my other festive desserts like this rustic Apple Galette, Egg Nog Bundt Cake, Pumpkin Bundt Cake, Apple Cider Donut Cake, or Reese’s Pie.