Soft and flavorful carrot cake cookies are packed with cinnamon, nutmeg, dark brown sugar, and shredded carrots. These cookies are a fabulous alternative to cake this Easter season.
Carrot cake is traditionally the star of the dessert table on Easter, however it's nice to have options when cake isn't really your fav. Thick, soft, carrot cake cookies are a wonderful replacement (or compliment!) to any carrot cake. They are loaded with spices, shedded carrots, and walnuts (if you like them, if not, simply omit). These cookies are frosted with a perfect maple cream cheese frosting, and piped with the cutest buttercream carrots. You can also sugar some walnuts and top these cookies with those... it's entirely up to you. Let's make them.
What you'll need to make these carrot cake cookies:
Salted butter
Granulated sugar
Dark brown sugar (light or golden would work as well)
Large eggs
Baking soda
Ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg
Ground cloves
Pure vanilla extract
All purpose flour
Whole wheat flour
Carrots
Walnuts, optional
Cream cheese
Powdered sugar
Pure maple syrup
The Cookie Dough
So how do you make cookies with carrots? A fair question, as this isn't the norm for cookies. You will shred the carrots the same way you would for a cake, and fold them right into the dough. This cookie dough is soft, incredibly packed with carrot cake flavor, and comes together in about five minutes. There is no chilling required, so its simply mix, bake, cool, frost, and enjoy!
To begin, cream the butter and both sugars for about thirty seconds, either by hand or with a standing or hand mixer. Add both eggs and the vanilla and mix well, another thirty seconds. Add your dry ingredients next: both flours, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix until no powder remain, about thirty more seconds.
Gently fold in your shredded carrots and the chopped walnuts. Mix until just incorporated. Dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Using a four tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop dough balls out and place them on a nonstick baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 375° for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack before before frosting.
The Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
What is the best frosting for your carrot cake cookies? In my opinion, it's this maple cream cheese frosting. Made with five simple ingredients, it comes together in a couple of minutes, and really adds to the amazing flavor combination of these cookies. You could also turn these into carrot cake sandwich cookies, and pipe frosting between two cookies... roll them in sugared walnuts for some extra pizzaz too.
For the frosting, combine the butter and cream cheese and beat well with a standing or hand mixer for one minute. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth, about thirty seconds.
For the piped carrots, simple remove a small portion of frosting to two smaller bowls, about 2 tablespoons for each bowl. Using orange in one bowl and green in the other, color the smaller bowls of frosting. Place the frosting in two small piping bags, and snip a small portion of the tips off of each bag. Frost each cookie with the white frosting, and then pipe the carrot design on top. Pipe a small bit of green above the carrot for the leaf design.
For the walnuts, mix about ¼ cup chopped walnuts with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. spoon a small amount on top of each frosted cookie. Store any leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for up to four days.
The Dietary Substitutions
I love providing gluten and dairy free substitutions so that those with alternate dietary needs can enjoy my recipes to their fullest! These are subs that I have either used and continue to stock in my own home, or that have come highly recommended from others. I want your baking experience to be the best it can be, and avoiding gluten or dairy shouldn’t hinder that process in the slightest.
As always, here is a list of tried and true dietary substitutes, so that you can enjoy this recipe without the additions of gluten or dairy.
Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour is a wonderful all-purpose sub, and it’s cup for cup, so use the same measurements as you would all-purpose flour.
Miyokos butter is a plant based brick that closely resembles dairy butter not only in its look, but it’s taste as well. It melts, browns, and spreads just like real butter, and truly is a fantastic substitute in this recipe. Use it as a 1:1 ratio sub, same as the flour, so the recipe measurements will not change.
Miyokos also makes a wonderful cream cheese that would be an excellent dairy free base in this recipe.
If you loved this recipe for carrot cake cookies, I’d be so grateful for you to leave a 5 star rating + review.
Tag @heathershomebakery on Instagram if you upload a pic too, because I want to see your creations.
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XO,
Heather
Try these two carrots cakes as well!
Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Carrot Cake with Browned Butter Frosting
Carrot Cake Cookies
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake Cookies:
- 1 Cup Salted Butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ Cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed (light or golden would work too)
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- ¼ Teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 2 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 ⅓ Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
- ½ Cup Carrots, shredded
- ⅓ Cup Walnuts, chopped (optional)
For the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 6 Ounces Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
- ¼ Cup Salted Butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Pure Maple Syrup
- 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- For the Cookies: To begin, cream the butter and both sugars for about thirty seconds, either by hand or with a standing or hand mixer. Add both eggs and the vanilla and mix well, another thirty seconds. Add your dry ingredients next: both flours, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix until no powder remain, about thirty more seconds.
- Gently fold in your shredded carrots and the chopped walnuts. Mix until just incorporated. Dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Using a four tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop dough balls out and place them on a nonstick baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375° for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack before before frosting.
- For the Frosting:For the frosting, combine the butter and cream cheese and beat well with a standing or hand mixer for one minute. Add the remainder of the ingredients, and mix until smooth, about thirty seconds. For the piped carrots, simple remove a small portion of frosting to two smaller bowls, about 2 tablespoons for each bowl. Using orange in one bowl and green in the other, color the smaller bowls of frosting. Place the frosting in two small piping bags, and snip a small portion of the tips off of each bag.
- Frost each cookie with the white frosting, and then pipe the carrot design on top. Pipe a small bit of green above the carrot for the leaf design. For the walnuts, mix about ¼ cup chopped walnuts with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. spoon a small amount on top of each frosted cookie. Store any leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for up to four days.
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