Carrot Cake Cookies
These oatmeal Carrot Cake Cookies with cream cheese frosting are soft and chewy with hearty oats, sweet carrots, and warm spices, all topped with a luscious frosting creating a delightful treat for spring, Easter, or any occasion!
Love carrot cake? Try these Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bars, Carrot Cake Cupcakes, Carrot Cake Roll, or Easy Carrot Cake too.
Carrot Cake Cookies Recipe
These carrot cake cookies are everything you love about carrot cake, but in a portable hand-held form. I tested these cookies two ways. One without oats, and one with oats.
The carrot cookies without oats were soft and cake-like, with a muffin-top texture and appearance. However, they were so light that the frosting made them top heavy and difficult to pick up.
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I’ve previously made Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies with oats, but I wanted them thick enough to stand alone as a single cookie. Adding oats to this version made them sturdier for topping with frosting, while keeping the texture soft and cake-like, yet chewy as cookies should be. Perfection!
Why You Will Love These Carrot Cake Cookies
Here’s more reasons to love these oatmeal carrot cake cookies:
- Irresistible Flavor Combination: The cozy warmth of spices, natural sweetness from carrots, and creamy tang of the frosting make every bite intriguing and delicious.
- Perfectly Soft and Chewy: Oatmeal adds a satisfying texture while keeping the cookies soft and moist, giving you the comfort of oatmeal cookies with the classic taste of carrot cake.
- Customizable: Add raisins, nuts, or shredded coconut for a personal touch.
Ingredients You Will Need
NOTE: Full ingredient amounts and instructions are in the printable recipe card at the end of the post.
Jump
For the carrot cake cookies you will need:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Old Fashioned Oats – Also known as rolled oats, not quick oats. Quick oats will soak up more of the wet ingredients and may cause dry cookies.
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Ground Cinnamon*
- Ground Ginger*
- Ground Nutmeg*
- Unsalted Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Shredded Carrots – I prefer to use a food processor with the shredding attachment, but you can shred or grate them by hand with a box grater. Or simply use the food processor to chop the carrots up finely. (NOTE: If you don’t peel the carrots they may may create a bitter taste, unpleasant texture, and are more likely to turn green after baking.)
***Do not shy away from the spices! These carrot cookies are meant to have those warm and comforting flavors. If you’re not a fan of ginger and nutmeg you can try a little ground cloves or allspice. Or simply swap them out for more cinnamon. Use what you love in a generous amount.
Make the Carrot Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line half sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and both sugars together with an electric hand mixer.
- Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix until incorporated.
- Scrape bowl. Then stir in the shredded carrots.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated.
- Scoop cookie dough balls (with a #30 scoop; about 2 Tbsp) onto parchment or silicone lined baking sheets 2-3 inches apart. (No more than 8 cookies per tray.) Roll cookies with hands to tuck any loose shreds of carrots into the dough.
- Bake at 350˚F for 11-13 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the tops are just slightly underdone in the center. Allow cookies to cool 10 min on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting
While the cookies cool, make the frosting. You will need:
- Cream Cheese
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Beat until smooth with an electric hand mixer. Gradually add the butter 2 Tablespoons at a time, and continue beating until smooth and well blended.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla all at once.
- Mix until combined and smooth.
- Place cream cheese frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton #1A round tip. Pipe a thin layer of frosting into a swirl on top of each cookie starting from the edges and working your way towards the middle. Top with colorful sprinkles, if desired.
Serving and Storing
- Serve carrot cake cookies immediately. Do not leave cookies out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- STORAGE: Store cookies in an airtight container or on a plate covered tightly with plastic wrap. Keep refrigerated for up to 5 days. Remove cookies from the fridge 15-20 minutes before consuming, if desired. Or enjoy cold.
- TO FREEZE: Place cookies onto a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze until frosting is frozen solid (about 1-2 hours). Once firm, transfer cookies to a freezer-safe container with parchment paper separating any layers and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in fridge overnight before enjoying.
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Recipe Notes
- Do not bake more than 8 cookies per half sheet tray or the cookies may melt into each other.
- Use a large round cookie cutter to swirl the edges of the cookies immediately after removing from the oven (while still hot) to make them more round and uniform looking.
- Weigh the ingredients for accuracy. It’s easy to pack or overmeasure a lot of these ingredients which will effect the final result, as baking is a science.
FAQs
Aim for finely shredded pieces. The finer you shred the carrots, the more evenly they will be distributed throughout the batter (for the perfect texture), and the more evenly they will bake.
Shredding creates thin strips, while grating creates tiny pieces that look a bit like couscous.
Yes! Peel your carrots before shredding them because the skin may create a bitter taste and unpleasant texture after baking. Unpeeled carrots are also more likely to turn green in cakes and other treats after being baked.
Carrot Cake Cookies
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Cookies
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, (stir, spoon & level)
- 2 ½ cups (245 g) old fashioned oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar, gently packed
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (170 g) shredded carrots
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 12 oz (339 g) block-style cream cheese, cold (1 ½ blocks)
- 12 Tbsp (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature (1 ½ sticks)
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- colorful sprinkles, if desired
Equipment
Instructions
- FOR THE COOKIES: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line half sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and both sugars together with an electric hand mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix until incorporated. Scrape bowl. Then stir in the shredded carrots.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated.
- Scoop cookie dough balls (with a #30 scoop; about 2 Tbsp) onto parchment or silicone lined baking sheets 2-3 inches apart. (No more than 8 cookies per tray.) Roll cookies with hands to tuck any loose shreds of carrots into the dough.
- Bake at 350˚F for 11-13 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the tops are just slightly underdone in the center. Allow cookies to cool 10 min on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- FOR THE FROSTING: Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Beat until smooth with an electric hand mixer. Gradually add the butter 2 Tablespoons at a time, and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Add powdered sugar and vanilla all at once. Mix until combined and smooth.
- Place cream cheese frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton #1A round tip. Pipe a thin layer of frosting into a swirl on top of each cookie starting from the edges and working your way towards the middle. Top with colorful sprinkles, if desired. Enjoy immediately.
Notes
- Do not leave cookies out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- STORAGE: Store cookies in an airtight container or on a plate covered tightly with plastic wrap. Keep refrigerated for up to 5 days. Remove cookies from the fridge 15-20 minutes before consuming, if desired. Or enjoy cold.
- TO FREEZE: Place cookies onto a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze until frosting is frozen solid (about 1-2 hours). Once firm, transfer cookies to a freezer-safe container with parchment paper separating any layers and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in fridge overnight before enjoying.
Nutrition
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