Soft and chewy Carrot Cake Cookies with a cake-like texture packed with shredded carrots, coconut, and spices are drizzled with a sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting. They’re the perfect treat for Easter and springtime.
It’s hard to celebrate a spring or Easter brunch without some sort of carrot cake dessert so these bunny friendly carrot cake cookies are a must. But be aware, these warmly spiced cookies are also nice in the fall and winter season with a latte or a cup of tea. And since they’re made with whole wheat flour and are nut free, they’re also a healthy choice for kids lunchbox treats. So why not just bake them all year round?
If you love classic carrot cake or even carrot cake cupcakes, then you’ll really enjoy these old fashioned carrot cake cookies that include all the traditional carrot cake flavours. The cookies are soft and spiced, loaded with freshly grated carrots for moistness, flaked coconut for chewiness, sweetened with brown sugar, and topped with cream cheese icing. They’re a fusion of muffins and cookies and taste just like carrot cake but all in a convenient handheld dessert size!
Why This is the Best Carrot Cake Cookies Recipe:
- Carrot cake flavours – All the flavours and textures you love in carrot cake but in a moist, chewy and delicious cookie form.
- Warm spices and cream cheese - Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom, and includes the classic pairing of carrot cake and cream cheese.
- Easy to make - No mixer or chilling time required which makes them an easier alternative to making a whole carrot cake.
- Nut free healthy snack – Sneaks veggies and whole wheat flour into a cookie treat without any nuts making them safe for school lunch bags.
Ingredients Needed to Make Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Glaze
(Ingredient amounts are listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post)
- Carrots – Shred them on the large holes of a box grater and blot them dry.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter that’s been softened to room temperature.
- Granulated Sugar – Sweetens the cookies and provides a touch of crispness.
- Dark Brown Sugar – Sweetens the cookies and gives a golden-brown colour and richness.
- Eggs – Helps the cookies bind.
- Vanilla – Use pure vanilla extract to enhance the flavour of the batter.
- Whole Wheat Flour – Adds a lot of nutrition to the cookies and a nutty flavour.
- Unsweetened Shredded Coconut – Adds a nice chewiness to the cookies.
- Baking Soda – Ensures the cookies are soft and fluffy and encourages browning.
- Cinnamon – Has a warm spicy flavour and gives the cookies a nice golden colour.
- Nutmeg – Adds depth and richness and compliments the warm cinnamon spice.
- Cardamon – Adds a subtle warmth to the cookies.
- Salt – Enhances the flavour of the batter.
- Cream Cheese – For the frosting.
- Whipping Cream – For the frosting.
- Icing sugar – To sweeten the frosting.
- Carrot Shaped Gummies – Purchased gummies are optional for decorating cookies.
How to Make Carrot Cake Cookies
(Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.)
- Shred the carrots on the large holes of a box grater and blot them dry between two sheets of paper towel.
- In a large mixing bowl with a spatula mix butter and sugar together then add eggs and vanilla and mix again.
- Fold in the grated carrots.
- Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl then add them to the wet ingredients and stir with a spatula just until combined.
- Drop 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie on parchment lined baking sheets and flatten slightly.
- Bake for 11 – 13 minutes, just until lightly golden but still soft in the centre then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
How to Make and Drizzle Homemade Cream Cheese Icing
- In a heat proof bowl microwave cream cheese and whipping cream on medium power for 20 - 30 seconds, just until softened then whisk to smooth it out.
- Add icing sugar and whisk until completely smooth and the desired drizzling consistency is achieved.
- Drizzle the tops of the cooled cookies and if desired, garnish with a carrot shaped gummy candy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Carrots provide great texture and flavour to baked goods. Although it may be tempting to purchase pre- shredded packaged carrots, they will not give you the same moist texture you get from grating your own. Freshly shredded carrots are the way to go here. It only takes seconds to peel a couple of carrots and shred them on the large holes of a box grater. Just be sure to blot out some of the moisture between sheets of paper towels.
Moist carrot cake cookies get their softness from the carrots which contain a lot of water that keeps them moist. The chewy texture comes from the whole wheat flour and shredded coconut in the cookies. All these textures combined made the perfect carrot cake cookies!
The best way to get evenly sized cookies is to use a two tablespoon spring release cookie scoop. This will ensure every cookie scooped will be the exact same size. Also when flattening the cookies slightly, ensure you flatten each cookie with dampened hands with the same amount of pressure to ensure some won’t spread more than others.
Pro-Tips and Variations
- Blot the shredded carrots with paper towels. Carrots contain a lot of water so you do need to blot them with paper towels to remove some of that moisture.
- Do not over mix the batter. Stir the dry ingredients into the batter just until the flour has been absorbed; over mixing can lead to denser cookies.
- Use a Cookie Scoop. For best results use a spring loaded two tablespoon cookie scoop to dispense evenly sized cookies.
- Flatten the cookies. Before baking the cookies, flatten them with your hands with equal pressure which will help them spread a little; dampening your hands with a little water helps.
- Cool the cookies before frosting. The cookies must be completely cooled before frosting otherwise the frosting will melt.
- Change up the spices. Add more or less of the spices or even add allspice in addition to, or instead of the cinnamon nutmeg and cardamom.
- Add nuts, raisins, etc. These are nut free cookies but feel free to add ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans and/or add ½ cup raisins for more chewiness to the cookies.
- Garnish. My carrot cake cookies are decorated with carrot shaped gummies that I picked up at my local bulk food store but they are totally optional.
Make Ahead, Storage and Freezing Tips
- Make ahead: Carrot cake cookie dough comes together with minimal effort so it’s best to mix and bake them immediately. You could have each element of the recipe ingredients ready in advance so there will be no delay when you need to mix the cookie batter.
- Store: Because of the high moisture content in the cookies and the cream cheese topping they will soften after being stored. The cookies should be refrigerated if you intend to keep them for more than 1 day. Bring them to room temperature before serving.
- Freeze: Freeze freshly baked cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper between each layer for up to 3 months. To thaw, remove cookies from the container and arrange them on a rack to thaw for 2 – 3 hours.
If you like baked goods with cinnamon then try these:
Cinnamon Biscuit Rolls
Apple Cider Donut Cake
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cut Out Cookies
Apple Fritter Oat Muffins
Recipe
Carrot Cake Cookies
Soft and chewy Carrot Cake Cookies with a cake-like texture packed with shredded carrots, coconut and spices are drizzled with a sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting. They’re a delicious and hearty springtime or Easter treat.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup shredded carrots lightly packed (about 2 carrots)
- ½ cup butter (1 stick), softened to room temperature
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar lightly packed
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting and Garnish
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon 35% whipping cream
- 1 cup icing sugar possibly more
- Carrot shaped gummies, optional
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two large cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper.
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Grate carrots on the large holes of a box grater. Blot them between two sheets of paper towels to remove some of the moisture.
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In a large mixing bowl with a spatula, blend butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and blend again until smooth. Fold in the shredded carrots.
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Into a medium bowl, combine flour, coconut, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and salt. Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir just until combined and all dry ingredients are absorbed. The batter will be very thick.
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Drop two tablespoons of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving at least one inch in between each cookie. With dampened hands, press down on each cookie to lightly flatten them.
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Bake for 11 – 13 minutes, just until lightly golden and the edges are crisp, but still soft in the centre. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting. Add cream cheese and cream to a heat proof bowl. Microwave on medium power for 20 – 30 seconds just until the cheese has softened. Whisk it until smooth and creamy. Add icing sugar and whisk until completely smooth, adding more icing sugar as needed until a thick drizzling consistency is achieved. Drizzle tops of cooled cookies with the frosting and garnish with carrot shaped gummies, if using.
Recipe Notes
- Carrots contain a lot of water so you do need to blot them well with paper towels to remove some of that moisture.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the batter just until the flour has been absorbed; over mixing can lead to denser cookies.
- For best results use a 2 tablespoon spring loaded cookie scoop to dispense evenly sized cookies.
- Flatten cookies with your hands with equal pressure which will help them spread a little; dampening your hands with a little water helps.
- The cookies must be completely cooled before frosting otherwise the frosting will melt.
- Because of the high moisture content and the cream cheese in the cookies, they will soften after being stored; after the first day store in the refrigerator or freezer, but serve at room temperature.
- Add more or less of the spices or even add allspice in addition to, or instead of the cinnamon nutmeg and cardamom.
- These are nut free cookies but feel free to add ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans and/or add ½ cup raisins for more chewiness to the cookies.
- My carrot cake cookies are decorated with carrot shaped gummies that I picked up at my local bulk food store but they are totally optional.
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