Carrot Cake Cookies

Yesterday morning, I was sitting in my kitchen brainstorming recipe ideas. My goal was to create something easy and quick that could be shared among a larger group of people. Also, I wanted to make it have an Easter/Spring vibe. Then… the idea hit me. CARROT CAKE COOKIES! Ok so the name doesn’t make too much sense but, in theory, its a carrot cake in cookie form. How perfect is that??

So, yesterday afternoon I gathered my ingredients and began baking. The cookies turned out wonderfully and I’m so pumped that I get to share them with y’all so you can taste them for yourselves!

My family loved them as well! Just to reassure y’all on how good they are, out of the 2 dozen cookies that this recipe makes, only two are left in my kitchen right now. And it’s been less than 24 hours since I made them!! (To be honest, I’m contemplating going and getting one of them for a post-dinner snack :).

Key Ingredients For Making These Carrot Cake Cookies

Brown Sugar – If you have some I would strongly recommend using a mix of white and brown sugar. It creates such a well-rounded cookie! The molasses (part of the brown sugar that makes it brown) compliments the spices in the cookie really well.

Add Some Nuts – My mom is the BIGGEST fan of this tip. She swears by it in every baking recipe she makes. I’m usually not the biggest fan of nuts in my muffin, cakes, or cookies but in this case, its definitely the right choice. Adding pecans or walnuts add a perfect nutty flavor to the cookie.

Cream Cheese Icing – Most of the time when I go somewhere and I see cookies with icing I get kinda bummed because I feel like it ruins the cookie. Most icings are too sweet and overall not very yummy. In this case, though, the icing is the perfect top to an already great cookie.

Don’t Over-Mix the Batter

A lot of times while cooking, I have the tendency to just turn my mixer on to let all of my ingredients combine while I read more of the recipe or, let’s be honest, just scroll through Instagram for a bit. In this recipe, it’s really important to not do that☝️ and keep an eye on the mixture instead. Once the dry ingredients have combined with the wet, turn the mixer off so it doesn’t over mix. Then fold in the nuts and shredded carrot strands. Doing this will make the cookies much more fluffy and enjoyable.

Carrot Cake Cookies

Get ready because these cookies are about to blow your mind! Make them for a spring birthday that’s coming up or on Easter for your family to enjoy after church. If you try out the recipe please let me know and leave a comment below!

Prep Time – 15 minutes Cooking Time – 30 minutes Total Time – 45 minutes

Yield – 24 servings (2 dozen cookies) Category – Dessert Cuisine – American

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups AP flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup pecans/walnuts
• 1 cup oats

• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• dash of milk

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and line a cookie sheet. (I use stoneware and I strongly recommend it:). Set that aside and pull out a mixer and your ingredients.
2. In the bowl combine softened butter and both sugars until they are whipped together. Add the two eggs and vanilla and mix.
3. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Half a cup at a time, add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix. When the dry and wet ingredients are mostly combined fold in the shredded carrots, nuts, and oats. The dough should end up fairly thick.
4. Separate balls of dough onto the baking sheet. Make each ball about 2-3 tablespoons. Flatten the ball of dough with the back of your spoon a little bit to make sure the cookies bake evenly. Bake them for 14-15 minutes.
5. For the frosting, combine the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and milk in a small bowl until completely smooth. Use a whisk to get all the clumps of powdered sugar dispersed, if necessary. Put it into a piping bag and draw whatever design you would like on your cookies!
6. Enjoy with your friends and family!

Notes

• To make this recipe dairy-free, use vegan cream cheese and butter and substitute the milk with almond milk.
• If the frosting is too liquidy, add a bit more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add a tiny bit more milk. Those measurements can be messed with to tailor to your preference :).
• I recommend checking on them at 13 minutes. Everyone’s ovens cook at different rates. So, if they look ready at the 13-minute mark, go ahead and pull them out.