Carrot Cake Cookies

You know I love carrot cake in any shape or form. From the OG cake to bread to cupcakes to now cookies! Yeah, that’s right, carrot cake cookies are so good, moist, chewy and delicious, one bite and you’ll wonder why you’ve never made them before!

How to Make This Recipe

Ready to make carrot cake cookies? These take less than 40 minutes! Crazy! 

Making the Cookies

1. First, go ahead and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then, very lightly grease a baking sheet or (and this works better), line with a nonstick baking mat. (not pictured)
2. Now take out a medium-size bowl and whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. (photo 1)
3. In a separate, large bowl combine the butter and the sugars and then mix them together for 2-3 minutes, or until it is light and fluffy. (not pictured)
4. To the butter/sugar mixture, add in the vanilla and eggs and mix, then stir in the grated carrots. (photo 2)
5. Now, take the dry ingredients and add them to the wet ingredients (stirring until they are just incorporated and there are no more streaks of flour). Be careful not to over-mix the batter. (photo 3)
6. Drop the cookie batter by the spoonful (I used a large cookie scoop, about 2 tablespoons) onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least 2-3 inches apart. (photo 4)
7. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown and the tops look dry. Allow the cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. (photo 5)

Making the Frosting

1. You can start making the frosting while cookies are cooling. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Then, once the butter is melted, start stirring it over the heat for about 2-4 minutes longer, or until the color changes from pale yellow to a deep golden-brown. Remove the butter from the heat. 
2. In a large, clean bowl combine the cream cheese with the browned butter and mix well.
3. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, till it’s completely incorporated. Then, mix in the vanilla and milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency (the icing should be fluffy and easily spreadable). (photo 6)
4. Frost the carrot cake cookies only when they have completely cooled. 
5. Store the carrot cake cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Why This Recipe Works

So easy — 40 minutes (or less!) till you have these babies in your mouth. That’s from start to finish, icing and all. You certainly can’t beat that! 

So delicious — If you love carrot cake anything, then you’ll love these carrot cake cookies. Just the right amount of sweet and cinnamon, plus they are buttery, and carrotty and that icing — heaven! 

Perfect amount of carrots — As much as I love carrot cake, I admit, sometimes there can be too many carrots. These carrot cake cookies are not overloaded with carrot taste. They have just enough — only 1.5 cups, which spread out perfectly among the batter so as not to be too overwhelming. 

Unique — When was the last time you had a carrot cake cookie at Easter brunch or a potluck or bake sale? I’d wager to say maybe never? Easy enough to make and take on the road with you, and just different (and delicious) enough to make them the hit of the party!

Expert Tips

• A note on the carrots: My advice is to be sure to use fresh carrots and grate them yourself. Pre-shredded carrots are too dry and will not have enough moisture for your cookie batter. Trust me on this! You will regret using pre-shredded carrots. 
• When using butter that is “room temperature,” this does not meet completely softened. It means it should be still somewhat firm to the touch. Using butter that is too warm (or beginning to melt) will cause your cookies to spread too much. 
• Feel like your carrot cake cookies aren’t complete without nuts? Add a ¼ to a ½ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts to your batter (depending on how nutty you like your cookies). Or you can sprinkle some chopped nuts over the top of the frosting while it’s still wet for just a hint of nuttiness and a lovely frosting garnish! 
• Do not microwave the cream cheese or the butter to soften. You will end up with melted/too soft butter and/or cream cheese that will end up making your cookies flat or your cream cheese runny.
  • If they’re not room temperature, you can quickly soften the butter by adding hot water to a dish or bowl that can fit over the top of the butter. Let the hot water sit in the dish for a few minutes, then dump out the water and turn the dish upside down on top of the butter. The heat from the dish will soften it. 
  • To soften cream cheese, remove it from all packaging and cut it into tiny cubes on a plate or cutting board.

More Recipes You’ll Love

Craving all the carrot cake everything? Me too! For other ways to incorporate these wonderful flavors, check out my recipes for Moist and Easy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Carrot Cake Bread, and Carrot Cake Cupcakes.

• Carrot Cake Bread
• Best Easy Carrot Cake
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes
• Carrot Cake Muffins