My favourite dessert of all time is probably carrot cake, but this year I wanted to shake things up for spring with these soft and chewy carrot cake cookies with cream cheese frosting. If you are looking for an easy way to celebrate Easter without baking an entire cake, these carrot cake cookies deliver all that spiced, classic flavour in a fun cookie form. They are the perfect addition to any seasonal dessert table!
Carrot Cake Cookies vs Traditional Carrot Cake
While I will always have a soft spot for traditional carrot cake, and currently still have no will power to let the option pass me by if I see it on a menu, these carrot cake cookies are a total game changer when baking at home. Here’s why I prefer baking the carrot cake cookies vs a traditional carrot cake.
- Frosting-to-Cookie ratio: So if I’m going to be honest, one of the best parts of carrot cake is the cream cheese frosting. With these carrot cake cookies you get a generous serving of the smooth cream cheese frosting with every bite.
- Perfect Easter snack: No one likes to serve cake during an easter get together. With the carrot cake cookies there’s no need for extra plates, forks, or large knife to cut the cake. Guests can just grab-and-go and keep mingling.
- Super Easy Bake: While a traditional carrot cake recipe may intimidate some people, this recipe bakes in 13 minutes and is a fun, quick bake if you don’t want to spend the whole weekend inside the kitchen.
Carrot Cake Cookie Ingredients (with Cream Cheese Frosting)
For The Cookie Dough:
- Butter – Softened to room temperature. If you’re using salted butter, reduce the amount of salt added to 1/4 teaspoons.
- Brown Sugar
- Granulated Sugar
- All Purpose Flour
- 1 Large Egg – room temperature.
- Vanilla Extract
- Carrot – peeled a finely grated.
- Rolled Oats
- Baking Soda
- Pecans – chopped for the topping.
- Salt
- Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, and all spice.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Cream Cheese: Softened to room temperature.
- Butter: Softened to room temperature. If using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon on salt.
- Icing Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
How to Make Carrot Cake Cookies
The Cookie Dough:
- Cream the Butter and Sugars: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and the brown sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the Egg and Vanilla: In the same bowl, beat in the room temperature egg until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula before adding in the vanilla extract.
- Add the Carrots and Rolled Oats: Peel and finely grate the carrots, then add them and the rolled oats to the bowl. Mix on low until just combined. Note: Some recipes will have you drain the liquid from the shredded carrots using a cheese cloth of paper towel. These cookies are very soft and chewy so we want the extra moisture the carrots provide.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and all spice.
- Combine the Wet Ingredients with the Dry: With your mixer on low, slowly begin to add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Combine on low until just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and then just fold in any remaining flour until combined. Note: You do not want to over mix this dough as it could lead to gluten being formed and the cookies getting tough.
- Prepare the Cookies for Baking: Pre-heat the oven to 350℉ then line a large (or two medium) baking sheets with parchment paper. I used a 1/4 measuring cup to portion out roughly 2 tablespoons cookie dough before quickly rolling it into a ball and placing it on the baking sheet 2 inches apart. Tip: This dough is pretty sticky so I’d recommend using a cookie scoop if you have one on hand.
- Bake and Cool: Bake the cookies on the middle rack for 11-13 minutes or until the bottom is just beginning to brown. These cookies cook pretty quickly but will still appear “undercooked” when they need to be taken out. The cookies will continue to cook for a few minutes out of the oven and will be extra soft and chewy later. After a few minutes of cooling on the baking tray, transfer the carrot cake cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely before adding the frosting.
The Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Cream the Cream Cheese & Butter: In a separate mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix in the vanilla extract. Note: The cream cheese and butter have to be room temperature or the frosting won’t come together correctly. If they are still cold, leave them out on the counter for 30 minutes or close by the oven while baking the carrot cake cookies (not too close) and that should help soften them up.
- Add the Powdered Sugar: Next add the powdered sugar and beat on medium high for 2-3 minutes until full incorporated and smooth. Note: This step can be a bit messy with the powdered sugar puff cloud. To reduce the mess, add the sugar in batches and mix on a low speed until fully incorporated.
- Top and Serve: Once completely cooled the carrot cake cookies are ready to be frosted. Using a butter knife, small spatula, or piping bag, evenly spread the cream cheese frosting over the cookies, leaving just a little edge for the fingers to grab. Top with crushed pecans, cinnamon sugar, and or some extra grated carrots for colour.
How to Store Carrot Cake Cookies
- Fridge: The Carrot Cake Cookies with cream cheese frosting will need to be stored in the fridge in an air tight container. They’ll keep fresh for about 4-5 days and are very good when cold!
- Freezer: I would suggest freezing the cookies without the icing, then make a fresh batch of icing whenever needed. The carrot cake cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months, and just need to sit on the counter for a few hours to fully thaw.
Can’t get enough of that cream cheese and cookie combo?
You have to try my Red Velvet Thumbprint Cookies next—they have that same tangy frosting in a delicious, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate base!
Did You Make These?
I really hope that this Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting recipe becomes one of your favourite cookie recipes! If you make them, please leave a star rating and a comment below – it really helps me out :)!
And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram at Feasts_and_treats with any photos of your kitchen creations!
The Best Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
These soft and chewy Carrot Cake Cookies are the ultimate spring treat! Packed with warm spices, fresh carrots, and topped with delicious cream cheese frosting, they deliver all the best flavours of carrot cake in hand held form. This recipe is a favourite!
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
For the Cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together using a hand mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the egg and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula then beat in the vanilla extract.
- Peel and finely grate the carrots. Then add the grated carrots and oats to the cookie dough mixture and beat until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and all spice.
- With the hand mixer on medium low speed, add the dry mixture into the wet mixture and beat until just combined.
- Scoop about 2 tablespoons of cookie dough into balls and place them on the parchment lined baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies just start to brown. The cookies should look slightly underdone when you're pulling them from the oven – this is what we want. The cookies will continue to cook a bit as they cool and will help them stay chewy and soft. Transfer to a cooling rack and let the carrot cake cookies cool fully before topping with frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl cream together the softened butter and cream cheese for 2-3 minutes until soft and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl as required then mix in the vanilla extract.
- Add the powdered sugar and beat on medium high until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Add the frosting to each carrot cake cookie with a butter knife, small spatula, or pipe it on for a detailed look. Top with chopped pecans, cinnamon sugar, or extra grated carrot for a splash of orange and enjoy!
Adding the powdered sugar all at once can make a bit off a messy sugar cloud. To reduce the mess, keep the mixer on low speed and add the sugar in smaller batches until mostly incorporated, then up the speed to medium high until smooth.
Notes
Temperature ingredients: Ensure the butter and cream cheese are both softened to room temperature for both the cookies and cream cheese frosting to ensure a smooth consistency.
How to store the cookies: The cookies can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or frozen (without the frosting) for up to 3 months. I would suggest making fresh cream cheese icing for the thawed cookies when needed.
These are million dollar cookies! My daughter Devoured them
Haha I love to hear that, thank you!
These are so good and surprisingly easy to make!