Carrot Cake Cookies

These Carrot Cake Cookies are soft, chewy, and moist. They taste just like everything you love about carrot cake but in cookie form! Easy to make and perfect for sharing!

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Nothing says Easter more than carrot cake! These carrot cake cookies are loaded with all the yummy flavors of a carrot cake in a soft cookie form. Warmly spiced with classic flavors and obviously full of carrots and topped with cream cheese frosting! If you love carrot cake, be prepared to fall in love with these carrot cake cookies!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe >

Ingredients Needed & Notes >

Equipment You’ll Need >

Step By Step Instructions >

Baking Tips >

Serving & Storage >

Recipe Card >

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THESE CARROT CAKE COOKIES

• These carrot cake cookies are perfect for Easter, springtime, Thanksgiving, or any time of year!
• Easy and fun to make with kids.
• They stay soft and chewy for a whole week
• They are a great way to fix that carrot cake craving without making and baking a whole cake.
• These cookies have a perfect combo of cookies and cake texture.
• Perfect amount of carrots! These carrot cake cookies have just enough carrot taste and the carrots are finely grated to make a nice texture.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED & NOTES

Carrot – You’ll want the carrots fresh and grate them finely. Use the smallest holes on your box grater and then you can chop them to make the carrot shreds nice and small.

Raisins – This is optional you can skip raisins if you like. I use chopped golden raisins mixed with the cookie dough and the cookies taste amazing!

Eggs – You’ll need 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks to make these carrot cake cookies. Make sure they’re large eggs and at room temperature.

Sugar – There are 3 types of sugar in this recipe. Brown sugar and granulated sugar for the cookie dough, and powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar) for the frosting. I prefer light brown sugar for the cookie dough, but both light brown and dark brown work well for this recipe!

Butter – Make sure the butter is soft at room temperature. Unsalted butter is my favorite for baking, it gives you complete control of the overall flavor. Can I use salted butter? Yes, it is fine to use salted butter in baking. If you’re using salted butter, skip the salt.

Cream cheese – You will need full-fat cream cheese to make the smoothest cream cheese frosting. Don’t use cream cheese spread or low-fat cream cheese.

Flour – Two types of flour are used in this recipe, all-purpose flour, and bread flour. The combination of these flours makes the cookies chewier and spread less.

Spices – You’ll need cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. These are the warming spices used to flavor the cookies.

Leavening agent – We need quite a bit of leavener to lift this heavy cookie dough.

Salt – The salt will help balance out the sweetness of the cookies.

Vanilla – A splash of pure vanilla extract to enhance the flavor.

BAKING TOOLS & EQUIPMENT YOU’LL NEED

(Check my favorite baking tools and equipment here!)

• Electric mixer
• Mixing bowl
• Rubber spatula
• Ice cream/cookie scoop
• Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
• Sheet pan
• Piping bag
• Piping tip

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE THESE CARROT CAKE COOKIES

(Be sure to check the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions)

STEP 1 – Prepare the Ingredients, Sheet Pan, and Pre-heat the Oven

Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature. Finely shred your carrots by using the smallest hole on your box grater and then you can chop them to make the carrot shreds nice and small. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350F then line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.

STEP 2 – Make the Cookie Dough and Bake

In a medium bowl, combine and whisk together all-purpose flour, bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about two minutes on medium speed. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, then beat until combined.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low, then gradually add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and remove the bowl from the mixer. Switch with a rubber spatula and fold in the carrots and raisins until fully incorporated. Don’t over-mix the cookie dough!

Using a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake at 350F in the middle rack of your oven for about 12 minutes. You will know they are done when the edges start turning golden brown and the centers look soft and a little under-baked.

After baking, let the tray cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before piping the cream cheese frosting

STEP 3 – Make the Cream Cheese Frosting and Serve

Place the room-temperature butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Gradually add in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix to combine for another 2 minutes.

Snip off the end of your piping bag to make a large hole and set a piping tip. Transfer the cream cheese frosting to the bag, then pipe the frosting over the top of each cookie and sprinkle with grated carrots and golden raisins if desired. Enjoy!

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST CARROT CAKE COOKIES

• Make sure to have all of the ingredients at room temperature, especially the butter, eggs, and cream cheese. Room-temperature ingredients blend and incorporate easily.
• Finely grate the fresh carrots! Use the smallest holes on your box grater and then you can chop them to make the carrot shreds nice and small.
• Keep your eyes on the cookies while baking, or at least check your cookies 3 minutes early. Think of baking times just as suggestions, because every oven is different! The temperature can vary greatly, even when you set it to the same temperature as in the recipe. Also, your cookies might be slightly thicker or smaller, meaning they need more or less baking time.
• Bake cookies just until the edges are golden brown.
• Measure flour correctly. When measuring the flour with cups, make sure to spoon and level the flour into your measuring cup. Do not scoop and pack the flour. By doing this, you will yield too much flour and make the dough dry. A kitchen scale is the best option, it’s so much more accurate than cup measurements, that’s why I always write the recipe with grams. 1 cup flour = 125 grams.
• Let the cookies cool completely before adding the cream cheese on top!

HERE’S HOW TO STORE THE LEFTOVERS

Don’t keep these cookies at room temperature since they have cream cheese frosting. Place the cookies in an air-tight container and store them in the fridge. They’re good for up to a week.

Place the cookies on a tray lined with parchment paper, and freeze for 1 hour until they’re frozen. Once frozen, wrap the cookies individually with 2 layers of plastic wrap, then place them in an air-tight container. Freeze the cookies for up to 2 months.

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Happy Baking!