Description
Deliciously moist and chewy carrot cake cookies topped with a creamy vanilla-flavored cream cheese frosting. These cookies combine the warm spices and shredded carrots of classic carrot cake with hearty oats and nuts for added texture and flavor. Perfect for a delightful dessert or snack that’s easier and quicker than traditional carrot cake.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature preferred
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup grated/shredded carrots
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- ½-1 cup raisins (optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¾ cup salted butter, softened
- 12 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon corn starch (to help frosting maintain its shape)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) to prepare for baking the cookies.
- Mix Butter and Sugars: In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Use an electric mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment to beat the mixture until it becomes creamy, light, and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Add the eggs one at a time along with the pure vanilla extract. Mix well, pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium-sized bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing intermittently and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to combine thoroughly.
- Add Oats, Carrots, Nuts, and Raisins: Stir in the old-fashioned oats until fully combined. Then fold in the grated carrots, chopped walnuts or pecans, and raisins if using.
- Shape Cookies: Using a 2-tablespoon-sized scoop (about 43g), drop cookie dough onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Leave at least 2 inches (5 cm) of space between cookies. To achieve uniform cookies, roll the sticky dough into smooth balls between your palms.
- Bake: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 11-12 minutes at 350°F (177°C). The centers may look slightly underbaked, which is ideal for the perfect chewy texture.
- Cool: Remove cookies from oven and allow them to cool completely on the baking tray before frosting.
- Prepare Frosting: In a mixing bowl, beat the softened salted butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, corn starch, and vanilla extract, mixing until you have a thick, spreadable frosting.
- Frost Cookies: Once cooled, spread or pipe the cream cheese frosting on top of each cookie. Serve and enjoy your carrot cake cookies!
Notes
- Carrot cake cookies are chewy and oatmeal-based, topped with a swirl of cream cheese frosting for that classic carrot cake flavor in cookie form.
- The optional raisins add a sweet, chewy texture but can be omitted based on preference.
- Using corn starch in the frosting helps maintain its shape and makes it less messy to handle.
- For best results, use room temperature eggs and softened butter for proper mixing and texture.
- These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
- The recipe includes a how-to video to guide through the process visually.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 frosted cookie
- Calories: 317 kcal
- Sugar: 27 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 41 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 49 mg
