Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Carrot cake is a favorite but baking and frosting a layer cake can take time and patience. Enter carrot cake cookies – soft and chewy cookies with all of the flavors of carrot cake and without the hassle or time commitment!
The first time I attempted these cookies, I was craving carrot cake, but I didn’t want to take the time to bake and frost a cake, and I also didn’t want all of the leftovers. I wondered if I could make an acceptable substitute in cookie form, and honestly, I was wondering if the cookie version would be even better. Spoiler alert – I think they might be! Here’s how to make these chewy carrot cake cookies for the Easter holiday or anytime!
Ingredients to Make Carrot Cake Cookies
- KAMUT® White Flour or other High-Quality White Flour
- Baking Soda
- Fine Salt
- Ground Cinnamon
- Unsalted Butter
- White Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla Extract
- Grated Carrots
- Cream Cheese
- Powdered Sugar
Tools to Make Carrot Cake Cookies
- Parchment Paper
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment or Hand Mixer
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk or Dough Hook
- Spatula
- Box Grader or Microplane
- Medium, .75 oz Cookie Scoop
- Large, 2 oz Cookie Scoop
- Fine Mesh Strainer
- Offset Spatula
All About Ingredients
Flour
Flour makes up most of the cookie ingredients, so I recommend you use the best-tasting and highest-quality flour possible. This will take your cookies (and other baked goods!) to the next level. I use KAMUT® White Flour in these cookies, and I love the taste and the fact that it is more nutritionally dense than regular white all-purpose flour, so just one cookie can be a satisfying treat. Learn more about KAMUT® Brand Wheat here. Don’t have KAMUT® White Flour? Don’t let that stop you from making these cookies! I always write my baking recipes for both KAMUT® White Flour and all-purpose flour so everyone can bake and enjoy!
Butter
I make the dough for these carrot cake cookies with cold butter. However, this recipe will also call for softened butter for the frosting and for some refrigerator chill time. I recommend you only use cold butter if you are using a high-power bowl-lift stand mixer. Otherwise, use softened butter for the cookie dough and add additional chill time. I include these notes in the recipe card below.
Carrots
You might be tempted to use pre-shredded carrots or pre-grated matchstick carrots, but for the best results, use whole carrots and peel and grate the carrots yourself instead. Carrot cake cookies don’t bake nearly as long as actual carrot cake so they requie smaller pieces of carrot to cook through. I use the smaller side of a box grater but you can use a microplane in a pinch.
Frosting Ingredients
Use room temperature ingredients for the frosting. This will help create a smoother frosting.
How to Make Carrot Cake Cookies
Set out butter and cream cheese for the frosting and let both come to room temperature.
Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Peel then grate carrots and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl (if using a hand mixer), cream butter and both sugars. When smooth, add egg, vanilla, and grated carrots and mix until combined.
Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Using a large, 2-ounce cookie scoop, 6 level scoops of cookie dough on each prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced. Chill cookie dough on cookie sheets for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Part of the way through chill time, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place prepared and chilled cookie sheets in the preheated oven and bake for 28 minutes. While the cookies bake is a perfect time to wash your mixing bowl and attachment to reuse for the frosting.
Halfway through bake time, pull trays out to flatten the cookies with the bottom of a glass, then rotate and swap racks when you place back in the oven to finish baking.
Cookies are finished baking when the edges of the cookies turn a nice, golden brown. Transfer each cookie sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool completely on the tray.
While the cookies cool, make the frosting.
Sift the powdered sugar using a fine mesh strainer and set aside. This will remove lumps from your powdered sugar.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a handheld mixer and a large mixing bowl, cream together the remaining 1 stick of butter and cream cheese until absolutely smooth and homogenous. Add in powdered sugar, a little bit at a time to avoid a mess, and mix at a low speed after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in salt and vanilla extract and mix at a low speed until combined. Increase to medium-high speed and mix for 2-3 minutes until frosting starts to lighten in color.
Use a medium cookie scoop to place one scoop of frosting on each of the cooled cookies and smooth out using an offset spatula.
These carrot cake cookies are great at room temperature but will also stay in the fridge overnight or in the freezer for up to three months.
Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 2 1/2 cups KAMUT® White Flour or 2 2/3 cups white all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 12 TBSP unsalted butter *see note
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups finely grated carrot
For the Frosting:
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 11 oz powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Set out butter and cream cheese for the frosting and let both come to room temperature.
- Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Peel and grate carrots and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl (if using a hand mixer), cream butter and both sugars. When smooth, add egg, vanilla, and grated carrots and mix until combined.
- Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Using a large, 2-ounce cookie scoop, place 6 level scoops of cookie dough on each prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced.
- Chill cookie dough on cookie sheets for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. **see note
- Part of the way through chill time, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place prepared and chilled cookie sheets in the preheated oven and bake for 28 minutes. While the cookies bake is a perfect time to wash your mixing bowl and attachment to reuse for the frosting.
- Halfway through bake time, pull trays out to flatten the cookies with the bottom of a glass, then rotate and swap racks when you place back in the oven to finish baking.
- Cookies are finished baking when the edges of the cookies turn a nice, golden brown.
- Transfer each cookie sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool completely on the tray. While the cookies cool, make the frosting.
- Sift the powdered sugar using a fine mesh strainer and set aside. This will remove lumps from your powdered sugar.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a handheld mixer and a large mixing bowl, cream together the remaining 1 stick of butter and cream cheese until completely smooth. Add in powdered sugar, a little bit at a time to avoid a mess, and mix at a low speed after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in salt and vanilla extract and mix at a low speed until combined. Increase to medium-high speed and mix for 2-3 minutes until frosting starts to lighten in color.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to place one scoop of frosting on each of the cooled cookies and smooth out using an offset spatula.
