All the cozy flavors of carrot cake, no fork required! These soft, chewy carrot cake cookies are made with brown butter, fresh carrots and warm spices. They’re loaded with toasted walnuts and plump raisins.
They are just as good plain as they are with cream cheese frosting-making them the perfect Easter treat!
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These aren’t your average spiced cookies. They’re carrot cake in cookie form, complete with toasted walnuts and plump raisins! The trick to that chewy texture (not cakey) is blotting the moisture out of the freshly grated carrots. Brown butter adds a nutty depth of flavor, and a quick chill before baking keeps them from spreading too thin.
I love these with a dollop of cream cheese frosting, but they’re honestly great plain too. If you’re a carrot cake fan, you have to try my carrot cake scone recipe, carrot loaf bread, and mini carrot cake recipe — carrot season is year round in my kitchen!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and easy. They’re super simple just like these bird’s nest cookies and ghriba Moroccan cookies.
- Carrot cake flavor. Freshly shredded carrots, warm spices and tangy cream cheese frosting make these just as delicious as my carrot pumpkin cake!
- So good to bite into. They’re deliciously soft and chewy.
- Everyone will love them. These cookies are carrot cake in a shareable cookie form. They’re guaranteed to be a huge hit for fall, the holidays or Easter just like these chocolate chip cookie dough Easter eggs and Cadbury mini egg cookies.
Ingredients
Here are some useful notes on some of the ingredients for this carrot cake cookies recipe.
- You need 1/2 cup of freshly grated carrot. This is about 1 medium carrots. I recommend finely shredding carrots on the small holes of a box grater. Measure out the 1/2 cup carrots after shredding and before squeezing out the moisture. Squeeze to remove extra moisture. This will make sure the cookies aren’t too puffy. If you have extra carrots, give this carrot and chocolate cake a try!
- 1 egg and 1 egg yolk: Use one large room temperature egg for structure and 1 egg yolk for chewiness.
- Butter: We’re adding unsalted room butter for the cookies and the optional frosting. We’re browning half the butter for the cookies then adding it to cold butter. The cold butter will help the brown butter cool down faster. Cool until room temperature. You’ll need room temperature butter for the frosting. Take the butter out of the fridge about 1 hour before making the frosting.
- We’re using a combination of granulated and light or dark brown sugar. I recommend using dark brown sugar for best flavor!
- Spices: Ground cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg give these cookies warm carrot cake flavor. Feel free to swap in extra cinnamon in place of the other spices. substitute in more cinnamon.
- Walnuts are optional but recommended for extra flavor and crunch. They also make a cute and simple topping to stick on the frosting! For best flavor, toast your walnuts before chopping them.
- Raisins are also optional but make these cookies extra yummy to bite into. If you’re not a fan of raisins, you can leave them out.
- Use room temperature brick style full fat cream cheese for the frosting. (Make sure it’s room temperature. Cold cream cheese will result in lumps in the frosting). For another carrot cake with cream cheese treat, try these delicious carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- Don’t have any raisins? Add some chopped dates instead.
- Missing some spices? Swap in allspice, cardamom or ground cloves in place of some of the other spices if you like!
- Want to make these nut-free? Just leave the nuts out.
- Out of walnuts? Almonds, pistachios, pecans, hazelnuts are great subsitutes for walnuts.
- Not a fan of frosting? Leave it out. The cookies are delicious with or without frosting!
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: (See photo 1 above). Brown half the butter. Pour it into a bowl with the rest of the butter. Stir until all butter is melted. Allow to cool to room temperature. Finely shred the carrot. Wrap a few paper towels up around the carrot. Squeeze to most or all of the moisture.
Step 2: (See photo 2 above). Beat the butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until creamy and combined. Mix in the egg then the egg yolk and vanilla.
Step 3: (See photo 3 above). Mix in the shredded carrots. Turn mixer to low. Mix in the dry ingredients til just incorporated.
Step 4: (See photo 4 above). Stir in the chopped walnuts and raisins. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
Step 5: (See photo 5 above).Preheat oven to 350 degrees F during the last 15 minutes of chilling. Scoop the dough using a #40 cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons of dough).
Step 6: (See photo 6 above). Bake 9-10 minutes, until edges are light golden brown and the tops are set. Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting, if using.
Step 7: (See photo 7 above). Beat the butter and cream cheese til creamy and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and salt. Turn mixer off and add the powdered sugar mixture. Beat on low until powdered sugar is no longer visible. Turn mixer to medium high and beat for one minute.
Step 8: (See photo 8 above). Spread frosting on cookies with a butter knife or offset spatula. Top with chopped nuts right after frosting.
Expert Tips
- Spoon the flour into your measuring cup or us a kitchen scale. If you dredge the measuring cup into the flour, the flour will become compact and you can end up with dry cookies.
- Grate the carrot using the small holes on a box grater. This will give you smaller pieces of carrot. Smaller pieces disperse more evenly and soften while the cookies bake.
- Squeeze or blot out the excess moisture of the carrots with paper towels. This will make sure the cookies aren’t too puffy. Use paper towels for this and not a kitchen towel. I tried with a towel once and my towel was stained orange!
- Use a cookie scoop or a scale so that all of the cookies are the same size. I use a #40 cookie scoop. If you use a scale, measure about 23 grams or 1 and a half tablespoons per cookie dough ball.
Recipe FAQs
The best way to shred (or grate) carrots for carrot cake is to use a box grater set on a cutting board. Wash and peel the carrots then grate the end of the carrot against the grater using a downward motion.
Use the small shredding side of a box grater. This gives you finely shreded carrots that disperse evenly throughout the batter. The smaller bits help the carrots to cook thru during the short baking time.
Use a cookie scoop to make your cookies the same size. This makes the cookies look similar. It also makes it so that your cookies all have the same baking time.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. Freeze leftover frosted or unfrosted cookies in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months.
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Carrot Cake Cookies
Ingredients
Carrot Cookies
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter divided, brown half (~57g), cut the other half into cubes
- ⅓ cup (39 g) chopped walnuts toast first (see instructions below) then chop and measure, plus more for decorating (optional)
- ½ cup (60 g) shredded carrots about 1 medium carrot, finely shredded, measure before squeezing out excess moisture with paper towels, see instructions
- ½ cup (110 g) brown sugar light or dark, packed
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups (156 g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger swap in extra cinnamon if you prefer
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg swap in extra cinnamon if you prefer
- ⅓ cup (48 g) raisins optional
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 3 ounces (85 g) cream cheese brick style, full fat, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 1¾ cup (210 g) powdered sugar sifted
Instructions
Carrot Cake Cookies (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cut all the cold butter into 1 inch cubes. Place about half the butter in a large heat proof mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Place other half of the butter (4 tbsp or about 57 g) in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally as the butter melts. Once melted, reduce heat to medium-low. Continue cooking the butter, stirring frequently. The butter will get foamy and bubbly then it will get quiet and turn an amber color and will have a nutty aroma. You'll also see brown bits start to form on the bottom. This browning will take around 4-6 minutes once the butter has melted. When the butter reaches this stage, remove it from the heat. Immediately pour the brown butter over the cold cubed butter and stir until fully melted and combined. Let cool at room temperature for 20–30 minutes until it solidifies to a soft, peanut-butter-like consistency.
- Toast then chop and measure the walnuts. Toasting is optional but it enhances the flavor and makes the nuts extra crunchy. Spread nuts evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, until nuts are fragrant. Allow nuts to cool then finely chop them. Set them aside. Turn oven off for now.
- Peel the carrots. Finely shred the carrots using the small shredder side of a box grater. Measure out 1/2 cup (about 50 g) of shredded carrots.
- Place the shredded carrots on a few thick paper towels. Wrap the paper towels up around the carrots. Squeeze out all the excess moisture. Do this one more time with a few extra paper towels, if needed until you remove most or all of the moisture. Set carrots aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Set aside.
- Once the butter has cooled to room temperature, add both sugars directly to the bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2–3 minutes until creamy and combined.
- Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix in the egg until completely incorporated then mix in the egg yolk. Mix in the vanilla and the blotted shredded carrots.
- With the mixer on low, mix in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Stir in the chopped walnuts and raisins til just combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Chill dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 ℉. Scoop out the dough using a #40 cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons of dough or about 23 grams each). Place balls on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are light golden brown and the tops are set. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)
- Sift the powdered sugar. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl using a hand held mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until completely combined, creamy and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and salt.
- Turn mixer off and add the powdered sugar mixture. Beat on low until powdered sugar is no longer visible. Turn mixer to medium high and beat for one minute.
- Use right away or cover with plastic wrap or in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Spread frosting on cookies with a butter knife or offset spatula. Top with chopped nuts right after frosting. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
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