These carrot cake cookies are such a fun way to celebrate Spring, Easter, or even Mother’s Day. Made with warming and fragrant spices, crunchy nuts, and tangy cream cheese frosting. They’re soft but chewy and utterly delicious so it’s impossible to stop at just one! They’re such a fun alternative to making a whole cake and ready in half the time too. You can decorate them in any way you like whether they’re simply sprinkled with chopped nuts or decorated with a cute design like I have in the photos.
See my full recipe tutorial below including important notes on ingredients, step-by-step photos, and decorating tips! Looking for more Easter treats? Check out my Carrot Cake Cupcakes, Hot Cross Buns, or my Easter Cookies.
What you need to make this recipe
Carrots – don’t use any pre-shredded, canned, or chopped carrots as they either contain too much moisture (canned) or not enough moisture (pre-shredded). For best results buy whole carrots and shred them with a box grater.
Butter – the butter must be softened at room temperature so it is incorporated into the cookie dough evenly. Use unsalted as salt is added separately.
Old fashioned oats – these add a delicious chewy consistency to the cookies, make sure you use old-fashioned oats and not steel-cut oats.
Coconut – use shredded and sweetened coconut for best results.
Pecans – pecans not only add flavor but texture too. If you don’t have pecans you can use walnuts instead.
Spices – the spices are what give the carrot cake is warming, aromatic and classic flavor. I use a mix of ground ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
Sugar – I use a mix of brown and white granulated sugar, the white sugar is for structure and the brown sugar is for flavor.
Cream cheese – for that classic carrot cake flavor the tangy cream cheese frosting is a must, use a good quality cream cheese for best results.
Food coloring – if you’d like to decorate your carrot cake cookies I recommend using gel food coloring as it’s much easier to work with. You only need a tiny amount for a vibrant color.
How to make Carrot Cake Cookies
1. Combine the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a separate bowl or stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
3. Add the dry mixture and mix on low until almost combined.
4. Add the carrot, oats, pecans, and coconut then mix to combine.
5. Place balls of the cookie dough on lined cookie sheets. Bake until the edges are golden.
6. Cream the butter and cream cheese then add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, mix until combined.
7. Transfer a few tablespoons of the frosting into two small bowls and mix with desired food coloring. Fill piping bags ready for decorating.
8. Cover the cookies in buttercream then pipe carrots and bunny faces onto the cookies (or whatever design you like). See the printable recipe card below for details on how to create the fun designs.
Pro tips for making this recipe
- Make sure your butter, egg, and cream cheese are all at room temperature so everything is mixed and bakes evenly.
- Take the butter out of the fridge in advance to soften it, don’t be tempted to heat the butter so it melts because it’ll cause the cookies to spread too much.
- Space the cookies about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet so they don’t touch when baking.
- Let the cookies cool completely before frosting or the frosting will melt.
- You can add milk to adjust the consistency of the frosting if desired.
- You can decorate the cookies in any way you like, use small piping bags so you have more control over the design.
- If using food coloring use gel instead of liquid as you don’t need to use as much.
- If you’re piping a bunny design I find that confetti sprinkles are perfect for the eyes and nose, alternatively you can pipe them on with frosting.
- Don’t have piping bags? No problem, you can use Ziploc bags and cut the corner off to use as a piping bag.
- Although this recipe makes around 36 cookies you can double the batch to make more if needed.
- When measuring the flour, fluff it in the canister first then spoon it into the cup and level off with a knife. This is the best way to avoid overpacking the cup. For more accurate results weigh it with a kitchen scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make carrot cake sandwich cookies?
That’s easy, instead of decorating the tops of the cookies you can pipe some cream cheese frosting on the bottom side of one cookie and place another cookie on top to create a sandwich cookie. This batch will make around 18 sandwich cookies.
Can I prepare these in advance?
Yes, you can refrigerate the cookie dough up to 2 days in advance. Baked cookies will keep well in an airtight container for 3-4 days before frosting.
Can I freeze them?
You can freeze raw cookie dough or unfrosted baked cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before baking/frosting.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried these Carrot Cake Cookies then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Carrot Cake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened (226g)
- ½ cup sugar (100g)
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (200g)
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla (10ml)
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (270g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp ginger
- 3/4 cups rolled oats (80g)
- ½ cup shredded coconut (60g)
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 medium carrots grated (about 1 cup/90g)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (80g)
- 2 cups powdered sugar (240g)
- ½ cup butter (113g)
- 8 oz cream cheese (226g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (5ml)
- Food coloring for the decorations
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Combine the flour, spices, baking soda and salt in a large bowl then whisk together and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl down then add the dry mixture and mix on low until almost combined.
- Add the shredded carrot, oats, pecans, and coconut then mix on low until just combined.
- Portion out heaping tablespoon balls of dough (35g), and place on lined cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 12 minutes or until the edges are golden.
- While the cookies bake, cream the butter and cream cheese then add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Mix on high until well combined. You can add milk to adjust the consistency if desired.
- Transfer a few tablespoons of the frosting into two small bowls and mix with orange and green food coloring. Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip or cut the tip off. If piping bunny faces choose a color for the fur and mix a tiny bit of pink buttercream for the ears.
- Cover the cookies in butter cream then pipe carrots and bunny faces (see notes for decorating tips).
Notes
- Make sure your butter, egg, and cream cheese are all at room temperature so everything is mixed and bakes evenly.
- Take the butter out of the fridge in advance to soften it, don't be tempted to heat the butter so it melts because it'll cause the cookies to spread too much.
- Space the cookies about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet so they don't touch when baking.
- Let the cookies cool completely before frosting or the frosting will melt.
- You can add milk to adjust the consistency of the frosting if desired.
- You can decorate the cookies in any way you like, use small piping bags so you have more control over the design.
- If using food coloring use gel instead of liquid as you don't need to use as much.
- If you're piping a bunny design I find that confetti sprinkles are perfect for the eyes and nose, alternatively you can pipe them on with frosting.
- Don't have piping bags? No problem, you can use Ziploc bags and cut the corner off to use as a piping bag.
- Although this recipe makes around 36 cookies you can double the batch to make more if needed.
- When measuring the flour, fluff it in the canister first then spoon it into the cup and level off with a knife. This is the best way to avoid overpacking the cup. For more accurate results weigh it with a kitchen scale.
- Storage - raw cookie dough can be refrigerated for 2 days or frozen. Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months, I recommend freezing them unfrosted.
- Decorating Notes: When piping the carrots you’re going to start with the blunt top of the carrot and finish with the pointy part. Squeeze a bit more in the beginning, then release by pulling away after you’ve stopped squeezing the piping bag. Pipe little green leaves on top of the carrot; you can use a small leaf tip if desired but snipping the tip off a piping bag or plastic sandwich bag will work just as well.
- Piping bunny faces is as simple as a circle for the head, two circles for the cheeks (I use a lighter shade for contrast), and two ears. Confetti sprinkles make the perfect eyes and nose.
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