These carrot cake cookies are a fun and modern twist on the classic carrot cake. They’re soft and chewy and carrot cookies topped with an incredibly delicious brown butter cream cheese frosting that transforms them into something truly remarkable. Make these chewy carrot cake cookies to serve at all your holiday and family gatherings.
Why Should You Make This Recipe
I have several carrot filled recipes on the blog. My Carrot Loaf Cake and Carrot Cake Muffins are my favorite ones. They’re cozy, easy to make and ready for sharing with friends and family. These chewy carrot cake cookies are a wonderfully delicious addition to my blog I know you’ll love just as much as I do. I know you’ll love this recipe because:
- You love cozy variations on classic desserts. These chewy carrot cake cookies are such a fun twist on carrot cake. I personally love to sandwich two cookies together with the cream cheese filling, but they look and taste equally amazing with brown butter cream cheese frosting and a sprinkle of chopped nuts (just like crumbl carrot cookies).
- Layers of flavor and texture. These carrot cookies are incredibly soft and chewy, with flecks of oats and all the cozy flavors of carrot cake. The brown butter in the cookie and cream cheese frosting brings a nutty, toasty flavor that makes these the best carrot cake cookies ever.
Ingredients
This carrot cake cookie recipe requires only a handful of pantry basics to make. Here’s what you’ll need.
Carrot Cake Cookies
Dry ingredients: Gather flour, baking soda, salt, ground spices and old fashioned or rolled oats.
Wet Ingredients: Gather softened brown butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg and an egg yolk and vanilla extract.
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Gather Softened brown butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk and salt.
Substitutions
Here are my recommended substitutions to make these wonderfully chewy soft carrot cake cookies:
- Brown Butter: I highly recommend taking the time to brown the butter. The extra layer of flavor takes these carrot cookies to a completely different level. If you don’t want to brown the butter, make sure to use 1 cup (226 g) softened unsalted butter for the cookies and ½ cup (113 g) softened unsalted butter for the cream cheese frosting.
- All purpose flour: To make this blueberry sour cream cake gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Baking Soda: A double acting baking powder is the best substitute for baking soda. The final texture of the cookie will be different, but it will still be a delicious cake cookie! For this recipe, use 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder in place of the baking soda.
- Ground Spices: This carrot cake cookie recipe is full of the perfect blend of aromatics to make these cookies really shine. Feel free to use 3 teaspoons of Pumpkin spice, chai spice or apple pie spice in this recipe.
- Light Brown and Granulated Sugars: A blend of both sugars is what is recommended for these chewy cake cookies. This recipe hasn’t been tested using alternative sugars. However, I love using maple sugar as a refined sugar free option in my other cookie recipes. Maple sugar bakes very similarly to light brown sugar.
- Eggs: This recipe has not been tested without eggs.
- Vanilla Extract: This gives a lovely background flavor to these cookies.
- Old Fashioned Oats: I love the texture of rolled oats, so that’s what I used in this recipe. Quick cooking oats can also be used if needed. Just keep in mind that the final texture of the cookie will be a bit different.
- Grated Carrots: I highly recommend grating carrots instead of buying ones that are already grated. I like to use the smaller holes on a cheese grater to grate the carrots for these easy carrot cake cookies.
Variations
Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies: Follow the recipe as written and sandwich the cookies together with cream cheese frosting.
Carrot Cake Cookies: To make these as carrot cake cookies without oats, increase the flour by 1 cup to 2 ¾ cups (330 g) and use 2 total eggs. Use the rest of the ingredients as written in the recipe and follow the recipe steps as written.
How To Make
Learn how to make carrot cookies in a few easy steps!
- In a sauce pan or pot, melt the butter on low heat until the butter to begins to foam. Once it starts to foam, whisk or stir the liquid butter frequently. The butter will begin to smell nutty and very fragrant. Once the foam has subsided, the butter should have some brown, lightly toasted bits floating at the bottom. Pour the brown butter in a heat safe bowl to cool for about 15 minutes at room temperature. Transfer the butter to the fridge to solidify to a softened butter consistency. This takes about 60-90 minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ground spices (cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg), baking soda and salt until well combined and set aside.
- Cream the brown butter and light brown and granulated sugars together on medium speed until well combined, about 1-2 minutes. On low-medium speed, beat in the egg, yolk and vanilla extract about 20 seconds before adding the next. Gently fold in the shredded carrots.
- On the lowest speed setting or by hand, mix the dry ingredients to the wet until just combined. Stir in the oats until just combined. Cover the carrot cake cookie dough to chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C) for about 20-30 minutes before baking the cookies. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Pull the cookies out to room temperature 10 minutes before you’re ready to bake. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop about 2 tablespoons (30 g) cookie dough, roll them into balls and place them about 3-inches (8 cm) apart on the baking sheet. The cookies will spread while baking. Bake the cookies for 10-14 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set and golden brown. The centers will look puffed up. Cool the cookies on the hot baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to fully set.
- Cream together cooled and softened brown butter with the room temperature cream cheese until creamy and well combined, about 4-5 minutes on low speed. Stop and scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in the sifted powdered sugar 1/2 cup (60 g) at a time, beating each addition of powdered sugar until incorporated. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl as needed. Once all the sugar has been added, mix in the vanilla extract, 1 tbsp (15 ml) milk and salt. Beat on high until the buttercream is fully incorporated and desired consistency. If the buttercream is too thick, add an additional 1-2 tbsp (15-30 ml) milk of choice, beating until well incorporated.
- Using a small offset icing knife, spoon or piping bag with piping tip of choice, apply the desired amount of frosting to the top of each carrot cake cookie. Sprinkle chopped nuts on top if you like.
How To Make Ahead, Freeze, Thaw and Store
Make Ahead: These carrot cake cookies can easily be made ahead of time. Prepare the cookie dough as written in the recipe. Store the dough covered in the fridge up to 1-2 days before baking. Prepare the brown butter cream cheese frosting, transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week. Set the cookie dough out at room temperature 10-15 minutes before baking. Bring the frosting to room temperature until it is spreadable.
Freeze the cookies: Place the cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet, place the baking sheet into the freezer and freeze until the cookie dough is frozen. Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and place the frozen cookie balls into a ziplock bag. Cookies can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Thaw the cookie dough: Transfer your desired amount of frozen cookie dough balls onto a lined plate or baking sheet. Allow them to thaw overnight in the fridge. Bring the cookie dough balls to room temperature before baking.
Store baked cookies: Once the cookies are frosted, they should be stored individually wrapped in wax paper or lined with wax paper if storing in layers, in an air tight container in the fridge or freezer. Unfrosted carrot cookies can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 days or at least a week in the fridge.
M's Expert Tips
- Brown all the butter at once. This carrot cake cookie recipe calls for a lot of browned butter. it's worth it to brown all the butter (1 ¾ cups + 2 tbsp (424 g)) at the same time. To do this, simply brown the butter and pour into two heat proof bowls. One bowl will have 1 cup (226 g, 237 ml) brown butter. This is for the cookies. The other bowl will have ½ cup (113 g, 118 ml) brown butter. This is for the frosting. Cool the brown butter to a room temperature butter consistency. This takes about 1- ½ hours in the fridge.
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature: This allows the cookies to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in a soft, chewy and delicious cookie.
- Measure the flour properly: Properly measure ingredients using a food scale.
- Chill the cookies. These carrot cake cookies will spread a bit while baking. Chilling the cookie dough not only helps the flavors more fully develop, but it also helps the cookies spread less.
- Give your carrot cookies a “cookie scoot.” Within the first 3-5 minutes of removing the cookies from the oven, use a large biscuit cutter (wider than the cookies) to help shape any cookies into a more round shape. Place the cutter over the cookies so the edges of the cookie are inside the cookie/ biscuit cutter. In a circular motion, gently nudge the edges back into a round shape.
FAQs
You absolutely can! Follow the directions as written. When it’s time to bake the cookies, scoop them using 1 tablespoon of carrot cookie dough and bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 F (190 C). Sandwich two cookies together until about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese frosting.
I love the boost of flavor from brown butter, but this recipe works well with regular unsalted butter. Use 1 cup (226 g) room temperature butter for the cookies and ½ cup (113 g) room temperature butter for the cream cheese frosting.
It’s so tempting to use pre-shredded carrots in carrot recipes. However, the carrots taste and bake so much better when they are grated right before baking with them. I like to use the sides of a box grater that’s meant to grate fine cheese.
Other Frosted Cookie Recipes To Try
If you try this Carrot Cake Cookies recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! - M
Carrot Cake Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
- 1 medium sauce pan
- 1 plastic wrap
- 1 medium cookie scoop
- 2 baking sheets
- 1 parchment paper
Ingredients
Brown Butter
- 30 tbsp (424g) unsalted butter (this is 1¾ cups + 2 tbsp) total butter for the cookies and frosting
Carrot Cake Cookies
- 1¾ c (210 g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (226 g) brown butter
- ¾ cup (150g) light brown sugar
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg (US), room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk (US), room temperature
- 2 tsp (10ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (110g) finely shredded carrots about 2 medium carrots
- 2½ cups (215g) old fashioned or rolled oats
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup (113 g) browned butter
- 4 oz. (113g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 tsp (5ml) vanilla extract
- 2½ - 3 cups (300 - 360g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1-3 tbsp (15-45ml) milk, as needed
Instructions
Brown Butter
- In a sauce pan or pot, melt the butter on low heat until the butter to begins to foam. Once it starts to foam, whisk or stir the liquid butter frequently. The butter will begin to smell nutty and very fragrant. Once the foam has subsided, the butter should have some brown, lightly toasted bits floating at the bottom.30 tbsp (424g) unsalted butter
- Pour the brown butter into two heat safe bowls to cool for about 15 minutes at room temperature. One bowl will have 1 cup (226 g, 237 ml) brown butter. This is for the cookies. The other bowl will have ½ cup (113 g, 118 ml) brown butter. This is for the frosting. Cool the brown butter to a room temperature butter consistency. Transfer the butter to the fridge to solidify to a softened butter consistency. This takes about 60-90 minutes.
Carrot Cake Cookies
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg, baking soda and salt until well combined.1¾ c (210 g) all purpose flour, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground cardamom, ½ tsp ground cloves, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, ¾ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt
- Cream the brown butter and light brown and granulated sugars together on medium speed until well combined, about 1-2 minutes. On low-medium speed, beat in the egg, yolk and vanilla extract about 20 seconds before adding the next. Gently fold in the shredded carrots.1 cup (226 g) brown butter, ¾ cup (150g) light brown sugar, ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar, 1 large egg (US), room temperature, 1 large egg yolk (US), room temperature, 2 tsp (10ml) vanilla extract, 1 cup (110g) finely shredded carrots
- On the lowest speed setting or by hand, mix the dry ingredients to the wet until just combined. Stir in the oats until just combined. Cover the carrot cake cookie dough to chill in the fridge for 2 hours.2½ cups (215g) old fashioned or rolled oats
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C) for about 20-30 minutes before baking the cookies. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Pull the cookies out to room temperature 10 minutes before you’re ready to bake.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop about 2 tablespoons (30 g) cookie dough, roll them into balls and place them about 3-inches (8 cm) apart on the baking sheet. The cookies will spread while baking.
- Bake the cookies for 10-14 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set and golden brown. The centers will look puffed up. Cool the cookies on the hot baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to fully set.
- Cream together cooled and softened brown butter with the room temperature cream cheese until creamy and well combined, about 4-5 minutes on low speed. Stop and scrape down sides of bowl as needed.½ cup (113 g) browned butter, 4 oz. (113g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- Mix in the sifted powdered sugar 1/2 cup (60 g) at a time, beating each addition of powdered sugar until incorporated. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl as needed. Once all the sugar has been added, mix in the vanilla extract, 1 tbsp (15 ml) milk and salt. Beat on high until the buttercream is fully incorporated and desired consistency. If the buttercream is too thick, add an additional 1-2 tbsp (15-30 ml) milk of choice, beating until well incorporated.1 tsp (5ml) vanilla extract, 2½ - 3 cups (300 - 360g) powdered sugar, sifted, 1-3 tbsp (15-45ml) milk, as needed
- Using a small offset icing knife, spoon or piping bag with piping tip of choice, apply the desired amount of frosting to the top of each carrot cake cookie. Sprinkle chopped nuts on top if you like.
Notes
This post for Carrot Cake Cookies has been updated with more baking tips and tricks. The recipe remains the same.
These are absolutely fantastic. Huge hit with the family! I wanted to mix up a classic for Easter and these were so perfect. Can’t skip the brown butter in my opinion. And if you don’t have time to wait for the butter to cool overnight (like I did), you can always stir the butter over a bowl of ice. In 5 minutes, boom! You’ve got your softened brown butter. ??
Hi Becca, I am so happy you loved the recipe! I agree about the brown butter. and OMG, what a fun trick! I will definitely have to give it a try.
How many cookies does this recipe produce?
Hi Sydney, this recipe makes 22-28 individual cookies depending on how big the scoops are. When made into the sandwiched cookies, it should make 11-14.
These look delicious and are on my list for fall baking. Is it possible to include the cookie yield in recipes so we know about how many we should have at the end?
Hi Nick, this recipe makes 22-28 individual cookies depending on how big the scoops are. When made into the sandwiched cookies, it should make 11-14. Enjoy!
How much salt goes into the frosting? I see it listed in in the instructions but not recipe? Wasn’t sure if I missed something! Thank you!!
Hi Katie, I'll get that changed asap! It should be 1/2 tsp.
Hi! If I don’t have any chai mix as it is quite difficult to find Cardamom in my area, would the cookies still be as good without it? Do you have any recommended ingredients to replace it or should i just leave it out completely?
Hi Mary,
Instead of making the chai mix (you can also buy a great mix online if you want), I would go with 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, and a pinch of cloves and nutmeg. Excited to hear what you think!