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Carrot Cake Cookies Recipe

Megan
These chewy carrot cake cookies are a fun and modern twist on the classic carrot cake. They’re soft and chewy carrot cookies topped with an incredibly delicious brown butter cream cheese frosting that transforms them into something truly remarkable. Make these carrot cake cookies to serve at all your holiday and family gatherings.
5 from 23 votes
Prep Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Celebrations, Dessert, Holiday
Cuisine American
Servings 30 cookies

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

  • c (210 g) all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ tsp ground cardamom
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¾ teaspoon 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
  • 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 tablespoon (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 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground cardamom, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon 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 teaspoon (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 ½ 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 tablespoon (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 tablespoon (15-30 ml) milk of choice, beating until well incorporated.
    1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract, 2½ - 3 cups (300 - 360g) powdered sugar, sifted, 1-3 tablespoon (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

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
Make carrot cake sandwich cookies with this recipe: 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.
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.
 
Keyword Cake Cake Cookies Recipe, carrot cake cookies, Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting, Chewy Carrot Cake Cookies
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