Kick off your spring baking with a fun twist on a classic favorite – carrot cake cookies! These soft, chewy delights are packed with grated carrots, oats, and a hint of cinnamon, then sandwiched with luscious, tangy cream cheese frosting. A delicious treat that’s perfect for any occasion!
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Why You’ll Love These Carrot Cake Cookies
Soft and Chewy: Thanks to oats, coconut, and brown sugar, these cookies are irresistibly soft and chewy.
Perfectly Sweet: A delightful mix of brown sugar, granulated sugar, sweetened coconut, and powdered sugar makes these cookies perfectly sweet.
Cream Cheese Frosting: Each cookie sandwich is filled with a generous portion of sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting, making every bite a treat.
Easy and Fun: Skip the fuss of traditional carrot cake! These cookies are easy to make, with a rustic charm that’s perfect for a grab-and-go treat. No forks or plates needed!
Tips for Perfect Carrot Cake Cookies
Soft Butter: Make sure your butter is softened but still cool to the touch.
Fresh Carrots: Avoid using carrots packed in water for the best texture and flavor.
Uniform Size: Use a cookie scoop (I recommend a 2 tsp scoop) to ensure all your cookies are the same size.
Smaller is Better: Keep your cookies on the smaller side (2 tsp is perfect) since each sandwich has two cookies and frosting.
Parchment Paper: Always bake your cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets.
Chewy Perfection: Pull the cookies from the oven when the center is still slightly underdone and let them cool on the baking sheet for that perfect chewy texture.
Baking with Carrots
Carrot Type: Use full-size carrots for this recipe. Avoid baby carrots or those packed in water, as they add too much moisture to the dough.
Grating: Use the small holes on a box grater to grate your carrots finely, ensuring they soften during the short bake time.
Remove Moisture: Briefly squeeze out excess moisture from the grated carrots using a clean towel or paper towels.
Measuring: Fluff the shredded and drained carrots with a fork, then scoop them loosely into the measuring cup. Avoid packing them down.in.
Serving and storage:
For the best taste and texture, enjoy these cookies within 1-2 days of baking. Store them in the refrigerator, and you can eat them chilled or bring them to room temperature before serving.
Love cookies? Be sure to check out these other delicious cookie recipes!
Brownies Cookies
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Carrot Cake Cookie Sandwiches
Soft, chewy cookies loaded with grated carrots, oats, and a touch of cinnamon, all sandwiched together with sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Chill time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 15 sandwiches
Ingredients
Cookies:
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened slightly
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- ¼ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- ⅔ cup finely grated carrots, not packed
- 3 tbsp finely chopped walnuts, optional
Cream cheese frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, and more, if needed
- ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Cookies:
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent cookies from spreading too much.
- Cream the butter and both sugars for one minute until it’s light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla, making sure to scrape the bowl if needed.
- In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add this mixture to the butter mixture, beating on low until just combined. Finally, stir in the oats, coconut, carrots, and walnuts (if using) until everything is mixed together.
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator for about 50-60 minutes. While it chills, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Scoop the dough into 2 teaspoon mounds and place them a couple of inches apart on the cookie sheets. Make sure the mounds are rounded, not flattened, and try to keep them uniform in size so the cookies bake evenly.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, until they are golden brown but still a bit soft in the center. They will be delicate, so handle them carefully. If needed, rotate the cookie sheets halfway through baking to ensure they cook evenly. Follow the notes below for shaping the cookies right after they come out of the oven.
- Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets set on wire racks. For each new batch, chill the dough between baking and let the baking sheets cool down before adding more dough. Once the cookies are at room temperature, you can start frosting them.
Frosting:
- Mix the cream cheese and butter until well combined. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, then beat until smooth and creamy, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. If the frosting seems too thin, you can either add more powdered sugar or chill it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- Spread the frosting on the bottom of half the cookies, then top each with another cookie. Place the sandwiches in the refrigerator to set.
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