Soft and Fluffy Carrot Cake Cookies

Name: Carrot Cake Cookies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 cup butter (softened, salted or unsalted); ¾ cup white granulated sugar; ¾ cup brown sugar (packed); 2 eggs; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 2½ cups all purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 2 teaspoons cinnamon; ¼ teaspoon salt; 2 cups carrots (grated, about 4 carrots); 1 cup butter; 16 ounces cream cheese (softened); 1 tablespoon vanilla; 2 cups powdered sugar

40 minutes

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By: Julie Blanner3 Comments
Posted: 3/27/20

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These delicious carrot cake cookies are topped with a light and fluffy cream cheese frosting for the ultimate Easter treat. These super soft cookies are wonderfully sweet and easy to make with staple pantry ingredients.

Easter is coming up, and what better way to celebrate than with these yummy carrot cake cookies! They are a cross between a muffin and a cookie… which means they are oh so soft and fluffy!

Topped with my delicious cream cheese frosting, they are a hit with everyone who tries them.

These cookies are two of my favorite things in one; carrot cake and cookies! They resemble the texture and taste of a traditional carrot cake, just in cookie form.

These bakery style cookies are such a delicious combination of texture and flavor, you can have your cake and eat it this Easter!

Carrot Cake Cookie Ingredients

Butter – You can use salted or unsalted in this recipe.
White and brown sugar – I like to use brown as well as white sugar for depth of flavors and to help get these cookies a little chewy.
Eggs
Vanilla – You can easily make your own vanilla, or use store bought.
Flour and baking soda
Cinnamon and salt – These seasonings add a wonderful flavor to the cookies and really bring out the sweetness.
Carrots – shredded – for a shortcut you can buy a bag of pre-shredded carrots, or throw carrot chunks into your food processor.

For the frosting:

Butter
Vanilla
Cream cheese – The cream cheese frosting really brings these cookies to life! I like to use full fat for the richest flavor.
Powdered sugar – This fine sugar, also known as confectioners’ sugar, makes the frosting wonderfully light, fluffy and smooth.

How To Make Carrot Cake Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine butter and sugars in a medium mixing bowl. Mixture will be dry. Scrape sides and combine until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla until just combined.
Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until combined.
Add carrots.
Drop onto cookie sheet using a cookie scoop or tablespoon. Bake 19-20 minutes. Allow to cool.

TO MAKE THE FROSTING

In a mixer or large mixing bowl, beat butter and cream cheese on high until light in color (about 5 minutes).
Beat in vanilla. Gradually beat in powdered sugar on low.
Beat mixture on high until light and fluffy in texture (about 3 minutes).

These cookies have just the right balance between cookie and frosting… it’s hard to stop at just one.

Tips

Use the small holes on a box grater to grate the carrots if you’re doing it by hand, as smaller pieces create a more cohesive cookie.
Soften the butter and the cream cheese before using it. This will help to incorporate the ingredients more evenly and prevent spreading when they are baked. Check these posts for tips on how to soften cream cheese and how to soften butter quickly.
Bake the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. They will stick if you bake them directly on the sheet and it also makes clean up a breeze.
Bake the cookies just until the edges are golden. The secret to these soft cookies is to not over bake them.
Consider topping the frosting with pecans – traditional or candied!

Store

Room Temperature
Refrigerate
Freeze

You can make these cookies a day or two ahead of time and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge. They are best eaten within 4 days, after that time the texture will start to harden.

Can you freeze these cookies?

Carrot cake cookies are freezable, but you must freeze them unfrosted. Freeze them on a baking sheet until solid and then wrap them individually and place in a freezer bag.

Thaw them at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before frosting them.

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