Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting (Printer-friendly)
Soft, spiced treats with grated carrots, warm spices, and tangy cream cheese frosting ready in 32 minutes.
# What You’ll Need:
→ Cookie Dry Ingredients
01 - 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 tsp ground cinnamon
03 - ½ tsp ground ginger
04 - ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
05 - ½ tsp baking soda
06 - ½ tsp baking powder
07 - ½ tsp salt
→ Cookie Wet Ingredients
08 - ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
09 - ½ cup brown sugar, packed
10 - ¼ cup granulated sugar
11 - 1 large egg
12 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
→ Cookie Mix-ins
13 - 1 cup finely grated carrots
14 - ½ cup rolled oats
15 - ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
16 - ½ cup raisins (optional)
→ Cream Cheese Frosting
17 - 4 oz cream cheese, softened
18 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
19 - 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
20 - ½ tsp vanilla extract
21 - Pinch of salt
# How to Make It:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until well blended.
03 - In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes.
04 - Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until fully incorporated into the butter mixture.
05 - Stir the grated carrots into the wet mixture until evenly distributed.
06 - Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing by hand or on low speed until just combined. Avoid overmixing.
07 - Gently fold in the rolled oats, nuts, and raisins if using until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
08 - Drop tablespoon-sized mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing approximately 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
09 - Bake for 11-13 minutes until edges are lightly golden and centers appear set. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
10 - Beat softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt; continue beating until fluffy and well combined.
11 - Once cookies have cooled completely, spread or pipe the cream cheese frosting onto the flat side of each cookie as desired.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- They deliver all the spiced comfort of carrot cake in about twenty minutes total active time
- The texture is somehow both chewy and tender, with little shreds of carrot throughout that keep them moist
02 -
- Overmixing after adding the flour makes tough cookies, so stop as soon as everything comes together
- Warm cookies will melt the frosting right off, so patience during cooling is nonnegotiable
03 -
- Grate your carrots fresh rather than buying pregrated ones, which can be dry and woody
- Chill the dough for thirty minutes before baking if you want thicker, less spread cookies