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Adorable carrot cake cookies are so easy to make and topped with homemade cream cheese frosting!
A Carrot Cake Twist to Love!
We are HUGE fans of cookies.
We also love carrot cake, so why not marry the two?! These carrot cake cookies are packed with that same sweet flavor and fluffy texture but in bite-size cookie form. Adding a sweet cream cheese frosting to the top was a no-brainer! They’re perfection.
Easter is one of our favorite times to make these cookies. The cute carrot decoration and the flavor make them best loved by the Easter Bunny (and by us)!
Carrot Chocolate Covered Strawberries and Carrot Cake Cupcakes are more favorites to make around this time of year.
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- Simple ingredients. Most of the ingredients are pantry staples, and even though there are a few of them, the recipe is still so simple.
- A favorite flavor. These cookies are soft and sweet and sure to be a hit.
- From cake to cookie. Carrot Cake is most popular around spring and Easter, but now it’s in a deliciously chewy cookie form – another great Easter dessert!
Simple Ingredients
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 12 minutes
Cookie
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened – important, see How to Soften Butter Quickly.
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar – light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs – room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour – see How to Measure Flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups grated carrots (about 4 carrots) – Depending on the desired texture, use the large holes or small holes of a box grater. Do not use pre-grated carrots as they are too dry.
- 1 cup chopped pecans – or walnuts
Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup butter softened – Use salted or unsalted butter.
- 4 cups powdered sugar – sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- green food coloring – For bright-colored frosting, use gel food coloring rather than liquid food coloring.
- orange food coloring
How to Make Carrot Cake Cookies
- PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- DOUGH. In a medium bowl (or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment), combine 1 cup butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar, and ¾ cup brown sugar. Beat until combined. Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla, mix well.
- Add 2½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon salt to the wet mixture and beat to combine. Fold in 2 cups carrot shreds and 1 cup chopped pecans. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix until combined.
- BAKE. Use a cookie scoop, and drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet (or line the baking sheet with parchment paper). Bake for 10-12 minutes. Edges should be lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack.
- If the cookies spread too thin and flat, chill the dough for 30 minutes before scooping and baking.
- FROSTING. Combine 8 ounces of cream cheese, ½ cup of softened butter, 4 cups of powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Frost cookies. Reserve some frosting for the carrot design on top of each cookie.
- Use food coloring to dye parts of the reserve frosting green and orange. Pipe carrot design onto the cookies. If you don’t have a piping bag, put the frosting in a Ziploc bag with a small portion of the corner cut off.
- Or simply sprinkle the frosting with chopped nuts, Easter sprinkles, or a light dusting of warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice.
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Carrot Cake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups grated carrots, (about 4 carrots)
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- green food coloring
- orange food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, combine butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat until combined and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla making sure to mix well.
- Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and beat to combine. Fold in carrots and chopped pecans and mix until combined.
- Drop dough scoops onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Edges should be lightly browned. Let cool.
Frosting
- Combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Reserve a little bit of the frosting for the carrot design on top.
- Frost cookies. Use food coloring to dye parts of the reserve frosting green and orange. Pipe carrot design onto cookies.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Cover and store the dough in the fridge for 1-2 days or freeze it for 3 months. See How to Freeze Cookie Dough for tips.
Let the frosting set and carefully stack cookies to avoid smearing. You may separate layers with parchment or wax paper. Store frosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in a freezer bag for 2-3 months.
i love the colors of this cakes thanks
What a great cookie idea! Yummy AND cute!
Lisa does such a great job of creating yummy AND cute cookies, huh?! Have a great Easter. 🙂
I am in the middle of trying to make these and realized that I can’t tell if I’m supposed to add the flour to the dough when I add the other ingredients (nuts, carrots, etc.) or if the flour is just for rolling purposes! Please help!
Thanks so much!
Hi Val. This is Kristyn. Lisa made these, but after looking at the recipe it looks like (to me) that you use the dough just for rolling purposes. Hope that helps. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Hi,
I am a little confused too about the flour in the cookies. It specifically says to “add the rest of the ingredients, including the flour and mix.” 1 cup seems like a lot of flour for just rolling purposes. I just made a batch adding the flour to the mix and the dough is super crumbly…with all that being said, I need a little clarification! Thank you!!
Mmm Sounds yummy!!!
These are very cute! I’m making my iced sugar cookies this week and I made some carrots!
These are too too cute! YUM, I LOVE anything carrot!!!
Wish it wasn’t so late, I am really wanting a sugar fix looking at these!
I am so happy to be on Lil Luna’s blog! You all are so sweet! I am glad you like them and I had fun making them for you!
CUTE! These are darling!! 🙂
Thanks!! Didn’t she do a great job?!
love!!! they are too cute, and carrot cake COOKIES?! great idea!