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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.
The cutest little cookies with the best cream cheese frosting!
The adorable carrot frosting caught my eye. I love carrot cake and these cookies are even better. Yum!
I love Carrot Cake, so I know that I will LOVE these cookies! They are so cute too!
Carrot cake in cookie form is the greatest idea!! I love how soft these are & I love the little carrot on top of that delicious cream cheese frosting!
These are incredibly soft & I love the cream cheese frosting! Can’t wait to make some for Easter!
Hello ?
These cookies look Yummalicious ?
I just wanted to find out if anyone has used this recipe for cutout cookies. Looks like in the initial photo these were cutout with a carrot shaped cookie cutter. Would you just press all of the cookie dough into a jelly roll pan, bake, then cut into shapes w/the cookie cutter? If so, how long would you suggest as the baking time ❓
I personally haven’t, but yes, I would do it that way. Good luck!
The original reCipe was different and made for rolling and cutout cookies. they were so yummy. They called for pine and coconut. Im bummed the recipe is gone.
I just found out my sister in law loves carrot cake, I think i will surprise her with these next week!
These look adorable and sound DELICIOUS! Quick question: Does the cream cheese icing dry enough that these could be packaged for individual party favors?