Easy Carrot Cake Cookies Recipe
This easy Carrot Cake Cookies recipe is a delicious way to enjoy carrot cake in cookie form! Each bite gives you an incredibly soft cake-like cookie packed with finely grated carrots and warm spices of ground cinnamon and nutmeg, topped with a luscious brown butter cream cheese frosting. They're a crowd-pleasing sweet treat for sure!
Servings: 24 cookies
Equipment
- Ankarsrum Vegetable Cutter Attachment with medium grater drum
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Cookies
- 2 cups Finely Grated Carrots loosely packed / about 6-7 medium carrots
- 2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar lightly packed
- 2 Large Eggs room temperature
- 3 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Chopped Pecans optional
Brown Butter Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter browned and cooled to a solid state
- 8 oz Full Fat Cream Cheese room temperature
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 4 cups Sifted Powdered Sugar
Instructions
Carrot Cake Cookies
- Adjust the oven rack to the 2nd or 3rd (middle) spot and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set them to the side.
- Next, rinse, peel, and pat the carrots dry. Then, using your Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer and vegetable cutter attachment with the medium grater drum (or a handheld grater as well), grate the carrots. You'll need 6-7 medium-size carrots. Set to the side.2 cups Finely Grated Carrots
- Sift the all-purpose flour into a medium-size mixing bowl, then add the baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and salt. Whisk until well blended and there are no cinnamon or nutmeg streaks.2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour, 1 tsp Baking Soda, 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon, 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg, 1/2 tsp Salt
- With your Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer (or handheld mixer) on medium-high speed, beat the unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar until it's light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, mixing until fully blended.1 cup Unsalted Butter, 1 cup Granulated Sugar, 3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, 2 Large Eggs, 3 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Add in the whisked dry ingredients on low speed and mix until partially blended. Add in the grated carrots and chopped pecans (optional), mixing until just combined.2 cups Finely Grated Carrots, ½ cup Chopped Pecans
- With your #30, 1-ounce or 2-tablespoon size scooper, scoop and place the carrot cake cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between them. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes at 350ºF. For reference, I got 6 cookies to a sheet and baked mine for 11 minutes. The cookies should have a nice, slightly domed top with light-to-medium golden brown edges and bottoms.
- Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Once completely cooled, top with the brown butter cinnamon cheese frosting and (optionally) more chopped pecans.
Brown Butter Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium-size (light-colored recommended) saucepan, melt the unsalted butter over medium heat. Continue to stir as the butter begins to bubble and foam, then subsides. This is the water evaporating from the butter. Continue to heat until the butter turns a light brown color and has a nutty aromatic flavor. From start to finish, this step will take roughly 7-8 minutes.1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
- Immediately remove the browned butter from the heat and pour into a heat-proof bowl. Cover lightly and place in the refrigerator to cool and solidify. This takes about an hour. If you made the browned butter in advance, bring it to room temperature 20-30 minutes before adding.
- Using your Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer or hand mixer, beat the browned butter on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Add in the cream cheese, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon, and continue to mix until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed.1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, 8 oz Full Fat Cream Cheese, 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon, 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix for 1-2 minutes more.4 cups Sifted Powdered Sugar
Notes
If using a handheld grater, I recommend wearing a kitchen glove on your carrot-holding hand to prevent it from being stained orange due to the beta-carotene found in carrots.
Prep time does not include making the brown butter for the brown butter cream cheese frosting recipe.
If using brown butter for the frosting and/or carrot cake cookies, it's best to do this a few hours or even the day before because the butter needs time to cool down and set.
For the small batch version of my brown butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting, visit my Single Layer Carrot Cake recipe!
Nutrition
Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 141mg | Potassium: 90mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 2285IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg