This recipe for Carrot Cake Cookies gives off major Crumble Cookie vibes but is made so much better at home. There is nothing like a freshly baked cookie!
This one is actually an old-school classic shared with me by my friends the Sanders. I've had to name a couple of updates and tweaks, but the heart stays the same. And the deliciousness!
Ingredients
This recipe requires most of the usual cookie culprits. Butter, I like to use unsalted ALWAYS! Sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Now I know the amount of baking powder looks like a lot when you read this recipe. I was concerned too the first time I made these. But it is correct, and it gives the cookies LOTS of lift, and makes the end result a lot like a muffin top, so light and fluffy!
The orange or my preferred tangerine and powdered sugar are for the frosting. You can make it as thick or thin as you like, I like to make mine spreadable but still soft. Oh, and shred the carrots fresh, I use two medium-sized ones to get one cup.
What you need:
- for the cookies:
- Unsalted Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Egg
- All-Purpose Flour
- Kosher Salt, Morton’s
- Baking Powder
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla Extract
- Carrots
- for the icing:
- Unsalted Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Zest of 1 Orange
- Orange Juice, fresh
See the recipe card for full quantities.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe card with ingredient measurements and instructions.
Method
Start by creaming together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then beat in the egg until well combined. Add all the dry ingredients and the carrots and mix just until an evenly combined dough forms.
Drop about a tablespoon size, or a little larger, scoop onto a parchment-lined baking tray. They spread A LOT, so be sure to leave lots of room between them. Bake till golden and set, I always bake them a minute or two longer than I think so they don't get too soft after frosting them.
While they cool, make the frosting. Beat together butter, powdered sugar, orange juice, and zest, and add more or less powdered sugar or juice to get the consistency you like. I prefer a thicker icing that I can spread, you can absolutely make it a glaze if you like and pour it over or dip the cookies in it.
I like to drop dollops of the icing on all the cookies, then go back and spread it out over them. It makes it much quicker and cleaner, and I can divvy all the frosting up evenly among the cookies.
Let the cookies rest, flat, and at room temp, until the frosting gets firm. The can take a couple of hours. I then shingle them on a platter or container, stacking isn't a great idea as the cookies can get soft and stick together.
Notes & Tips
When you make this dough, it will look SUPER dry after working in the flour and carrots. But as the carrots rest in the mixture they release water, so you want it to be very stiff when done. You should be able to hold the scoops of cookie dough and not stick to your hands.
After scooping the cookies out onto the baking sheets I like to press them down into little disks. This helps the cookies spread flat, you can leave them in rounds, but they won't spread as much and will stay in mounds. I like a flatter cookie so I can pass them off as homemade crumble cookies, lol!
When making the frosting, you can make it as thick or as thin as you like. I prefer a thicker frosting for spreading. If you leave your cookies in mounds, you can make it thinner and dip them in a thinner frosting, glazing the cookies instead of frosting them.
After you frost, or glaze the cookies, let them rest at room temperature, laid out flat for about 2 hours to really let the frosting set. It will firm up so you can slightly stack or shingle the cookies out on a tray. I wouldn't stack them directly, the cookies go a little soft and can stick to the frosting.
The recipe can make 24-36 cookies depending on how large you make your scoops. Sometimes I make them big, sometimes small.
You can leave the cookies plain with the icing if you like. I sometimes add some toasted coconut as you can see in the images on this recipe. I even use chopped walnuts sometimes or Easter sprinkles at Easter time.
Substitutions
If you need to make this recipe dairy-free, use butter-flavored vegetable shortening. It is actually what the old-school recipe call for, but I like to use butter. You can even use the shortening in the frosting.
These cookies bake up beautifully using a cup-for-cup flour alternative if you are looking to make them gluten-free also.
I suggest using whole carrots and grating them yourself on the large holes of a hand grater. I like the thinness of the hand-grated carrots. You could use store-bought pre-shredded ones in a pinch.
You can use the juice from the zested orange for the frosting, but for some extra punch use juice from a bottle.
When I make these at Easter time, I like to add some festive sprinkles, and this blend with little carrot sprinkles is so appropriate!
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📖 Recipe
Carrot Cake Cookies
These Carrot Cake Cookies give off major Crumble Cookie vibes but are made so much better at home. There is nothing like a freshly baked cookie!
Ingredients
for the cookies:
- 12 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt, Morton’s
- 2 tablespoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Carrots, shredded
- Toasted Coconut, optional topping
- Chopped Walnuts, optional topping
- Easter Sprinkles, optional topping
for the icing:
- 4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, soft
- 2 ½ cups Powdered Sugar
- Zest of 1 whole Orange
- ¼ cup Orange Juice, fresh squeezed
Instructions
for the cookies:
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and preheat the oven to 350˚F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar, and cream together till fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in the egg until fully combined.
- Add the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla, and carrots to the bowl and beat just till the mixture comes together.
- Drop heaping tablespoon fulls of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes till set and golden brown.
- Remove to a baking rack to cool before icing.
for the icing:
- Place all of the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, use a scraper one if you have one.
- Blend on low just till a uniform mixture forms, then whip it up to medium-high until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. It should be thick, but easily spreadable, add more sugar or OJ to get the consistency that you like.
- Frost the tops of the cookies with the icing, or dip them in runny icing and let it drip down the whole cookie.
- Let them rest at room temp till the frosting sets.
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
Notes & Tips
When you make this dough, it will look SUPER dry after working in the flour and carrots. But as the carrots rest in the mixture they release water, so you want it to be very stiff when done. You should be able to hold the scoops of cookie dough and not stick to your hands.
After scooping the cookies out onto the baking sheets I like to press them down into little disks. This helps the cookies spread flat, you can leave them in rounds, but they won't spread as much and will stay in mounds. I like a flatter cookie so I can pass them off as homemade crumble cookies, lol!
When making the frosting, you can make it as thick or as thin as you like. I prefer a thicker frosting for spreading. If you leave your cookies in mounds, you can make them thinner and dip them in a thinner frosting, glazing the cookies instead of frosting them.
After you frost, or glaze the cookies, let them rest at room temperature, laid out flat for about 2 hours to really let the frosting set. It will firm up so you can slightly stack or shingle the cookies out on a tray. I wouldn't stack them directly, the cookies go a little soft and can stick to the frosting.
The recipe can make 24-36 cookies depending on how large you make your scoops. Sometimes I make them big, sometimes small.
You can leave the cookies plain with the icing if you like. I sometimes add some toasted coconut as you can see in the images on this recipe. I even use chopped walnuts sometimes or Easter sprinkles at Easter time.
Substitutions
If you need to make this recipe dairy-free, use butter-flavored vegetable shortening. It is actually what the old-school recipe calls for, but I like to use butter. You can even use the shortening in the frosting.
These cookies bake up beautifully using a cup-for-cup flour alternative if you are looking to make them gluten-free.
I suggest using whole carrots and grating them yourself on the large holes of a hand grater. I like the thinness of the hand-grated carrots. You could use store-bought pre-shredded ones in a pinch.
You can use the juice from the zested orange for the frosting, but for some extra punch use juice from a bottle.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
36Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 129Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 104mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 0gSugar: 14gProtein: 1g
This is an estimated caloric value, actual numbers may differ based on the ingredients used.
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