Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
These soft carrot cake cookies are super delicious (and so easy!), but that divine whipped cream cheese frosting is quite literally the icing on the cake (er, cookie)! Yum!
Life is funny.
You can be skating along minding your own business and one day out of the blue be faced with a reality that you didn’t even know was coming.
For me, that was the day when I realized I absolutely, totally needed carrot cake cookies to exist. Like, RIGHT NOW.
I hadn’t ever really even thought about them. Until I did. And then I couldn’t stop thinking about them.
I know I already have some beloved carrot cake recipes hiding away in the archives. And they’re great. Perfect. All I need when I want carrot cake.
But they don’t fill the carrot cake COOKIE void.
Have you ever wanted a cookie that tasted like carrot cake?
Or am I the only one?
There’s a really good chance you are only here for the frosting, and for that, I wouldn’t blame you. Not one bit.
I don’t want to outright brag or anything, but if I had to put together a resume rightthisveryminute, at the top, front and center would be “Makes killer cream cheese frosting.”
That might be the only thing on the resume, actually, but I’d still be proud.
My name is Mel and I make ridiculously yummy cream cheese frosting.
There’s a secret. And if you’ve made this unbelievable carrot cake (or several other recipes on my site that utilize the dreamy frosting), you’ll know.
It’s a little dab of sour cream. In the frosting.
Don’t be scared. It turns every day cream cheese frosting into something magical. That little bit of tang and extra creaminess is amazing, and I won’t make cream cheese frosting without it.
Now spread a healthy dose of that whipped cream cheese frosting on the soft, fluffy carrot cake cookies, and prepare to die from deliciousness.
If you love carrot cake, these cookies are a no brainer. And even if you aren’t a huge carrot cake fan, do it for the frosting.
One Year Ago: Delicious Whole Grain Hulk Muffins {Naturally Green!}
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Three Years Ago: Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Swirl Bundt Cake
Four Years Ago: Whipped Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Five Years Ago: Honey Lime Tilapia
Carrots: unfortunately the pre-grated matchstick carrots (in the produce section) won't work well for this recipe. The carrots need to be grated smaller than that. If you have a box grater, I'd suggest using the small holes. I use my food processor with the smaller of the two shredding disks. Carrots that have been freshly shredded/grated are going to release more water, which is going to help your cookies not end up being super cakey. I start with about 7 to 8 ounces of carrots (already peeled and trimmed, if needed) and after squeezing, I end up with about 5 1/2 ounces or so of carrots. Oven Temperature: these cookies bake at 375 degrees (or 350 for convection)...that's to help them retain their "puff" so they aren't thin and flat. If you are finding they aren't flattening at all while baking, it's possible your oven bakes hotter than mine, so reduce the temp to 350 degrees. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.Carrot Cake Cookies with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cookies:
Frosting:
Instructions
Notes
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Ask and you shall receive!
Delicious! I used a 1.5T cookie scoop. Baked for 11 minutes. Perfect. I doubled my cookie sheet so the bottoms were barely brown. Great recipe!
They are practically perfect in every way!
Hi Mel,
Recipe looks yummy. Carrot cake is one of my favorites and carrot cake cookies sounds fab. Going to try soon (adding this one to my Pinterest favorites) and thanks for sharing.
Hi! I’m wondering if anyone else got 3 dozen cookies from the batch? I was able to scrape together 2 dozen by making my second sheet of cookies smaller than the first. (I used my 1.5 tbsp scoop + my 2 tsp scoop to make a 2-and-a-bit scoop). The cookies are baking now and smell great! Can’t wait to serve at Easter dinner tomorrow! 🙂
These beauties r Delish. I noticed that when I brought them for dessert, along side other delights to a family gathering recently, they were the 1st thing ev ry one grabbed on the 3 tier serving dish – I think the frosting & the lone pecan make people swoon!
My 5 year-old says, “Perfect! Even more than perfect! A million perfect!” Thanks Mel for making me feel like supermom yet again
Hahahaha, love that so much!
yesterday I made your mom’s chili recipe and the chocolate chip oatmeal peanut butter cookies. Both were terrific! The chili tasted even better today. Everyone loved both. thanks for the great recipes.
Thanks, Lucy!
So am I crazy? My batter was extremely dry and my cookies didn’t spread at all. I tripled checked the ingredients and measurements, too. What could I have done wrong? They still taste good, but I am bummed out.
Darn it, Christie – I’m sorry to hear that! Sounds like the dough was overfloured, which would be odd if you used the weight measures (but if you used cup measures, it could be a difference in the way we each measure flour and how much gets packed in the cup). I’m sorry they didn’t work out for you!
I’m not a fan of carrot cake, I don’t hate it, but would never ever pick it! Having said that… I loved these cookies!! They sparked my curiosity and since I had a family get together with two known lovers of carrot cake I decided to make them, I figured if I didn’t like them surely they would. They were a hit! I liked them with and without the frosting, although definitely better with frosting! Some of the others at the get together preferred them without frosting. We all thought they were delicious!!
Thanks for the report back, Misty! Glad these cookies (frosted or not!) were well-received!
So delish! I did make a couple of changes-
Split the butter with Coconut oil
Reduced the brown sugar slightly, split the white sugar with Stevia
Split the Flour with Oatmeal
Doubled the baking soda.
I made these and they didn’t puff at all! they tasted great, just flatter than flat! Any suggestions on why they spread out so much?
Darn, sorry to hear that!
Did you bake them at 375 degrees, Andrea? If so and they still flattened, I’m guessing you might need a bit more flour (maybe based on elevation?)
I’ll try more flour next time! And yes, I did 375 degrees…totally could be elevation! I forget I live in high elevation in Wyoming! 🙂
Thanks, even tho they’re flat my kids and hubby gobbled them up!
OH MY GOODNESS!!! There are hardly any words for these. So so so so GOOD!
So happy you loved them!
I know these would be better with frosting (duh!) but do you think they are tasty without the frosting? I plan on sending them in school lunches and the children wouldn’t be allowed to have them if they are frosted.
Yes! I loved them without frosting…but as we both know, nothing quite compares to them frosted. 🙂
Mel, This is unrelated to the recipe above, but I just got done printing off a bunch of recipes from your e-book and wanted to say, thanks a million! I’ve been looking for heart-healthy recipes for my family (my father-in-law just went thro’ a triple bypass surgery) and so many of your recipes fit the criteria of what I’m looking for. Thanks!
Oh, thank you so much, Jo! And best of luck to your father-in-law in his recovery!
Just made these cookies, they were quick to make and delicious!
Yay! Thanks for making them so fast and checking back in!
Do these have to be stored in the fridge?
Once they are frosted, then yes, probably (but they’d be fine at room temp for several hours; I’d only refrigerate them, frosted, if it’s more than 4 hours or so)
I made cookies from a carrot cake mix (the boxed kind) a few years ago and thought I was so clever. I resorted to the box mix because nothing turned up on my google searching for a homemade version. I can guarantee I’ll be trying these ones pronto!
Oh my, I can’t wait to make these!!