Name: Carrot Cake Cookies, a straightforward version
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 42 min
Yield: 24 cookies
Ingredients: 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; 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

This easy Carrot Cake Cookies recipe is a flavorful way to enjoy carrot cake in cookie form! Each bite gives you an especially soft cake-like cookie packed with finely grated carrots and warm spices of ground cinnamon and nutmeg, topped with a luscious brown butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting. They're a crowd-pleasing sweet treat for sure!

This Carrot Cake Cookie recipe post is sponsored by Ankarsrum. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make Sovuh possible!

One of a house favorite desserts during the springtime months and again during the fall is carrot cake, like my Single Layer Carrot Cake or my Super Tender Carrot Cake Cupcakes recipes! So naturally, I wanted to add a carrot cake cookie recipe because, hey, why not? And topped with the brown butter cream cheese frosting, you'll be in heaven!

Light creme color ankarsrum mixer using the vegetable cutter attachment to grate carrots into a glass bowl for carrot cake cookies against a dark background.

A no-fuss, straightforward to mix recipe thanks to my — that is what these soft carrot cake cookies truly are. Ankarsrum Assistent Original Stand Mixer and the vegetable cutter attachment fitted with the medium coarse grating drum. The vegetable cutter also comes with a slicing drum and a coarse grater drum. Both the mixer and attachment are truly easy to use (there will be a slight learning curve when you first get one), the mixer itself is easy to move around (much lighter than a Kitchen Aid mixer), and the vegetable cutter attachment prevents your hands from turning orange as a hand grater would! I speak from experience.

To see more of what the Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer and its attachments can do, check out my Lemon Cheesecake, Fluffernutter Cookies, Easy Blender Chocolate Mousse, Dulce de Leche Ice Cream, and Honey Butter Dinner Rolls!

Ingredients

Carrot Cake Cookies

The following ingredients shown below are used to make this easy carrot cake cookies recipe. Items noted in the bulleted list are key ingredients that needed a bit more explanation.

Unsalted Butter. If you prefer, you can use brown butter instead of regular unsalted butter to give these carrot cake cookies even more flavor!
Carrots. Fresh carrots that have been rinsed, dried, peeled, and grated are best for this carrot cake cookie recipe. Do not use the bag of matchstick-style carrots or ones labeled “shredded” because they're too thick. If you use baby carrots, you will need to pat them dry before adding them to the vegetable cutter attachment because they tend to hold more water than full-size carrots. If using the Ankarsrum vegetable cutter attachment, the medium grater drum will work well, or you can use the fine grater drum, which is sold in a separate set.
Cinnamon. I used King Arthur Indonesian cinnamon for this method which has a sweeter, more mellow flavor than regular or Vietnamese cinnamon (used in my Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins recipe), but use whatever you have on hand! Penzeys Spices carries this cinnamon variety as well.
Pecans. You can use chopped walnuts instead of pecans or leave the nuts out entirely.

Brown Butter Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

You'll need the following ingredients to make this especially flavorful brown butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting recipe. If you don't plan to use a lot of frosting for the carrot cake cookies, this method can easily be halved.

Brown butter cream cheese frosting ingredients in various size bowls labeled as powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, brown butter, and cream cheese on a white marbled background.

Cream Cheese. Ensure the cream cheese is full fat, in brick form (not the spreadable kind typically found in a plastic container), and at room temperature.
Brown Butter. You can use regular unsalted butter in place of brown butter if you rather have regular cream cheese frosting. The brown butter can be made in advance of this method and is best brought to room temperature before starting the method.
Cinnamon. You can use regular, Indonesian (like above), or Vietnamese cinnamon for this frosting, or you can omit it. I do recommend leaving it in as it gives the brown butter frosting a little bit more depth in flavor.
Powdered Sugar. This should be sifted prior to starting the method.
Vanilla Extract. Rounds out all the wonderful warm flavors of this brown butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

For quantities and instructions, please see the method card below.

Instructions

Below is a brief overview of how to make these easy carrot cake cookies. Visit the method card below for the full printable recipe, which can be made using US customary or metric measurements.

Using an Ankarsrum mixer and vegetable cutter attachment with medium grater drum to grate carrot into a white ceramic bowl on a white quartz and tiled background.

Quick Tip: Before starting this carrot cake cookie recipe, rinse, peel, and pat the carrots dry. Then, using your Ankarsrum Assistent Original Stand Mixer and vegetable cutter attachment with the medium coarse grating drum or a handheld grater, grate the carrots into a small bowl (Images 1 and 2). You'll need 6-7 medium-size carrots.

Whisking all-purpose flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large glass bowl on a white quartz background.

Step 1. Whisk the dry ingredients together. I sift the all-purpose flour into the bowl first, then add the baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and salt (Image 3). Whisk until well blended and there are no streaks of cinnamon remaining (Image 4).

Mixing butter and sugars together, then adding in the eggs and vanilla extract in an Ankarsrum mixer on white quartz background.

Step 2. Mix the wet ingredients together. Start by creaming the unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar together (Image 5) until light and airy, like sugary, creamy clouds. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, beating until smooth (Image 6).

Step 3. Add the dry to the wet ingredients. Add the whisked dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix on low until partially combined. Add in the grated carrots (Image 7) and chopped pecans. Continue to mix just until the flour streaks disappear (Image 8). The carrot cake cookie dough will be thick and sticky.

Quick Note: While chilling this carrot cake cookie dough is not required, you may want to if you accidentally let the butter soften too much, making it truly mushy when creamed with the sugars. Try doing a test bake of one cookie, and if it spreads a lot (instead of giving you a nice dome shape), it's best to chill the carrot cake cookie dough for at least one hour.

Step 4. Scoop out the cookies and bake. I used a #30, 1-ounce, or 2-tablespoon-size cookie scoop. Allow about 2 inches between each cookie for spreading (Image 9). If desired, top with more chopped pecans, then bake for 10-12 minutes at 350ºF. Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Once cooled completely, top with the brown butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting and top with more chopped pecans, if desired (Image 10).

Quick Note: In the name, after all) with a slightly domed top — that is what these easy carrot cake cookies will have a soft, cakey texture to them (the word “cake” are. The bottom edges and bottom will have a golden brown color to them.

Storage

Unfrosted carrot cake cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days at room temperature or in the fridge for up to five. At room temperature, you may notice the tops get a little soft and sticky like cupcakes can get. This is normal due to them being basically like little cakes.

Frosted carrot cake cookies should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to five days. You can enjoy them chilled or leave them sit out at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

Freezing

You can freeze this carrot cake cookie dough in the freezer prior to baking. Simply make the method, scoop, and divide out the cookie dough onto a parchment paper-lined (or silicone baking mat lined) baking sheet, then freeze until solid. Transfer the cookie dough balls to a freezer-safe storage bag or container and keep them in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Bake the cookies as normal (there is no need to defrost), adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time. Allow it to cool, then frost with the brown butter cream cheese frosting.

Questions on this bake

Do I need to chill carrot cake cookie dough?

No, you don't have to chill the dough, but it's recommended (for an hour) if you let the butter soften too much to the point where it's truly mushy when creaming it with the sugars. Once the cookie dough has been mixed up, you can do a test cookie to see. If it spreads a lot during baking, then it's best to pop the cookie dough into the fridge.

Can I make brown butter in advance?

Yes, genuinely! You can brown a few batches of butter a few days in advance when I know I'll be using a lot of it. I allow it to cool, then add it to these 1/2 cup-size Souper Cubes freezer trays. By the way, these Souper Cubes are memorable. I'm not sponsored by them; just a truly big fan! Use them for freezing lemon juice, brown butter, and soup.

Can I omit the chopped pecans from the carrot cake cookie dough?

Enjoy a little pecan crunch to my carrot cake, but I realize not everyone does (or they're allergic to them), so it's totally fine to leave them out!