Soft carrot cake cookies frosted in buttercream and topped with chopped walnuts. These cookies are easy to make, stay soft for days, and are so delicious!
You might also like these desserts for Easter: carrot cake bars or our easy mini bundt carrot cakes!
Soft carrot cake cookies that are full of flavor without shredding a single carrot! Last month, I shared our recipe for carrot cake bars made with carrot baby food, eliminating the need to peel and grate cups of carrots. Our carrot cake cookies are made the same way!
Why I Like This Recipe
- Loaded with flavor. Along with the carrots' flavor, traditional carrot cake spices like cinnamon and nutmeg are added to round out this delicious cookie.
- Two frosting options. These cookies are soft and fluffy and are iced in vanilla buttercream, but I've included recipes for both buttercream AND cream cheese frosting since cream cheese frosting is the classic choice for carrot cake.
- Easy to customize. I frosted mine and sprinkled them with chopped walnuts for a bit of crunch. You can also add a handful of chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts are my favorites for carrot cake) into the dough if you'd like.
Jump to:
Tips and Tricks
- Carrot baby food. 2 jars of baby food, poured right into the dough mixture, give the dough a beautiful orange color, moisture, and subtle flavoring.
- Light baking sheets. I bake with light-colored metal baking sheets. If you bake on dark metal, you may need to adjust the baking time so that the bottoms of the cookies don't get too dark.
- Storage tips. This recipe makes 30 cookies. The frosting will set slightly, making them easy to store and stack, and the cookies will stay soft and fresh for 3-5 days if covered with plastic or stored in an airtight container.
Ingredients
Cookies
- Butter: I always use salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter if you prefer.
- Sugar: Both brown sugar and white sugar are used in this recipe for flavor and structure.
- Vanilla extract: For flavoring.
- Carrot baby food: 2 jars of baby food, poured right into the dough mixture, give the dough a beautiful orange color, moisture, and subtle flavoring.
- Egg: For richness and texture.
- Flour
- Baking powder, baking soda, and salt: For leavening and flavor.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg: Traditional carrot cake spices.
Vanilla Buttercream
- Butter: For the best flavor and texture, always use butter in your frosting.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar gives the frosting a fluffy and smooth texture.
- Milk or Heavy Cream: A bit of milk or cream helps thin the frosting out to a spreadable consistency.
- Vanilla: For flavoring.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Melted butter
- Cream cheese, softened
- Powdered sugar
- Milk or heavy cream
- Vanilla extract
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Carrot Cake Cookies
Step 1: In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and carrot baby food. Mix with an electric mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment until smooth.
Step 2: In a separate medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Step 3: Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Scrape sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and stir until smooth.
Step 4: Cover the dough and chill it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Step 5: Scoop cookies using a medium cookie scoop (2 Tbsp. size) onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets (6-8 cookies per sheet) and bake cookies for 9-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 2-3 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 6: Beat frosting ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Spread frosting over cookies and sprinkle with chopped nuts.
This recipe makes 30 cookies. The frosting will set slightly, making them easy to store and stack, and the cookies will stay soft and fresh for 3-5 days if covered with plastic or stored in an airtight container.
Carrot Cake Cookies FAQs
2 jars of baby food, poured right into the dough mixture, give the dough a beautiful orange color, moisture, and subtle flavoring while eliminating the need to peel and shred fresh carrots.
I bake with light-colored metal baking sheets. If you bake on dark metal, you may need to adjust the baking time so that the bottoms of the cookies don't get too dark.
These cookies are soft and fluffy and are iced in vanilla buttercream, but I've included recipes for both buttercream AND cream cheese frosting since cream cheese frosting is the classic choice for carrot cake.
More Frosted Cookie Recipes To Make
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Carrot Cake Cookies
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup softened butter approx. 10 Tbsp.
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 4 oz. jars of carrot baby food
- 1 large egg
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
- ¾ cup softened butter (1 ½ sticks)
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-5 Tbsp. milk more or less as necessary
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup softened butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons milk more or less as necessary
Topping
- chopped walnuts to sprinkle over frosted cookies
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and carrot baby food. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Add flour mixture to wet mixture and mix until smooth.
- Cover dough and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Scoop cookies using a medium cookie scoop (2 Tbsp. size) onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets (6-8 cookies per sheet) and bake cookies for 9-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 2-3 minutes then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Beat frosting ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
- Spread frosting over cookies and sprinkle with chopped nuts.
Notes
Nutrition
yael says
can I replace the butter for canola oil?
Brandy says
Hi! I have made them with oil before so I’m not sure how they’d do.