Carrot Cake Stuffed Cookies

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These stuffed carrot cake cookies are soft, chewy, and packed with warm spices and fresh carrots with a creamy cream cheese center hidden inside every single one. They are easier to make than they look and perfect for Easter or any spring occasion.

Prep Time20

Cook Time11

Freeze Time45

Total Time1 16

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: large cookies

Calories: 264kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Filling (and carrot decoration)

8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 drop green gel food coloring (Americolor brand)
2 drops orange gel food coloring (Americolor brand)

Carrot Cake Cookie Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
⅔ cup granulated sugar
⅔ cup light brown sugar packed
2 large egg yolks room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup shredded carrots (do not use preshredded carrots)
⅓ cup quick-cook oats (not instant oats)
⅓ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Cream Cheese Filling (and carrot decoration)

Beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl for 2-3 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.
8 ounces cream cheese, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Line a small baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. Scoop 18 (approximately 2-2½ teaspoon sized) dollops and place them onto the prepared baking sheet. A slightly underfilled one-tablespoon sized cookie scoop works great for this.
Place the sheet of cream cheese dollops into the freezer for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until fully frozen. The more solid the cream cheese dollops are, the easier they are to stuff inside the cookie dough.
Divide the remaining cream cheese into two separate bowls. Add about ¾ of the remaining cream cheese mixture into a small bowl and stir in 1-2 drops of orange gel food coloring until well blended.
2 drops orange gel food coloring
Stir in 1 drop of the green gel food coloring into the remaining fourth of the leftover cream cheese filling.
1 drop green gel food coloring
Transfer the orange cream cheese to a small piping bag and the green cream cheese mixture into a second small piping bag. Do not cut off the tips until ready to decorate. If freezing your cream cheese dollops overnight, place the piping bags into the refrigerator for storage. Allow the cream cheese piping bags to come to room temperature before decorating the baked and cooled cookies.

Carrot Cake Cookie Dough

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Set aside.
3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla until well combined.
1 cup unsalted butter, ⅔ cup granulated sugar, ⅔ cup light brown sugar, 2 large egg yolks, 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and stir to combine. Add the shredded carrots, quick-cook oats, and chopped pecans to the bowl and stir together until evenly distributed into the cookie dough.
1 cup shredded carrots , ⅓ cup quick-cook oats , ⅓ cup chopped pecans
Chill the cookie dough for 20-30 minutes. While the cookie dough chills, preheat the oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Use a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out a level dough ball. Place the dough ball into the palm of your hand and gently flatten into a disc.
Place one frozen cream cheese dollop into the center of the dough and wrap the edges up around the cream cheese forming a ball. Place the carrot cake stuffed cookie dough ball onto a prepared baking sheet and gently press into a slight disc with the palm of your hand. This will help to ensure the cookies bake evenly. Repeat until all the dough balls are formed and placed onto the cookie sheets. Each baking sheet should hold 9 cookies placed at least 2 inches apart.
Bake the cookies for 14-16 minutes or just until lightly golden around the edges and the center is set.
Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before adding carrot decoration.
Once cooled completely, snip the end of the piping bags with the orange and green cream cheese mixture. You want the opening of the green piping bag to be slightly smaller than the orange one to get a finer line when piping the leaf onto the top of the carrots.
Gently squeeze the orange piping bag to create an upside down triangle, or carrot shape, onto the center of a cookie. Use the green piping bag to pipe three lines for the leaves on top of the carrot. Repeat until all the cookies have been decorated.

Notes

Storage:

Because of the cream cheese filling, these cookies need to stay chilled.

Room temperature: After decorating, they can sit out in a covered container for up to 2 hours.
Refrigerator: Store the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Let them sit at room temperature for about 10–15 minutes before serving so they soften slightly.
Freezer (unbaked dough balls): Freeze the filled and shaped dough balls on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag. Bake straight from frozen, adding an extra 2–3 minutes to the bake time. It’s always a good idea to test bake one first.

Tips:

Freeze the filling until fully solid. This is the most important step in the recipe. If the cream cheese centers aren’t completely frozen, they’ll melt into the dough while baking instead of staying creamy. Give them the full 45 minutes to 1 hour—don’t rush it.
Shred your own carrots. Pre-shredded carrots are too thick and dry for this dough. Use fresh carrots and grate them on the standard side of a box grater. For best texture, shred just the tip at a time to keep the pieces short, and give them a quick chop if needed.
Bake just until set. The edges should be lightly golden, and the centers should look set but still soft. Overbaking will dry out the cookies and take away that creamy center.
Use gel food coloring for decorating. Liquid food coloring can add too much moisture and affect the consistency of the cream cheese. A gel option, like Americolor, works much better.
Swap the nuts if needed. Walnuts can easily replace pecans, or you can leave the nuts out altogether for a nut-free version, the cookies will still turn out great.

Nutrition