Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

5 from 10 votes

Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot Cake Cookies have the same delicious flavors you love in a classic carrot cake, in cookie form. Topped it off with an easy, homemade cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time13 mins

Total Time33 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cookie, Easter

Servings: cookies

Calories: 335kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

Cookies

2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
1 cup salted sweet cream butter (2 sticks) softened
¾ cup light brown sugar tightly packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
2¼ cups finely shredded whole carrots (4 medium-large)

Frosting

1 8 ounce package cream cheese softened
½ cup salted sweet cream butter (1 stick) softened
3½ cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped pecans
(green and orange food coloring - optional carrot decoration)

Instructions

Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
Using a stand mixer, or a medium-size mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter for 1 1- ½ minutes.
Add the sugars to the butter and continue to mix on medium-high for 1 more minute. Lower the mixer speed to low, add the vanilla and 1 egg at a time, mixing well after each egg.
In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, spices, and baking soda. Keeping the mixer speed on low, slowly add the flour mixture. Mix just until the ingredients are incorporated.
Keeping the mixer speed on low, add the finely shredded carrots and chopped pecans to the batter. Only mix until the carrots and pecans are well incorporated.
Using a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie batter onto the prepared cookie sheet, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.
Allow the cookies to completely cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Using either a stand mixer or a medium-size mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, cream together the cream cheese and butter for 1 - 1 ½ minutes.
Lower the mixer speed to low. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Keep the mixer speed on low, until the powdered sugar is incorporated. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and continue mixing for another 1 - 1 ½ minutes, until the cream cheese frosting is smooth.
Using a small offset spatula or a silicone spatula, frost the top of the cookie, smoothing as you go. Be sure to frost to the edges of the cookies.
Sprinkle the finely chopped pecans onto a plate. Either gently roll the edges of the cookies in the chopped pecans.
If you would like to decorate your cookies with piped carrot decorations, reserve 2 - ½ cups frosting in 2 separate small mixing bowls. In the 1st bowl add green food coloring adjusted to however light or dark green you wish for the carrot tops. In the 2nd bowl, add orange food coloring to however light or dark orange you wish for the carrot body. Spoon each color into 2 seperate quart size ziploc bags with a small snip in one corner, or in 2 decorator bags with a small decorators tip. Using even light pressure, and a zig-zag pattern to form the body of the carrot. Using even light pressure, form the top of the carrot. Repeat for each cookie.

Video

Notes

There is a lot of mixing in this recipe, be sure that you don’t overmix anything. Each time you add in an ingredient, you want to mix just until thing are combined.
The cookie batter can be frozen for up to 1 month. Allow the batter to thaw completely before baking.
If you want, you could sandwich the cookies like a carrot cake whoopie pie. Frost the outer edges as well and then roll the frosted edges in the pecans.

Nutrition