Description
Soft, spiced carrot cake cookies topped with tangy cream cheese frosting, perfect for sharing.
Ingredients
Scale
- 113 g unsalted butter, melted
- 220 g granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 227 g carrot puree
- 1 1/2 tsp canola oil or neutral oil
- 40 g finely grated carrots (after pressing juice out)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 270 g all-purpose flour
- 8 oz cream cheese, cold
- 113 g unsalted butter, cold but slightly soft
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 400 g powdered sugar
- Green and orange gel food coloring
- Finely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a half sheet pan with parchment.
- Add the butter to a small pot or melt in the microwave and melt over medium heat, stirring as needed.
- Pour the melted butter into a heat-safe bowl and cool for 15 minutes.
- Shred the carrots with a fine grater.
- Place the shredded carrots in a double layer of paper towels and wrap them.
- Press the paper towel to push the juice out over the sink.
- Weigh the pressed carrots so you have 40 g of shredded carrots.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, eggs, oil, carrot puree, shredded carrots, and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and flour.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently stir with a spatula until just combined.
- Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough onto the lined half sheet pan, leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie.
- Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tops spring back lightly when touched.
- Cool the cookies on the sheet pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the cold cream cheese and the cold but slightly soft butter together until smooth.
- Add the 2 tsp vanilla and mix briefly.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until the frosting is thick and spreadable.
- If you want two colors, divide the frosting into small bowls and add green and orange gel food coloring to each bowl.
- Pipe or spread frosting on fully cooled cookies.
- Garnish with finely chopped walnuts or pecans if you like.
- Chill the frosted cookies for 15 minutes to set the frosting before serving.
Notes
For a lighter frosting, mix half cream cheese frosting with plain Greek yogurt and chill well before using to maintain shape.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 23g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
Keywords: carrot cake cookies, cream cheese frosting, dessert cookies, sweet treats