Here are some fun spring cookies for you > Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting on rack

Easter will be here soon enough. You may be trying to come up with some fun dessert ideas to serve-up on Easter.  This is one of them.  These Carrot Cake Cookies are a soft, spiced carrot cake cookie adorned with sweet cream cheese- white chocolate frosting.  It’s exactly the sort of combination you might picture a good carrot cake having.

Carrot Cake Cookies ingredients displayed in bowl

Here’s what you need for the cookies.  Not a lot.  These are a simple cookie, and they are easy to make.

Carrot Cake Cookies Prep wet ingredients in bowl

How to make Carrot Cake Cookies:

Use a mixer to combine sugar and butter. Then add the egg and stir in the pretty orange grated carrots.

Carrot Cake Cookies Prep Dry ingredients in bowl

Mix the dry ingredients (flour + spices) in a separate bowl.  Sometimes I use a whisk to mix dry ingredients, but more often than not I turn a spoon upside-down and use the spoon handle to mix.  Am I alone here?  Anyone else do this?

Carrot Cake Cookie Dough in a bowl

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and here’s what you’ll have.  The dough looks kind of funky at this point, but don’t worry… it will all be fabulous after you give it a quick chill in the refrigerator.

Carrot Cake Cookie dough on baking sheet

Scoop rounded spoonfuls of the dough and plop them on your baking sheets.  I like to use a cookie scoop for this so I can get nice, round dollops that are all pretty darn even in size.

Carrot Cake Cookies on a rack

Here’s what your cookies will look like when they come out of the oven.  I love that the carrots peek out all over the place.

Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting on rack

As sweet as that splash of carrot orange looks in the cookies, they’re much better when you add cream cheese frosting.  After all, that’s what makes a carrot cake, right?

Carrot Cake Cookies Drizzled with Cream Cheese Frosting

We need to talk about what I DIDN’T include in these carrot cake cookies.  NUTS.  I don’t do nuts in cookies.  RAISINS.  I don’t really do raisins much at all, but especially not in cookies.  You can certainly add nuts and raisins to your carrot cake cookies if you’re into having all of that extra stuff in there.  I’m just into cake and frosting myself!  Enjoy!

carrot cake cookies on rack
5 from 1 vote

Carrot Cake Cookies

Delicious cookies dressed with cream cheese frosting, just like a good carrot cake.
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Chill Time:: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 30 cookies
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Ingredients

COOKIES:

FROSTING:

Instructions 

MAKE THE COOKIES:

  • In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the sugar and butter until semi-smooth. Mix in the egg. Stir in the carrot. In a separate bowl, use a whisk to combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well combined. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour (or overnight).
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats. Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto the lined baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2-inches apart. I like to use a cookie scoop for my dough so the baked cookies will turn out as round and perfect as possible. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are baked through and set. Let cool on the cookie sheets for 10 minutes before transferring them to a baking rack to cool completely.

MAKE THE FROSTING:

  • In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese and butter. Mix until smooth. Mix in vanilla and melted chocolate. Mix in the powdered sugar, then add 1 tablespoon milk to thin out the mixture (add more milk or more powdered sugar, if needed). You want the frosting to be somewhat of a drizzling consistency (unless you'd prefer to spread the frosting on the cookies). Transfer the frosting to a zip baggie, cut a tiny hole in the corner of the baggies and squeeze the frosting into the corner to drizzle onto the cooled cookies. Let the frosting set- it might not set completely, so store them in a single layer.

Notes

  • For freezing: Place a single layer of cookies in a container, stick it in the freezer until the cookies/frosting are firm. Place waxed paper on top of the cookies. Make a second layer of cookies and freeze again. Repeat until all of your cookies are in the container with layers of wax paper in between.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 113kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 19mg, Sodium: 123mg, Potassium: 33mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 871IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 10mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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18 Comments

  1. Norma | Allspice and Nutmeg says:

    I do turn my spoon around sometimes to whisk. These cookies look great. I’m loving the white chocolate cream cheese frosting too.

  2. Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says:

    I’ve been craving carrot cake cookies and since I have an abundance of fresh carrots from my garden, these would be perfect!

  3. Cookbook Queen says:

    Oh my gosh, these are so perfect for Easter!! Love that frosting on top 🙂

  4. Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures says:

    One of my favorite cakes in cookie form! Definately perfect for Easter!

  5. marcie says:

    These look so delicious, Lori! I’m pinning these to my Easter board. 🙂

  6. Averie @ Averie Cooks says:

    Love carrot cake in all ways and forms! I have a carrot cake cookie recipe but they don’t have white choc cream cheese frosting. You are the smart one 🙂 pinned! I would LOVE THESE!

  7. kirsten says:

    Lori,
    I’m smiling because I just made carrot cake muffins using honey and maple syrup for sweetener–but I’d gobble up these cookies in a hot minute. I’m such a sucker for cream cheese icing.
    Thanks!

  8. Chelsea @chelseasmessyapron says:

    Okay I have never turned my spoon upside down to stir. I definitely need to try this sometime! Such gorgeous photos! I love all the pretty carrots with long stems. These cookies are just beautiful, and I love carrot cake!

  9. Ali | Gimme Some Oven says:

    LOVE everything about these, Lori! Wish I had one for breakfast right now. 🙂

  10. leslie says:

    Love these Lori. And because they have carrots in them..they are completely diet cookies 😉