These Carrot Cake Cookies have all the flavors of your favorite carrot cake rolled into cookies. Soft, chewy, and sandwiched with a wonderful cream cheese frosting!
And if you’ve never had Brazilian Carrot Cake, you must try it!
Carrot Cake Cookie Recipe
It has come to my attention that I don’t have nearly enough carrot cake recipes in my catalog. I’m working on it. Starting with these Carrot Cake Cookies! Not the same thing, but a fun twist on a classic, equally delicious, and individual servings. So yay!
These easy carrot cake cookies are soft and tender, with just the right amount of sweetness. They are definitely fantastic on their own, but taken up several notches with a sweet cream cheese frosting!
Ingredients Needed
Here’s what you need to make these carrot cake sandwich cookies.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- All-purpose flour – Spooned and leveled for accurate measuring.
- Sugars – Both brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Oats – You need old fashioned rolled oats for these cookies, not steel cut or instant.
- Egg yolk – Yep, just the yolk.
- Salt – To enhance the other flavors.
- Carrots – Peeled and finely grated.
- Raisins – We love raisins in our carrot cake.
- Filling – The filling for these sandwich cookies serves as the frosting you would put on carrot cake. You’ll need softened cream cheese, softened unsalted butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla.
How to Make Carrot Cake Cookies
Making these carrot cake sandwich cookies is easy in just a few steps.
(Scroll down to the printable recipe card for details and measurements, and don’t miss the video below.)
- Make the filling. Beat cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer until well-combined and smooth. Mix in vanilla. Gradually beat in confectioner’s sugar until totally incorporated. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Make the cookies. Whisk together butter, both sugars, and egg yolk. Add in the flour and salt; stir until thoroughly combined. Mix in the oats, carrots, and raisins.
- Form the cookies. Form mixture into tight tablespoon balls, squeezing/molding just a few times. Drop, 2 inches apart, onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Spray the bottom of your hand or a glass and flatten the cookies. (Dough will be sticky.)
- Bake. Bake at 350F for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway, until the edges are golden. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Assemble. Remove frosting from refrigerator until soft enough to spread. Flip one of each cookie pair over, bottom side up. Dollop out the cream cheese filling over cookie. Top with remaining cookie and press gently to spread the filling to the edges.
Tips for Success
- Use a cookie scoop. This ensures the cookies are all uniform in size and bake in the same amount of time. Plus, it’s easier!
- Knead and roll the cookie balls tightly. This will ensure they don’t crumble after baking and cooling.
- Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Your cookies will stick otherwise. Plus, easier clean up!
- Flatten the Cookies. These cookies don’t spread or flatten much on their own, so you need to press down on them. Spray the back of your hand (or bottom of a glass) with nonstick spray and press gently on the cookie dough balls.
Proper Storage
- Make ahead and storing leftovers. Before spreading with the frosting, the cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. The filling can be made ahead and chilled for up to three days. After cooked and assembled, these are best when served within a couple hours.
- To freeze. You can also freeze these cookies frosted or unfrosted. Let the cookies completely cool, then place them (frosted or unfrosted) on a baking sheet, leaving space in-between. Transfer baking sheet to the freezer and freeze the cookies until solid. Wrap each cookie individually in plastic wrap and add to a freezer bag and seal. When ready to serve, grab however many cookies you want from the freezer bag, and remove the plastic wrap (to avoid condensation.) Allow the cookies to thaw on the counter for about 20 minutes.
More Carrot Cake Recipes:
- Carrot Cake Steel Cut Oatmeal
- Carrot Cake Energy Balls
- Brazilian Carrot Cake
- Carrot Cake Smoothie
- Carrot Cake Dog Treats
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Carrot Cake Cookies
These Carrot Cake Cookies have all the flavors of your favorite carrot cake rolled into cookies. Soft, chewy, and sandwiched with a wonderful cream cheese frosting!
Servings: 10 (20 single cookies or 10 sandwich cookies)
Ingredients
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 ounces unsalted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
For the Cookies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 3/4 cup packed, finely grated carrots
- 1/3 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
- For the filling, beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until well-combined and smooth. Mix in vanilla. Gradually beat in confectioner’s sugar until totally incorporated. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Make the cookies: In a large bowl, whisk together butter, both sugars, and egg yolk. Add in the flour and salt; stir until thoroughly combined.
- Mix in the oats, carrots, and raisins.
- Form mixture into tight tablespoon balls, squeezing/molding just a few times (this will help prevent crumbling after baking and cooling.) Drop, 2 inches apart, onto prepared baking sheets. (You should have 20 balls.) Spray the bottom of your hand or a glass and flatten the cookies. (Dough will be sticky.)
- Bake until the edges are golden, rotating baking sheets halfway through, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
- Remove frosting from refrigerator until soft enough to spread. Flip one of each cookie pair over, bottom side up. Dollop out the cream cheese filling over cookie. Top with remaining cookie and press gently to spread the filling to the edges.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 149mg | Potassium: 132mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 2130IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1.1mg
These cookie sandwiches were awesome. They were easy and tased delicious. They are not valor like carrot cake them are more chewy and the flavors are really good. I must have used too big of a cookie scoop since only got 11 cookies. One I had to taste to make sure it wasn’t “ Poison” as my Dad would say when we baked something he would always crap one and say I have to check To make sure it’s not poison. Miss you, dad
Love these! My family now begs for these at our gatherings.
A very easy recipe! I am going to add cinnamon to my next batch.
Great recipe! Even the cookies without the frosting are delicious.
These look absolutely delicious! I need to try them.
Do these cookies need any leavening?
I found the recipe super easy to follow. I doctored up the icing with a little nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. Once sandwiched together they taste just like a carrot cake.
DELICIOUS! My partner said they’re like carrot-y oatmeal creme pies, which is so true. Even better the next day, as the cookies go all soft from the moisture of the frosting.
Here’s my suggested tweaks: I did brown butter for both the cookies AND the frosting. Adds huge depth in flavor for a few minutes’ effort. Chill the dough before baking – I always do this, but especially if the butter is melted for the recipe. I ran out of time and only chilled for half my usual time, and they still spread like crazy. You need a little spread since they’re sandwich cookies and not big, thick monsters, but I imagine they would’ve been paper thin if I hadn’t chilled the dough at all. I’d suggest 30 min.
These were awesome, thank you so much for the recipe :) Pretty easy too, The only bummer is that somehow even though I thought I measured right we didn’t reach 20 cookies. But this is easily doubled, as is the frosting which is thankfully not outrageously sugary, We decided to have them as single frosted cookies versus the sandwich so they would last longer but definitely will one day make them sandwichy!
Your recipe was well written and easy to follow and we will be sharing it with others as well as exploring more of your site and recipes
I opted to just make the cookies instead of sandwiched with the frosting. We loved them!
Delicious. I made this way and then gluten free (substituted with coconut flour – added another yolk, and 1/4 cup of coconut milk). Added walnuts to both recipes. Also added some coconut flakes to some for those who love coconut. DELICIOUS
Made these for an early Easter brunch with family and they were a huge hit!
Good cookies. I’m allergic to dairy so substituted plant butter and plant based cream cheese. Used the whole egg to help bind and added protein a benefit. Also added 1/3 c pecans and following spices in descending order: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. Next time I may try cinnamon chips.
This recipe came through when scrolling on Facebook . I realized I had all of these ingredients (subbed for gf flour) and immediately made them. They were demolished they were so good. I will be making these again SOON!
Are the oats the quick oats or the traditional? Thanks.
Rolled oats are the same as old fashioned/traditional.
So good! I’m impressed!
Think I squished mine down a little too much, haha but wow were they amazing all the same.. made them for my husband , eating sugar, but I did have to try one.. just ate the “ healthy parts !
Loved these so much!
Love it
These are the best! yummy yummy yummy!…and easy to make!
I made these and made some modifications. I doubled the recipe, cut back on the carrots by 1/2 cup and added coconut. I also added some cinnamon,nutmeg, vanilla, and a tsp. soda. I made a frosting that I drizzled on top!!
how abouut a sugar free for us diabetic
I’m hosting a frozen cookie dough exchange party, can the dough and filling both be frozen? Or would it be better to bake, build and freeze?
These cookies were a hit!
I added a bit more flour, more raisins.
I just made these. They are TASTY!!! Thanks for the recipe!
I made made these, but subbed in chocolate chips instead of raisins – really good.
Do you think it would hurt the recipe outcome to plump the raisins first? The cookies look great!
I think that would be fine!
Your blog is down home beautiful. Thanks for sharing your carrot cake cookie recipe. It looks AbFab. Merry Christmas! Cindy
Greetings, Cindy – thank you so much for the kind words and stopping by. Merry Christmas to you too!
Made these with my girls. We loved them!
These cookies were beyond popular! I made them for my son’s birthday at pre-school, both of his teachers asked for the recipe. I made another batch for hubby to take to work… apparently they disappeared in 2 mins flat :)
Oh good gosh! These were so incredible. I could seriously devour an entire batch of them right now. Love them!!!!
Carrots make these cookies super healthy ;-). I love this!
yummm, im such a carrot cake fan, the idea of having it in little portable cookie form is a wonderful but entirely dangerous idea! :) lovely recipe, they look irresistibly scrumptious
yum- they are so good.
Cookies definitely trump wine. Every time. Especially ones as pretty as these!
I always prefer sweets over booze…:) These look incredibly delicious!
Your version looks terrific!
Amy, great post….these are gorgeous! Wow. Carrot cake is one of my all time faves….will definitely be making these soon. ..they look incredible!
cookies and carrot cake combined? *brain exploded*
These baked up beautifully and were do delicious, thanks for the recipe!
One of my biggest weakness’s is carrot cake – will need to try these!
I swear I think I can taste these cookies by looking at the photo. YUM! Totally making these. I have a bumper crop of carrots in the garden and this is the ticket.
YUM!
Heather
How perfect! If I had a week like yours, I think I would need cookies AND a glass of wine :)