Carrot Cake Cookies
Published on March 31, 2025
Quick Summary
These Carrot Cake Cookies are a delicious twist on classic carrot cake. Soft, chewy, perfectly spiced cookies are filled with the most amazing brown butter cream cheese filling! They’re the perfect dessert for spring, Easter, or any occasion!
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Pin ItI like carrot cake, but I LOVE cookies, so I created the ULTIMATE Carrot Cake Cookie. Two desserts in ONE? Yes, please!
The cookie base is soft, chewy, and full of warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a pinch of cloves, giving it that classic carrot cake flavor. With grated carrots mixed into the dough, the cookies are moist and have a delightful texture from the oats, offering a perfect balance of sweetness and spice in every bite.
Now, let’s talk about the real star of the show: the brown butter cream cheese filling. Brown butter adds a nutty, toasty depth to the filling that pairs beautifully with the tangy sweetness of cream cheese. The combination of these two ingredients creates a luscious, silky-smooth filling that’s rich and flavorful. When sandwiched between the cookies, these cookies truly irresistible.
Make for spring, Easter, or anytime. If you like my pumpkin oatmeal cream pies, I think you will adore these too!
A Few Tips For Cookie Success!
- Use old-fashioned rolled oats instead of quick oats. They have a thicker, chewier texture, which helps create a sturdier cookie with more structure.
- Use freshly grated carrots, not store-bought shredded carrots. Pre-shredded carrots can be drier and thicker, leading to a less tender texture in the cookies. To grate carrots with a box grater, hold the carrot firmly and rub it against the smallest holes of the grater, moving it up and down to create fine, thin shreds.
- Feel free to add ½ cup of raisins or chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) to the cookie dough.
- You need to chill the brown butter before making the filling. I place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. It should be soft, but not solid.
- For the filling, use full-fat brick cream cheese that is at room temperature.
Carrot Cake Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup finely grated carrots*
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup raisins and/or chopped nuts, optional
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
- 8 oz full-fat brick-style cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
Instructions
- Get your ingredients ready and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and add in the grated carrots. Mix until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combines.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Stir in the oats and raisins, if using.
- Stir in the oats. You can add ½ cup raisins and chopped nuts, if desired. Scoop the cookie dough, 1 ½ tablespoons per cookie, onto the prepared baking sheet, 2-inches apart.
- Scoop the cookie dough, 1 ½ tablespoons per cookie, onto the prepared baking sheet, 2-inches apart.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges but still a little soft in the center. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.
- To make the filling. place the butter in a medium saucepan and melt over medium heat, stirring often, until it foams, smells nutty, and browns. This will take about 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape the browned butter into a medium bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until the butter is completely cooled and is mostly resolidified. Remove from the refrigerator and let it come back to room temperature if it’s too cold. You want it to be a soft solid, but not cold so it will mix in with the cream cheese.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the brown butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the vanilla and salt and mix again.
- Gradually, mix in the confectioner’s sugar, about ¾ cup at a time, until all the sugar has been added. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and mix again until smooth.
- To assemble the sandwich cookies, pipe or spread the filling on the flat side of half of the cookies and put the remaining cookies on top. You might have a little leftover filling.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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This looks delicious! Does the recipe make 18 cookie sandwiches or 18 halves (single cookies)? Thank you!
18 sandwich cookies! You might have a little leftover filling, depending on how full you like them. We always eat the leftovers on graham crackers:)