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  • Γ—

    Carrot Cake Cookies

    04/01/2019 by thebakingexplorer 27 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    I absolutely love carrot cake. Maybe it's because I feel like I'm getting some vegetables along with my cake! But it could also be the delicious spices and incredibly moistness of carrot cake! If you need a quick fix of those yummy flavours, I've turned carrot cake into Carrot Cake Cookies. They are packed with carrot, pecans and spices, and are so much quicker and easier to make than a full cake! The Carrot Cake Cookies are decorated with a drizzle of white chocolate and some fondant carrots.

    This post may contain affiliate links. I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Carrot Cake Cookies

    Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information

    • Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
    • I prefer to use unsalted butter for this recipe, but you can also use a baking spread.
    • I highly recommend using light brown soft sugar for these cookies, not only for delicious flavour but they give the cookies their gorgeous golden colour. You could use caster sugar, or a mix of dark brown soft sugar and caster sugar, but the colour of the cookies will differ.
    • I used a mix of regular plain flour and wholemeal plain flour for these cookies. You can do all regular plain flour if you prefer.
    • Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento, and ground ginger. If you can't get hold of it where you're based, you can use a Pumpkin Spice mix instead or add a mix of other spices - I recommend cinnamon and nutmeg.
    • If you don't like pecans you can omit them. Or swap them for walnuts.
    • Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around Β£12 ($16.50) .
    • For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

    For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

    How to make Carrot Cake Cookies

    Started by mixing the butter and light brown sugar together in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for about 3-5 minutes. Next add the vanilla extract, egg and orange zest and mix until combined.

    Then mix in the grated carrot, plain flour, wholemeal plain flour, cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg, salt, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. You can stir everything except the grated carrots together in a bowl first if you like. Mix until combined, then add the pecans and mix briefly until evenly distributed.

    Divide the mixture into portions and roll into balls with your hands. Place onto lined baking trays with space in between them. Bake for 12-14 minutes, leave to cool for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. To decorate, drizzle them with some melted white chocolate and add a fondant carrot shape in the centre.

    For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

    Click on the image to order your copy!
    Carrot Cake Cookies

    Do you have to chill the cookies before baking them?

    You can chill them before baking for even thicker and chunkier cookies, but I prefer to bake them straight away. If it's a warm day, you handle the dough a lot, of your butter was over softened, then chilling may be beneficial.

    How do you get perfectly round cookies?

    As soon as they come out of the oven get a round cookie cutter*, or a glass held upside down, that is larger than the cookies and put it over each cookie. Move it in a circular motion, pressing against the sides of the cookies gently to adjust any irregularities. This is called "scooting" or "hula hooping" the cookies.

    How should the cookies be stored and can they be frozen?

    You can keep the balls of unbaked cookie dough in the freezer for up to 3 months, and you can bake them straight from frozen whenever you fancy a fresh cookie. The baked cookies will last for 3-4 days in an airtight container in a cool place. You can freeze the baked cookies too, wrap them well or store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Put a square of baking paper between each one to stop them from sticking together.

    What is the best way to prepare the carrots?

    If you have a food processor with a grater attachment then that’s the quickest and most effortless way to prepare them. A manual grater works really well too, and it only takes a few minutes.

    Carrot Cake Cookies

    Do you need any electric mixer to make this recipe?

    While an electric mixer is helpful in making these cookies and will give the best results, you don't need one to make them. You can absolutely make the cookies by hand with a wooden spoon and some elbow grease. If you have an electric stand mixer, then you can use the paddle attachment to make these cookies.

    Can this recipe be made gluten free?

    For gluten free you can replace the plain flour and the wholemeal plain flour with a gluten free plain flour blend. You may also like to add ΒΌ tsp xanthan gum for better texture. Please check the labels of everything you use if serving to someone with an allergy or intolerance.

    Can this recipe be made dairy free?

    For a dairy free version, use a dairy free baking block instead of butter for the cookies. I recommend Flora Plant or the Stork Baking Block. You will also need to use dairy free white chocolate for the decoration. Please do check the labels of everything you use if serving to someone with an allergy or intolerance.

    More tips for making the Carrot Cake Cookies:

    • I don't like walnuts so I always use pecans in carrot cake related bakes, but of course you can swap them out (or remove them entirely) depending on what you prefer.
    • If you're a raisin fan, you can add some to the cookies, I'd suggest 100g-150g.
    • If you can't get hold of the fondant carrots, you could decorate with a sprinkle of chopped pecans, leave them plain, or extra white chocolate!
    • Make sure to leave space between the balls of cookie dough on the baking trays as they will spread when baking, about 2" should ensure they don't stick together. If you make bigger cookies, you will need to leave more space.
    • Let the cookies cool on the baking tray for at least 5 minutes (nearer to 10 minutes is ideal) before trying to move them onto a cooling rack. Otherwise they will be too soft and will break or stick to the baking paper.
    Carrot Cake Cookies

    Troubleshooting

    My number one tip for getting the best results is to read through this whole page of tips and recommendations before starting, and follow the recipe exactly. If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

    Recommended equipment & ingredients

    • Mixing bowls
    • Baking trays
    • Measuring spoons
    • Cooling rack
    • Kitchen scales
    • Electric hand mixer
    • Stand mixer
    • Round cutters
    • Mixed spice
    • Zester
    • Fondant carrots

    I earn a small amount of money if you buy the products after clicking on the links. You will not be charged anything extra for this. Thank you for supporting The Baking Explorer!

    Carrot Cake Cookies

    More Carrot Cake recipes...

    • Carrot Cake Cupcakes
    • Carrot Cake
    • Vegan Carrot Cake Baked Donuts
    • Autumn Vegetable Cake
      Autumn Vegetable Cake
    Carrot Cake Cookies

    Carrot Cake Cookies

    Chunky spiced cookies with carrot and pecan, plus a white chocolate drizzle. A no chill cookie recipe that's easy and delicious!
    5 from 12 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: British
    Keyword: Cookies
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 14 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 44 minutes minutes
    Servings: 12
    Author: thebakingexplorer

    Ingredients

    For the cookies

    • 125 g Butter softened, unsalted
    • 200 g Light brown soft sugar
    • 1 Orange zest only
    • 1 Egg large
    • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
    • 85 g Carrot grated
    • 125 g Plain flour
    • 125 g Wholemeal plain flour or regular plain/all purpose flour
    • Β½ tsp Baking powder
    • ΒΌ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
    • ΒΌ tsp Salt
    • 1 Β½ tsp Cinnamon
    • 1 tsp Mixed spice
    • ΒΌ tsp Nutmeg
    • 150 g Pecans chopped finely

    For decoration (optional)

    • 75 g White chocolate
    • 12 Fondant carrots
    Metric - US Customary

    Instructions

    • Pre-heat your oven to 180C Fan/400F/Gas Mark 6, and line a few baking trays (or however many you own) with baking paper
    • Ideally using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and light brown soft sugar together until fluffy and paler in colour. This will take 3-5 minutes in an electric mixer (I use speed 3)
    • Add the orange zest, egg and vanilla extract, and mix them in
    • Add the grated carrot, plain flour, wholemeal plain flour, cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt (you can mix everything except the grated carrot together in a separate bowl first if you like) and mix them in until just combined
    • Add the pecans and mix briefly, just to evenly distribute them
    • Divide the dough into portions, I weighed the dough out to make each cookie an equal size (they were roughly 73g each)
    • Roll the dough portions into balls using your hands, place the dough balls onto the lined baking trays, leaving space (at least 2") between them to spread. If you don't have enough baking trays, bake the cookies in batches
    • Bake for 12-14 minutes, remove from the oven and leave the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking trays before moving to a cooling rack
    • Once the cookies are fully cool drizzle the white chocolate over them, then add the fondant carrots. I like to put the melted white chocolate into a small piping bag to control the drizzle, or you can use a spoon
    • Leave the chocolate to set before tucking in
    • Store in an airtight container and eat within 3 days. They also be frozen
    Made this recipe?Share on Instagram with me @TheBakingExplorer or tag #thebakingexplorer!

    Video

    Notes

    • Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
    • I prefer to use unsalted butter for this recipe, but you can also use a baking spread.
    • I highly recommend using light brown soft sugar for these cookies, not only for delicious flavour but they give the cookies their gorgeous golden colour. You could use caster sugar, or a mix of dark brown soft sugar and caster sugar, but the colour of the cookies will differ.
    • I used a mix of regular plain flour and wholemeal plain flour for these cookies. You can do all regular plain flour if you prefer.
    • Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento, and ground ginger. If you can't get hold of it where you're based, you can use a Pumpkin Spice mix instead or add a mix of other spices - I recommend cinnamon and nutmeg.
    • If you don't like pecans you can omit them. Or swap them for walnuts.
    • Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around Β£12 ($16.50) .
    • For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
    Β 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 178mg | Potassium: 193mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 1499IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 1mg

    If you like this, check out more of my Cookie recipes!

    « Biscoff Cheesecake Squares
    Nutella Bueno Cheesecake (No Bake) »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jacqui Bellefontaine

      January 04, 2019 at 3:01 pm

      5 stars
      I love the look of these cookies and wish I had one with my cup of tea right now. I agree with you on walnuts too my least favourite nut pecans are similar but so much nicer.
      Happy New Year and thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare.

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        January 11, 2019 at 11:23 am

        I'm glad you agree on walnuts Jacqui! Happy new year!

        Reply
    2. Michelle Rolfe

      January 04, 2019 at 5:16 pm

      5 stars
      These look delicious! Given they contain carrot they are perfect for me mission to eat more vegetables this January! Added to my bake list for the month:-)

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        January 11, 2019 at 11:23 am

        Thanks Michelle! Let me know what you think!

        Reply
    3. Lathiya

      January 04, 2019 at 9:25 pm

      5 stars
      The carrot cake looks delicious...I loved the cute carrots on top of cookies

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        January 11, 2019 at 11:24 am

        Thanks Lathiya!

        Reply
    4. Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie

      January 05, 2019 at 6:15 pm

      5 stars
      These are so cute! And what a fab idea turning carrot cake into cookie form. They sound delicious πŸ˜€ Eb x

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        January 11, 2019 at 11:24 am

        Thanks Eb! Such an easy way of getting a carrot cake fix!

        Reply
    5. Cat | Curly's Cooking

      January 05, 2019 at 9:48 pm

      5 stars
      These look so delicious and fluffy...if that makes sense haha.

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        January 11, 2019 at 11:24 am

        Yes I know exactly what you mean!

        Reply
        • Imogen Goldsmith

          February 02, 2021 at 9:33 pm

          5 stars
          I made these today and they were delicious πŸ˜‹ So soft and fluffy, and my family loved them! I used walnuts instead of pecans as I had some to use up, and they worked just as well. Great recipe πŸ‘πŸΌβ˜ΊοΈ

          Reply
    6. Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder

      January 06, 2019 at 9:31 pm

      5 stars
      They look gorgeous and sound so good too. I love the little fondant carrot, such a cute touch! We are all huge carrot cake fans in our house so I will be giving these a try. They would make a perfect treat for my boys lunchboxes! Thank you for sharing with #BakingCrumbs πŸ™‚

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        January 11, 2019 at 11:25 am

        Thanks Jo! I couldn't resist the cute decoration πŸ™‚

        Reply
    7. Suzanne

      January 08, 2019 at 2:20 pm

      5 stars
      The cookies look wonderful, Happy Fiesta Friday!

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        January 11, 2019 at 11:25 am

        Thank you!

        Reply
    8. Rita

      January 09, 2019 at 4:08 am

      5 stars
      This is such a boon for carrot cake lovers. Nice recipe to have around. Thanks for posting on fiesta friday.

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        January 11, 2019 at 11:26 am

        Thanks Rita!

        Reply
    9. Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook

      January 14, 2019 at 5:55 am

      I haven't had carrot cake in cake form nor in cookies form, but I badly want to get these out from my screen - they look so fab and yummy! Thanks for sharing, Kat.

      Reply
    10. jenny walters

      January 16, 2019 at 7:30 am

      5 stars
      These look INCREDIBLE! What a fabulous recipe. My children would go potty for these. I am def going to try them very, very soon. Will let you know how I get on. Thanks so much for sharing with #BakingCrumbs

      Reply
    11. Rebecca Smith

      January 17, 2019 at 8:03 pm

      5 stars
      Oh Yum! What a fab idea for a cookie. Love Carrot Cake, love cookies - BOOM! so easy to make this gluten free too.

      Reply
    12. Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery

      January 27, 2019 at 2:14 pm

      5 stars
      I love the look of these! So cute!

      Reply
    13. Amira

      January 28, 2019 at 9:53 pm

      What could you use instead of egg ? I use a mashed up banana as an egg substitute sometimes so would that work for these ? They look lovely !!

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        January 28, 2019 at 10:17 pm

        Hi, thank you! I've only made these with egg so I can't say for sure if an egg substitute would work.

        Reply
    14. Kay

      March 02, 2021 at 7:54 am

      Can I use plain white flour?

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        March 02, 2021 at 3:34 pm

        Hi Kay, yes you can πŸ™‚

        Reply
    15. Amy

      October 03, 2021 at 3:34 pm

      Hi, I've made these today and smell so good. Just wondered if the centre of the cookie should be a sponge texture? Thanks 😊

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        October 03, 2021 at 10:48 pm

        Hi Amy, there's a photo of the cookie broken in half in this post so that shows how it's supposed to look, I hope that helps πŸ™‚

        Reply

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