These moist and chewy carrot cake cookies are made with healthy carrot puree and frosted with delicious and easy orange icing.
This carrot cake cookie recipe is a great alternative to classic carrot cake with a fun twist and will definitely add to Easter decoration during the holidays or be enjoyed any time of year!
Everyone loves a good cookie with frosting or glaze. These cookies kinda remind me of a carrot cake or Pumpkin Cookies but minus a ton of spices.
Delicious refreshing orange icing adds so much flavor and sweetness that it will be hard to tell that these cookies are made with fresh carrots.
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Ingredients
- All-purpose flour - Gluten-free flour blend (with xanthan gum) or oat flour can also be used. Whole wheat flour is another good option.
- Carrot puree - 1 cup equates to about 6 medium carrots. Baby carrots can be used but you'll need to double the number at least. If you have leftover carrots, make these moist carrot banana muffins for breakfast.
- Granulated sugar
- Butter - Unsalted and softened at room temperature. Vegetable or coconut oil can be used instead.
- Egg - Also at room temperature.
- Ground cinnamon - Nutmeg, ginger, or pumpkin pie spice could also be added to the cookie dough to make them taste like carrot cake cookies.
- Vanilla extract - Use high-quality vanilla extract for all baked treats.
- Baking powder - Check the expiry date to ensure that the chewy cookies rise well.
- Salt - Omit if salted butter has been used. Although I am a fan of using unsalted butter, this way I can control the amount of salt added.
- Confectioners’ sugar - Sift for a super smooth glaze.
- Orange juice - Preferably freshly squeezed from an orange.
- Orange zest - This gives the sugar glaze extra flavor and texture.
The salt content in various butter brands varies big time. Depending on the brand different amount of salt is added according to their recipes. I like to use unsalted butter in baking, so I can control the salt content myself.
For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down to where you'll find the recipe card.
Instructions
How to Make Carrot Cake Cookies from Scratch
How to make carrot puree. Peel the carrots and chop them roughly into cubes. Boil the fresh carrots for 20 minutes until very soft.
Cool slightly and puree until smooth (with an immersion blender or food processor). Measure 1 cup and wrap it in a linen cloth to remove the excess moisture.
In a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or just a large bowl with an electrical mixer, beat the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix to combine. Fold in the carrots.
Mix flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder in separate bowls. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix all until combined well, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
With a smaller cookie scoop, make 25 cookie dough balls and transfer them to a baking sheet leaving 2 inches apart for cookies to spread.
These will spread less, though. Bake for 12-15 minutes. These cookies are slightly crispy on the outside and very soft on the inside.
Let cookies cool completely before the next step.
Make the Orange Icing glaze
Combine the powdered sugar with orange juice and orange zest in a medium bowl and dip each top of the cookie into the glaze one by one. Or you can use my lemon glaze like in my Blueberry bread instead.
Transfer to a wire rack with a paper towel beneath and allow the glaze to set. Optional: For a pretty presentation, you can add extra orange zest on top before the glaze has set.
I like to use the same simple icing for my dairy-free Sugar Cookies.
Tips
- Because ovens vary, keeping an eye on your homemade cookies while baking is important. Start checking them a few minutes before the suggested baking time to avoid over-baking.
- Save time on recipe preparation by cooking the carrots the night before.
- 6-7 medium carrots are enough for this recipe, but you can add an extra carrot for good measure.
- The softened butter will mix well with the other ingredients but don’t use melted butter, which will cause the cookies to spread flat.
- Using a cookie scoop will help you to form uniform-sized cookies every time! One that measures one Tablespoon is ideal.
- Always use a preheated oven when baking cookies.
- Give your baked carrot cake cookies time to cool on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a baking rack.
- Ensure that you strain any excess moisture from the carrot puree; otherwise, the cookie dough will be too sticky.
- The boiled carrots can also be mashed into a puree if you don’t have a high-speed blender. Make sure that they are soft enough for the best results.
Chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes before shaping and baking will help the delicious carrot cake cookies hold their shape and prevent them from spreading too much.
How to Store Carrot Cookies
Store these cookies in an airtight container, in the fridge and they will keep for three days. If you don't add the glaze you can store them at room temperature.
Freeze the cookies. Place the cookies in ziplock bags (I like to add parchment paper in between each cookie so they don’t stick to one another) and freeze for up to 2-3 months.
Let thaw to room temperature. For freezing, I also recommend freezing them without the icing and adding the icing later when defrosted.
Recipe Variations
- Carrot cookies wouldn't be complete without spices. Feel free also to include nutmeg and ginger. These spices add depth of flavor and complement the carrots nicely.
- Add freshly shredded carrots to the cookie dough for texture.
- You could use brown and white sugar: A combination of brown sugar and white sugar will give the cookies a nice balance of sweetness and a subtle molasses flavor.
- Carrot cake typically includes nuts and golden raisins Include these in this carrot cookie recipe to add texture and flavor to the cookies. You can use any nut, such as pecans, walnuts, or almonds.
- Make gluten-free cookies by using gluten-free flour blend.
- If you don’t want this recipe's orange icing, top the cookies with a homemade cream cheese frosting instead or add tangy cream cheese frosting between two cookies to make carrot cake sandwich cookies!
- For larger cookies, use a medium cookie scoop.
Frequently Asked Questions
While these carrot cookies have the same flavor as old-fashioned carrot cake, the main difference is the amount of liquids used. Cookies typically contain less amounts of liquids (water and milk) than cakes.
Yes. Boiling the carrots will soften them so that they are easier to blend into a smooth puree.
When you want a smooth puree, peeling the carrots is definitely the way to go.
Fresh carrot puree can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months. This a great way to cut down on preparation for making these cookies or for using to thicken soups and make other baked treats.
Thank you so much for reading about this easy Carrot Cookie Recipe. Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have! I love reading your feedback.
Rita
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📖Recipe
Easy Carrot Cookie Recipe With Orange Icing
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup carrot puree, about 6 medium carrots
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Glaze
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons orange juice, freshly squeezed if possible
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
Instructions
- How to make carrot puree. Peel the carrots and chop them roughly into cubes. Boil the fresh carrots for 20 minutes until very soft. Cool slightly and puree until smooth (with an immersion blender or food processor). Measure 1 cup and wrap it in a linen cloth to remove the excess moisture.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or just a large bowl with an electrical mixer, beat the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix to combine. Fold in the carrots.
- Mix flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder in separate bowls. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix all until combined well, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- With a smaller cookie scoop, make 25 cookie dough balls and transfer them to a baking sheet leaving 2 inches apart for cookies to spread. These will spread less, though. Bake for 12-15 minutes. These cookies are slightly crispy on the outside and very soft on the inside.
- Let cookies cool completely before the next step.
- Make the glaze. Combine the powdered sugar with orange juice and orange zest in a medium bowl and dip each top of the cookie into the glaze one by one. Transfer to a wire rack with a paper towel beneath and allow the glaze to set. Optional: For a pretty presentation, you can add extra orange zest on top before the glaze has set.
Notes
- Chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes before shaping and baking will help the delicious carrot cake cookies hold their shape and prevent them from spreading too much.
- Because ovens vary, keeping an eye on your homemade cookies while baking is important. Start checking them a few minutes before the suggested baking time to avoid over-baking.
- The boiled carrots can also be mashed into a puree if you don’t have a high-speed blender. Make sure that they are soft enough for the best results.
- Store these cookies in an airtight container, and they will keep for three days.
- Freeze. Place the cookies in ziplock bags (i like to add parchment paper in between each cookie so they don’t stick to one another) and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Let thaw to room temperature. For freezing, I also recommend freezing them without the icing and adding the icing later when defrosted.
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The recipe has been adapted from here.
Easy classic carrot cookies with the best orange icing!
These are the best carrot cookies I've ever made, great recipe!
Very good cookies
thank you Amber!