These carrot cake cookies are very chewy and full of carrots and spices. These cookies are stuffed with cream cheese filling. They are an even easier and more fun to eat version of carrot cake!
These carrot cake cookies combine the joy of fresh baked cookies with the springtime fun of carrot cake. The cookies are soft and chewy and the cream cheese filling tastes even better than a cream cheese frosting. They are perfect desserts for Easter or any spring celebrations!
For other carrot cake recipes try, Pumpkin Carrot Cake, Mini Carrot Cake, and Brown Butter Carrot Cake.
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Why This Recipe Works
- Carrot cake flavor- Who doesn't love the taste of carrot cake? It is a fun twist on one of my favorite cakes and it is even better in cookie-form!
- Cheesecake filling- These cookies have cheese cake where traditional carrot cake has cream cheese frosting. It fills the same role, but tastes even better!
- Easy recipe- While making a cheesecake stuffed cookie takes a few extra steps, this carrot cake cookies recipe is much easier than a full cheesecake or whole cake and are broken down into easy to follow steps.
Ingredient Notes
Here are some notes on the ingredients. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.
- Cream Cheese- Pull this out 2 hours before baking to get it to room temperature.
- Unsalted butter- Melt this before you need it so it has time to cool to room temperature.
- Brown sugar- I used light brown sugar for this, but dark will work as well.
- Egg yolk- Pull the large eggs out 2 hours before baking to get it to room temperature.
- Carrots- These need to be freshly grated to get the correct texture. Make sure that you grate them finely so they mix into your batter nicely. The fine side of a box grater will work.
- Powdered sugar- Be sure to sift your powdered sugar for best results to avoid gritty frosting.
Step By Step Instructions - Cream Cheese Filling
Here is how to make this cream cheese filling in 2 easy steps. This uses a hand mixer.
STEP 1: Mix cheesecake filling. Put the cream cheese in a small bowl and beat with a hand mixer on high speed until it is creamy. Then, add in the sugar and vanilla extract and mix it until it is combined.
STEP 2: Freeze cheesecake. Place wax paper on a cookie sheet, then use a ½ tablespoon to scoop 14 dollops of cheesecake. Place them in the freezer until they are solid. Be gentle to not deflate your cheesecake.
Step By Step Instructions - Cookies
Here is how to make and bake these carrot cake cookies. This recipe uses an electric mixer. I used a stand mixer with paddle attachment.
STEP 1: Prep dry ingredients. Grate carrots using a fine grater until you have 1 packed cup full. Then, use paper towels to absorb the excess moisture.
Next sift together the all purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
STEP 2: Wet ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer mix the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar on high speed for 2 minutes.
STEP 3: Combine. Add the grated carrots, vanilla extract, and egg yolks to the wet ingredients. Mix on medium speed until combined.
Then, add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
STEP 4: Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes to allow the gluten to absorb.
STEP 5: Scoop dough. Use a large cookie scoop (2 tablespoon or 2 oz) to scoop cookie dough balls. Before removing them from the scoop press your thumb into the dough to create an indent deep into the cookie. Place a cheesecake dollop inside and work the dough back over it.
After creating all of your dough balls place them back in the freezer for 10 minutes to get them cold to prevent spreading.
STEP 6: Bake cookies. Place 6 cookie dough balls per prepared baking sheet and bake 1 sheet at a time. Bake each sheet 13-15 minutes.
Tip: Be extra careful not to knock the air out of the cheesecake.
STEP 7: Cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled I recommend chilling them before eating.
Decorating the Cookies
This part is optional, but makes the cookies SO cute! Plus the tangy cream cheese frosting is delicious. Make sure you have cooled cookies before decorating.
STEP 1: Beat cream cheese and butter. Combine butter and cream cheese, then beat on high speed until creamy. Then, add the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix again until combined. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.
STEP 2: Dye. Place ⅔ of the frosting into a small bowl and ⅓ into a separate bowl. Use orange food gel dye to dye the ⅔ frosting orange and dye the ⅓ green.
STEP 3: Pipe. Pipe one carrot on top of each cookie. I used a Wilton 4 tip for the carrot and a Wilton 65 for the leaves.
Expert Baking Tips
- Be very gentle every time you handle the cheesecake filling as it is easy to deflate a cheesecake if you knock it too much.
- Properly measure your flour- Make sure the flour is spooned and leveled. If you stick the measuring cup directly into the flour, it will compact the flour giving you too much flour. Compacted flour can cause the cookies to not spread.
- If the cookies are spreading, make sure you are using parchment paper on the cookie sheet. If they are still spreading too much this could be the butter was too warm before adding the ingredients. If it still spreads too much, you chill the cookie dough balls for 10-15 minutes. This recipe has high moisture so chilling is extra important.
- If you live at high altitude, add an extra 2 Tablespoons of flour. This will help with the spread.
- The cookies should be slightly underdone, because they will continue to cook as they cool. This helps to make sure they have the right texture and don't over bake.
- Make sure to grate fresh carrots and absorb enough moisture from them. There can be too much moisture until you absorb it, but letting them dry out in the air can also make them hard and unpleasant. I find full size carrots easier to grate, but baby carrots are fine.
FAQ
It would be more challenging to get a satisfying cheesecake filling in a smaller cookie. I have not recipe tested this as a smaller thumbprint cookie.
Yes they can! Store the cookie dough balls in an airtight container or use plastic wrap. Store in the freezer for 30 days. Let the cookie dough balls thaw before baking.
Since the cheesecake filling needs to be frozen these cookies cannot be chilled overnight in the fridge. However, you can create the cookie dough balls and freeze them overnight. then, let them sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking them.
Storing and Freezing
Store the carrot cake cookies in the refrigerator in an air-tight container up to 5 days.
Freezing
Freeze the baked cookies in an airtight container, such as a freezer bag, and freeze up to 30 days. Thaw for 1-2 hours before eating.
Other Cookie Recipes To Try
Make sure to leave a STAR REVIEW if you loved this recipe! Make sure to tag me on Instagram @stephaniesweettreats. To get more ideas follow me on Pinterest.
📖 Recipe
Carrot Cake Cookies
Ingredients
Cheesecake Filling
- 6 oz Cream cheese room temperature
- 3 tablespoon White granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
Carrot Cookies
- 3 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Ground nutmeg
- 1 cup Unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 cup Brown sugar packed light or dark
- ½ cup White granulated sugar
- 1 cup Finely grated carrots Make sure to grate them fresh. Don't use pre-shredded
- 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- 2 Large egg yolks room temperature
Frosting for Decoration
- 2 oz Cream cheese room temperature
- 2 tablespoon Unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup Powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Cheesecake Filling
- In a small bowl using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese on high speed until creamy. Add in the sugar and vanilla and mix until combined.6 oz Cream cheese, 3 tablespoon White granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- Place wax paper on a cookie sheet. Use a ½ tablespoon to scoop 14 cheesecake dollops. Place in the freezer. Let it freeze until solid.
Carrot Cake Cookies
- Grate the carrots using the fine grater. Also, make sure its a packed 1 cup. Then, use 2 paper towels to soak it up. Repeat until a lot of the moisture is taken out.1 cup Finely grated carrots
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.3 cups All-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon Baking soda, 1 teaspoon Salt, 2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon Ground nutmeg
- Using a mixer, mix the melted butter (make sure it is cooled completely), brown sugar, and sugar on high speed for 2 minutes.1 cup Unsalted butter, 1 cup Brown sugar, ½ cup White granulated sugar
- Add in the grated carrots, vanilla, and egg yolks. Mix on medium until combined.1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract, 2 Large egg yolks
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes to allow the gluten to absorb into the dough.
- Use a large cookie scoop ( 2oz or 2 TBSP) and scoop the dough. Before removing the cookie dough ball from the scoop. Press your thumb into the dough. Create a deep well into the cookie. Place the frozen cheesecake dollop into the hole. Then, cover the cheesecake filling with the cookie dough. Place the cookies back in the freezer for 10 minutes to get them cold before baking to prevent the wetness from causing spreading.
- Place 6 cookie dough balls per cookie sheet. Bake 1 sheet at a time. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Be careful not to jostle the cookies too much and deflate the cheesecake.
- Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. They taste best if stored in the fridge.
Frosting for Decoration
- This part is optional, but it makes the cookies so cute! Using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on high speed. Then, add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until smooth.2 oz Cream cheese, 2 tablespoon Unsalted butter, ¾ cup Powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- Place ⅔rds of the frosting in one small bowl and the other ⅓rd into another bowl. Use food gel dye to dye the bowl with more frosting orange and the other green.
- Pipe one carrot on top of the cookies. I used Wilton 4 for the carrot and Wilton 65 for the leaves.
P says
These cookies turned out amazing! They are so soft and fluffy. The cream cheese filling isn’t too sweet, which is perfect for me. Great recipe!
Diane says
Delicious! Made the 14 stuffed cookies and some plain ones which are also delicious! Definitely be making again.