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+ servings
Stack of two carrot cake cookies split in half.
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4.99 from 79 votes

Carrot Cake Cookies

These carrot cake cookies are very chewy and full of carrots and spices. These cookies are stuffed with cream cheese filling.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Chilling Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 14 Large cookies
Calories: 385kcal

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.

Notes

Flour- Make sure flour is spooned and leveled or use a kitchen scale. Compacted flour can dry out the cookies and cause them not to spread.
High altitude baking- Add an extra 2 tablespoon of flour.
Pull out dairy ingredients 2 hours before baking.

Nutrition

Calories: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 302mg | Potassium: 78mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 674IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg