Carrot cake cookies are like a delicious fusion of carrot cake and your favorite chocolate chip cookies! They're filled with shredded carrots, coconut, and pecans, and turn out buttery and chewy.
Recipe summary
Flavor: Like your favorite carrot cake. Filled with shredded carrots, coconut, pecans, and cozy spices.
Texture: Chewy, buttery, soft.
Great for: Easter, holiday cookie trays, bake sales.
Similar to: Ranger Cookies and Butter Pecan Cookies
More carrot cake: Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies and Carrot Cake Cupcakes
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Unsalted butter - The butter and salt listed in the recipe can be substituted with salted butter if needed.
- Sugars - We're using a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar in this recipe for optimal texture and flavor. Granulated sugar helps aerate the butter when creaming the two together, which helps lift your cookies as they bake. Brown sugar adds a caramelized, molasses flavor and chewy texture to your cookies.
- Egg - Room temperature egg incorporates seamlessly into the dough and adds moisture and structure.
- Vanilla extract - Enhances the flavor of your cookies.
- All-purpose flour - Adds structure to your cookies and balances the wet ingredients in the recipe. I haven't tested this recipe with other types of flours, so I can't say for sure how your cookies would turn out with substitutions. To avoid wasting ingredients, I highly suggest searching for a recipe that has been developed with the type of flour you'd like to use.
- Leavening - You'll need baking soda for the proper lift in this recipe. It cannot be substituted with baking powder, the two are not interchangeable.
- Salt - Enhances the flavor of your cookies and balances the sweetness without making your cookies "salty".
- Spices - Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg add a warm, cozy spice flavor to these cookies.
- Carrots - Grated carrots add a slightly sweet flavor as well as moisture and structure. I don't recommend omitting them from the recipe because other ingredients have been reduced to account for the addition of carrot. A finely grated carrot blends in seamlessly when baked, and a larger grate adds more texture to your cookies.
- Pecans - Can be substituted with walnuts or almonds.
- Shredded unsweetened coconut - Adds a chewy texture and coconut flavor to the cookies.
How to make carrot cake cookies
- Use a hand mixer to cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients to remove clumps.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix on low to combine. Last, add shredded carrots, pecans, and coconut.
- Chill dough for 1 hour or more. This allows flavors to meld and dough to firm up. Use a medium 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion dough onto a lined baking sheet.
- Bake until browned lightly across the tops.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
Tips and tricks
Grating carrot - Use the small side of a box grater for finely shredded carrot. Fine carrot pieces incorporate easily into the dough and don't add an obvious texture like a coarse grate would.
Toasting the coconut - This step adds extra flavor to your finished cookies. Preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread coconut into a thin layer. Bake for about 5 minutes, or until the edges begin to lightly brown. Stir and return to the oven for another 2-3 minutes. Watch carefully because the edges of the coconut can brown quickly.
To bring butter to room temperature quickly - Unwrap and slice butter into small pieces, leaving it on the counter and in the wrapper or a small bowl for up to 30 minutes. Small pieces warm up faster than a whole stick.
To bring eggs to room temperature quickly - Place whole eggs into a bowl and cover with very warm tap water. Eggs come to room temperature in about 10 minutes using this method.
Watch your cookies in the oven, not the time - Yes, I do include a time frame in the recipe card. However, every oven runs slightly hotter or colder than the next oven. The time that worked for me may not work for you. Keep an eye on your cookies while they bake and check them a minute or two before they should be done. If they look brown across the tops, it's time to remove them from the oven. Overbaking will make your cookies dry.
Storage
Cookies will keep for up to 5 days in a sealed container at room temperature. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace bread slice as needed.
Cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. To thaw frozen cookies, transfer to the countertop and allow to thaw for at least 30 minutes.
Raw dough will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer. Cookie dough can be baked from frozen. Your cookies will spread slightly less in the oven and will need an additional 1-2 minutes of baking time.
Frequently asked questions
This can happen when your dough is too warm or the baking sheet was greased instead of lined with parchment.
- Don't skip the step of refrigerating your dough. Refrigerating not only helps the flavors meld, but also makes the dough easier to roll into balls and reduces spreading.
- If your dough is still spreading in the oven, try refrigerating the dough balls for 10 minutes, then transfer directly into the oven.
- Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. I do not recommend using a greased cookie sheet. A layer of grease/cooking spray makes cookies of any kind spread more in the oven.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Carrot Cake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup (160 g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 ¾ cups (330 g) all-purpose flour, *measured properly
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup (100 g) grated carrots
- ½ cup (57 g) chopped pecans
- ½ cup (42 g) shredded coconut
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until just combined.
- Add shredded carrots, pecans, and shredded coconut, stirring until just incorporated.
- Cover bowl or wrap dough in wax paper. Chill for 1 hour (up to 24 hours) in the refrigerator. Refrigerating helps the flavors meld and creates a firmer dough to roll into balls.
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Scoop dough using a 1.5 tablespoon (medium) scoop or shape by hand into 1.5 inch balls. Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for about 11-13 minutes, or until lightly browned around edges and across the tops. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- * How to measure flour properly: Use a kitchen scale to measure flour for accurate results every time. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
- Optionally, toast coconut: I recommend toasting the shredded coconut for added depth of flavor (however, this step can be skipped if you don't have time). Spread shredded coconut onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes at 350F, or until edges begin to lightly brown. Stir and bake for another 2-3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Alternatively, add to a skillet and brown over medium heat for 3-6 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Storage: Cookies will keep for up to 5 days in a sealed container. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace bread slice as needed.
- Storing dough: Raw dough will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cookie dough balls (and baked cookies) freeze well, up to 3 months in a sealed plastic container or freezer bag. Allow frozen balls to thaw for up to 10 minutes on the baking sheet before baking, or add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
- More tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
The cookies turned out great!
Also, thank you for the tip on the flour measuring and parchment paper.
Glad you enjoyed the cookies!