Carrot Cake Cookie

Carrot Cake Cookies

May 13, 2021

Why would anyone want to muck up a perfectly good spice cake by adding shredded carrots? The spice cake is beautiful by itself. Adding carrots roughens the texture to make room for the soft pecans and chewy raisins. With a creamy layer of whipped butter and cream cheese to smooth out the broken crumb – the end result is emotional. My family makes it with pineapple and coconut. It’s fruity and weighty – the way I like it.

This Easter, Bunny Love Carrot Cake Cookies honour its ancestry. These cookies are filled with cream cheese and butter, and includes raisins and pecans just like the cake. But because it’s a cookie, the Easter Bunny doesn’t have to share.

I’ve adapted this recipe from Martha Stewart’s cookie collection. Click here for the original recipe.

Ingredients

Makes 26-28 cookies

Carrot Cake Cookie Ingredients

  • 1 stick 113.50 grams 4 ounces melted unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup 53 grams 1.8 ounces brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup 49.5 grams 1.7 ounces white granulated sugar
  • 1 large 18 grams .65 ounces egg yolk
  • 1 cup 125 grams 4.4 ounces all-purpose bleached flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon 3/4 teaspoon 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon 3/4 teaspoon 3/4 teaspoon

    ground cinnamon

  • 3/4 teaspoon 3/4 teaspoon 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 3/4 cup 63.7 grams 2.25 ounces quick cook oats
  • 3/4 cup 82.5 grams 3 ounces finely grated carrots (about 3 whole carrots)
  • 1/4 cup 36.2 grams 1.3 ounces golden raisins or dried currents
  • 3/4 cup 74.2 ounces 2.6 grams finely chopped pecans

Cheese Filling Ingredients

  • 1/2 stick 56.7 grams 2 ounces very soft butter (avoid the microwave to soften the butter, don't want it to melt)
  • 1/4 cup 30 grams 1 ounce confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/4 cup 60 grams 2 ounces very soft cream cheese or goat cheese

Instructions

Mise en Place the Cookie Ingredients

  • To see how Mise en Place can benefit you, see The Finer Cookie’s post on why everyone should Mise en Place.
  • Coarsely shred the carrots and set aside.
Shred the carrots, like you would for a cake.
Shred the carrots, like you would for a cake.
  • Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add the two sugars and stir until combined. Keep warm and fluid.
Melt the butter with the two sugars.
Melt the butter with the two sugars.
  • Separate 1 large egg and set aside the egg yolk. To learn more about separating eggs, see The Finer Cookie’s post on How to Separate Eggs.
  • In another bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon and salt.
Whisk the dry ingredients.
Whisk the dry ingredients.
  • Combine the oats, carrots and raisins.
Dried currants and oatmeal.
Dried currants and oatmeal.
  • Finely chop the pecans and set aside.
Finely chop the pecans.
Finely chop the pecans.

Assemble the Cookie Dough (BAKE at 350ºF)

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
  • Pour the melted butter/sugar mixture into the flour, spices and salt. Stir to combine.
Whisk the melted butter and sugar into the dry ingredients.
Whisk the melted butter and sugar into the dry ingredients.
  • Add the egg yolk and blend thoroughly. Avoid adding the egg yolk to the hot butter and sugar. This could cook the yolk and reduce the cookie’s ability to hold together.
  • Mix in the oats, raisins and carrots. Stir to combine.
  • At this point, feel free to add the pecans to the cookie dough. Stir well. Alternately, you can roll the cookie dough in the pecans to create a nutty crust. I added the pecans to the dough and saved a step.
  • Set in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes.
  • At this point, remove the butter and cheese (cream or goat) from the fridge and let it warm to room temperature.
  • Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper or cooking liners and set aside.
  • If you have a #70 scoop, set it in your workspace.

Bake the Carrot Cake Cookies at 350ºF

  • Roll dough into balls that measure 1/2 inch in diameter or that weigh .65 ounces/19 grams each.
Tray the Carrot Cake Cookies.
Tray the Carrot Cake Cookies.
  • If you held the pecans aside, roll each dough ball in the pecans.
  • Set each cookie on the tray. Leave some space between the cookies without crowding them. They don’t spread much.
  • Once all the cookies are rolled, make a deep, decisive indentation in each cookie. When the cookies bake, the indentation will fill in a bit and become less deep.
Create a deep indent in the cookie dough.
Create a deep indent in the cookie dough.
  • Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown on the bottoms.

Mix the Cream Cheese Filling

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the butter, cheese of your choice and the confectioners’ sugar until very smooth. See The Finer Cookie’s post on How to Cream Butter.
  • If you choose, fill a ziplock bag or a piping bag and get ready to fill the cookies.
Fill a pastry bag or plastic bag with soft, smooth cream cheese filling.
Fill a pastry bag or plastic bag with soft, smooth cream cheese filling.
  • Fill the center of each cookie either with two spoons or a piping bag. A piping bag makes short order of this job!
Fill the cookie with delicious cream cheese filling.
Fill the cookie with delicious cream cheese filling.
  • Continue to fill each cookie until they are complete.
Fill the cookie with delicious cream cheese filling.
Fill the cookie with delicious cream cheese filling.
  • Now, go ahead and enjoy them. Store in an air-tight container and keep in the fridge.
Carrot Cake Cookies, The Finer Cookie.
Carrot Cake Cookies, The Finer Cookie.

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