Carrot Cake Cookies

These carrot cake cookies are tremendous comfortable and fluffy, and filled with shredded carrots, spices, and raisins. Topped with dairy-free cream cheese frosting, every one tastes like carrot cake, in snackable two-bite kind!

My vegan carrot cake is certainly one of my favourite treats this time of 12 months. Typically I want I might get pleasure from somewhat slice daily, however baking layer muffins on a regular basis is a LOT, even for me. Nicely, now that is not an issue! A reader gave me an excellent thought and requested a recipe for carrot cake cookies. Cookies are a lot simpler to bake on repeat, and so they maintain higher than cake. You already know what which means? Carrot cake cookies, all spring lengthy!

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These aren’t your typical cookies. They’re comfortable and fluffy, like little cake bites. (If you happen to cherished my vegan pumpkin cookies, you will dig these, too!) In addition they function all the pieces you’re keen on about carrot cake: shredded carrots (clearly!), raisins, nuts, and plenty of warming spices. And for the final word carrot cake expertise, you will wish to high every one with a few of my vegan cream cheese frosting.

Elements You may Want

Beneath you will discover a listing of substances on this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the best way to the underside of the submit to see the total recipe, together with the quantity of every ingredient.

Non-dairy milk. Use a kind of plant milk that you simply’d usually drink, and ensure it is unflavored and unsweetened. Soy milk, almond milk, cashew milk, and oat milk are all high-quality! My guide to dairy-free milk may be useful should you’re misplaced.
Floor flaxseed. We’ll be mixing these with the milk to create a flax egg, which is a wonderful vegan egg substitute for baking.
Vegan butter. Most grocery shops carry this within the fridge case, close to the common butter.
Sugar. Be certain your sugar is natural to make sure it is vegan. Non-organic sugar is typically processed with animal bone char.
Brown sugar. This also needs to be natural.
Vanilla extract.
Flour. Use all-purpose wheat flour for greatest outcomes — I’ve not examined some other varieties.
Baking soda.
Spices. We’re utilizing floor cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
Salt.
Carrots.
Raisins. You possibly can depart these out if they are not your factor.
Walnuts. These may also be omitted or changed with different nuts, like pecans.
Vegan cream cheese frosting. My favourite carrot cake topping! However it’s non-obligatory. Be happy to skip it or strive one of many different topping concepts within the variations part, under.

How They’re Made

Beneath is an in depth picture tutorial on the way to make this dish. Scroll all the best way down if you would like to skip proper to the recipe!

Step 1: Put together. Preheat your oven to 350° and line some baking sheets with parchment paper.

Step 2: Make the flax egg. Stir non-dairy milk and a few floor flaxseed collectively in a small bowl. Enable the combination to take a seat when you begin engaged on the dough — the flaxseed will increase and gel.

Creamed vegan butter and sugars in a mixing bowl with electric mixer.

Step 3: Cream the butter and sugars. Use your electrical mixer at excessive velocity to beat them collectively till creamy and fluffy, which is able to take about 2 minutes.

Blend of wet ingredients for cookie dough in a mixing bowl with electric mixer and spatula.

Step 4: Add moist substances. Now beat the flax egg and a few vanilla extract into your butter combination. Simply do that till all the pieces is mixed.

Cookie dough in a mixing bowl with electric mixer and spatula.

Step 5: Add dry substances. Begin with the flour, beating in a few cup at a time on low velocity. If you add that final cup, sprinkle the baking soda, spices, and salt on high earlier than beating it in.

Vegan Carrot Cake Cookie dough in a mixing bowl with wooden spoon.

Step 6: Add stir-ins. Stir in your shredded carrots, walnuts, and raisins. Be happy to dig in together with your arms if that is what must occur to get all the pieces blended.

Cookie dough balls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Steps 7 & 8: Form and bake. Roll the dough into balls and place them in your baking sheets. Pop them into the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, till they unfold only a bit.

Tip: The cookies will initially unfold barely across the edges whereas maintaining a small dome within the heart. When that dome settles, they’re prepared to return out.

Steps 9 & 10: Cool and flatten. Place the baking sheets onto cooling racks once they come out of the oven. Flatten every cookie barely with the again of a spoon, then allow them to cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes earlier than shifting them on to the racks to complete.

Vegan Carrot Cake Cookies on a cooling rack.

Step 11: Frost and serve. Optionally, high every cookie with a dollop of frosting. Allow them to sit till the frosting units, then get pleasure from!

Variations

Topping variations. Not into cream cheese frosting? Attempt my vegan vanilla buttercream frosting. You too can serve your cookies plain, with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, or dipped in glaze created from 3 cups of powdered sugar, 3 ½ tablespoons of non-dairy milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Additional toppings. Make these cookies further particular by together with some toppings along with the frosting! Attempt urgent some shredded coconut, finely chopped nuts, or sprinkles into the frosting earlier than it units.
Sandwich cookies. As a substitute of topping your cookies with frosting, pair them up and stuff every pair with frosting.

Vegan Carrot Cake Cookies on a plate with cinnamon sticks on the side.

Incessantly Requested Questions

Can these cookies be made gluten-free?

Probably, however I have never examined a gluten-free model myself. An all-purpose gluten-free flour mix could be the best choice if you would like to offer it a strive.

Do I want to sit back the dough?

Nope! This dough is on the agency aspect and would not unfold out very a lot. Chilling it might additional inhibit spreading, so it is not really helpful.

Why are my cookies dry?

These cookies will likely be dry in the event that they’re overbaked. Make sure you take them out of the oven as soon as the domes on high have settled (that is as a lot as they will unfold). They will look deceptively underbaked at this level. One other frequent perpetrator is mismeasuring substances, and specifically, utilizing an excessive amount of flour or too little vegan butter.

How ought to I retailer my carrot cake cookies and the way lengthy will they maintain?

The cookies themselves will maintain in an hermetic container at room temperature for about three days. Nevertheless, should you frost them, you will wish to retailer them within the fridge. Watch out and keep away from stacking them within the storage container, because the frosting can get smushed. You too can freeze them (frosted or unfrosted) for as much as three months. I wish to freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet till strong, then switch them to an hermetic container for long-term freezing.

Extra Vegan Cookies

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Recipe

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Prep Time 20

Cook dinner Time 20

Complete Time 40

Elements

⅓ cup unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy milk
2 tablespoons floor flaxseed
1 cup vegan butter, room temperature
¾ cup natural granulated sugar
¾ cup natural brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons floor cinnamon
½ teaspoon floor ginger
¼ teaspoon floor nutmeg
¼ teaspoon floor cloves
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups finely shredded carrots (about 3 medium or 2 giant carrots)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
½ batch vegan cream cheese frosting (non-obligatory)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a few baking sheets with parchment paper.
Stir the non-dairy milk and floor flaxseed collectively in a small bowl. Set it apart and let the combination relaxation for at the least 5 minutes to gel. You possibly can transfer on to the subsequent step within the meantime.
In a big mixing bowl, beat the vegan butter, sugar, and brown sugar collectively utilizing an electrical mixer on excessive velocity, till the combination is totally blended and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Beat within the flax combination and vanilla, simply till mixed.
Start including the flour, beating in a few cup at a time at low velocity. Sprinkle the baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt during the last flour addition, then beat it in. You may have a comfortable dough when all the pieces has been added.
Stir within the shredded carrots, walnuts, and raisins. The dough will likely be very thick at this level, so be at liberty to make use of your arms if wanted.
Roll the dough into balls, utilizing a heaping tablespoon of dough for every one. Place the dough balls on the ready baking sheets, spacing them at the least 1 ½ inches aside.
Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, till they’ve unfold out a bit however nonetheless look barely undercooked.
Place the baking sheets on cooling racks once they come out of the oven, then instantly gently flatten every cookie with the again of a spoon.
Let the cookies cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes, then switch them on to the racks to proceed cooling. Proceed baking the cookies in batches as wanted, ensuring to let the baking sheets cool earlier than inserting extra dough on them.
As soon as the cookies are cool, optionally high every one with a dollop of vegan cream cheese frosting. Enable them to set, then serve.