Frosted Carrot Cake Cookies | The Recipe Critic

These Frosted Carrot Cake Cookies taste just like traditional carrot cake but in easy-to-make cookie form! And it wouldn’t be carrot cake without a generous dollop of homemade cream cheese frosting on top. The perfect spring dessert!

If you love carrot cake, you have to try these Frosted Carrot Cake Cookies along with Carrot Cake Cheesecake and Carrot Cake Quick Bread! They are all delicious and perfect desserts to make when the temperatures warm up.

Carrot Cake Cookie Recipe

Carrot cake lovers rejoice! These cookies are bursting with all the classic carrot cake ingredients: a moist cake base, juicy pineapple, crunchy walnuts, and of course, melt-in-your-mouth carrots — but in convenient, grab-and-go form. These carrot cake cookies are the best Easter dessert and are super easy to make!

And don’t forget the cherry on top, or should I say frosting! Homemade cream cheese frosting takes these cookies to the next level. Whether it’s for an Easter treat or when your sweet tooth hits, these cookies are the perfect choice.

Cookie and frosting ingredients

Simple pantry staples and spices make these Frosted Carrot Cake Cookies a hit! Here’s everything you need to whip up cookies and homemade cream cheese frosting:

• Flour: Provides structure to your cookies.
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda: So your cookies don’t go flat!
• Salt: A pinch enhances the flavor of all other ingredients.
• Nutmeg & Cinnamon: Warm spices that give the cookies a classic carrot cake flavor.
• Butter: Carrot cake makes cookies moist and tender.
• Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: Both make your cookies nice and sweet, but brown sugar gives your cookies the perfect caramel-y flavor.
• Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract Adds a touch of sweetness and complexity.
• Eggs: Bonds materials together.
• Crushed pineapple: For a touch of tanginess.
• Grated Carrots: No carrot cake dessert is complete without carrots! I used grated.
• Raisins: Plump, chewy raisins add sweetness and fruitiness.
• Chopped walnuts (optional): For a nice nutty crunch (feel free to leave them out if you prefer nut-free cookies).

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Cream Cheese: Softened cream cheese creates a rich and tangy frosting base.
• Butter: Helps soften and spread the frosting. Again, you want to soften it so it blends in smoothly with the other ingredients.
• Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract enhances the flavor of the frosting.
• Sugar Powder: Gives the frosting a sweet and smooth texture.
• Salt: Make a pinch taste whole!

Carrot Cake Cookie Recipe (with Homemade Frosting!)

1. Preheat the oven and prepare the pans: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
2. Dry ingredients: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and ground cinnamon. Then set aside.
3. Sugar mixture: Use an electric or stand mixer to cream together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Mix each egg between the eggs.
4. Add mix-ins: Stir in crushed pineapple, carrots and raisins. Stir in the dry ingredients. Add chopped nuts if desired.
5. burn: Using a medium cookie scoop, drop balls of dough 2-3 tablespoons each onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between them. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the bottoms are browned. Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Combine butter and cream cheese: Beat the softened butter and cream cheese on medium speed with a hand mixer or stand mixer for 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients: Add the vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and salt and mix on low until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat for a few minutes until smooth. You can separate a small amount of frosting from green and orange to pipe carrots, or leave it all white. Use a spoon or knife to spread the frosting over each cooled cookie.