These Eggless Carrot Cake Cookies are tender and perfectly spiced! I promise they are melt-in-your-mouth addicting. The flavor you crave from a traditional carrot cake, made into an easy-to-make soft cookie.
Eggless Carrot Cake Cookies Recipe Highlights
I love a traditional dessert remake, don’t you? Sometimes I wish I had the flavor of different desserts in easy cookie form. So I created Eggless Carrot Cake Cookies! Not only do they have the delicious carrot cake spiced flavor, but they also include scrumptious cream cheese frosting for the complete carrot cake flavor.
Indulgent, decadent, tender, and perfectly spiced, Eggless Carrot Cake Cookies are the flavor you crave from a traditional carrot cake made into an easily made chewy cookie.
Eggless Carrot Cake Cookies are so much easier to make than a traditional eggless carrot cake and oh so delicious!
I love to make these Frosted Carrot Cake Cookies year-round, but traditionally I make them for my family’s Easter brunch. They can be tailored to everyone’s preferences, too! Some of my family members like them plain, and others enjoy the cream cheese frosting on top. Gourmands, such as me, enjoy them as a sandwich, like a whoopie pie.
No matter how you choose to eat them, Eggless Carrot Cake Cookies always make everyone happy!
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
Here’s the rundown of what you need to make Eggless Carrot Cake Cookies. For the full list of ingredients, be sure to scroll down to the recipe!
- Flour: Standard all-purpose flour works best here, skip the cake flour, bread flour and wheat flour.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Make sure they’re not expired.
- Salt: I prefer kosher or sea salt. If you only have table salt handy, I recommend reducing the amount to half.
- Spices: I like to add ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
- Butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter handy, you can use it. In this case, skip the salt called in the recipe.
- Sugars: You will need brown sugar and regular white sugar, also known as caster sugar.
- Milk: For baking, I like to use whole milk. However, you can use any milk you have handy.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: For optimal flavor, reach for pure vanilla instead of imitation. Even better, try homemade vanilla extract!
- Quick Oats: Use quick oats for the best taste and texture with this recipe. If you dont have quick oats, use a food processor to process the oatmeal into smaller pieces.
- Carrots: When baking with carrots, my #1 tip is to shred whole carrots yourself. Do not use packaged pre-shredded carrots because they are hard and dry.
- Walnuts or Pecans (optional): Feel free to omit the nuts if you want to keep this recipe nut-free.
Step By Step Recipe Photo Tutorial
Please check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions (scroll down).
1 – Make The Eggless Cookie Dough
Combine all the dry ingredients.
Then, beat the butter and both sugars until they are nice and creamy. Then add the milk and vanilla and beat the mixture until it’s all incorporated.
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Add the dry ingredients.
And finally, stir in the oats, grated carrots, and nuts (if you’re using them).
2 – Form The Cookies
3 – Bake
4 – Frost
You and your family have some options when it comes to decorating! Eggless Carrot Cake Cookies are delectable on their own, but the draw of cream cheese frosting is strong, at least in my family.
So feel free to spread cream cheese frosting on top of your cookies and add some chopped pecans. Or omit the nuts; either way is tasty.
My favorite option, though, is to add a tablespoon or two of frosting on the flat side of half of a cooled cookie and sandwich the cream cheese frosting with another cookie. For me, this is the perfect ratio of cookie and frosting.
Frequently Asked Questions
It may be possible to switch between oil and butter in some recipes, but it is not something I recommend for this particular recipe. Butter adds a surprising amount of flavor. Also, this recipe is made by the creaming method – beating butter and sugar together – which helps to incorporate air into the dough to achieve the best texture.
I recommend using quick oat for these cookies. However, if you only have rolled oat handy, place them in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times until they’re relatively small pieces. You can also use rolled oat instead, but the texture will be chewier.
Yes, you can make the eggless cookie dough two or three days in advance. I recommend making the dough and scooping it into balls and then refrigerating it. Make sure to keep it refrigerated and well-wrapped.
Eggless Cookies Quick Baking Tips
Measure the ingredients properly! A kitchen scale is always the best option, in my opinion.
Don’t overmix your cookie dough, or you will end up with a dense cookie.
Chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking, this gives the dough a chance to firm up a little and allows them to bake much better.
For evenly sized cookies (better for baking), use a small spring-loaded ice cream scoop to spoon out the dough.
Bake the cookies until the edges appear set. The cookies might still look a little raw in the center, but once they cool, they will be perfect. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for just 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. If you leave the cookies on the baking sheets for too long, they will continue cooking, and they will be hard.
Adapt This Recipe to Other Food Allergies
This recipe is egg-free and nut-free, but you can certainly adapt it to other food allergies.
Gluten-Free
Substitute all-purpose flour for 1-to-1 Gluten-Free flour mix. My favorite brands are Cup4Cup and King Arthur. Just be sure to stir the batter longer than normal to help give the baked goods proper structure. Also, gluten-free batters need to rest. So let your batter rest for about 30 minutes, so the flour has time to hydrate and soften before baking it.
Dairy-Free
Use your favorite plant-based, dairy-free, or vegan butter and milk. Make sure to use an unflavored, unsweetened variety of non-dairy milk. Soy and oat milk have the best consistency and very neutral flavors. My favorite dairy-free butter brands for baking are:
Storing & Freezing Instructions
Storing:
The frosted cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Freezing:
You can freeze frosted or unfrosted Carrot Cake Cookies. To freeze unfrosted cookies, let the cookies cool completely. Then place them in a freezer container or bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Don’t forget to label those containers!
To freeze frosted cookies, place the frosted cookies on a baking tray or large plate, then pop them in the freezer and freeze the cookies until they are solid. After the cookies are frozen, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap, then pile them into a freezer bag and seal them up. They will keep in the freezer for up to two months.
Thawing:
When you’re ready to enjoy your Carrot Cake Cookies, remove the desired number of cookies from the freezer bag, then remove them from plastic wrap. Let your Eggless Carrot Cake Cookies thaw on the counter for about 30 minutes. Once thawed, enjoy!
More Carrot Recipes You’ll Love!
- Eggless Carrot Cake Loaf
- Eggless Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Eggless Carrot Cake
- Eggless Carrots Muffins
- Eggless Pineapple Carrot Cake
Eggless Carrot Cake Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (315 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) milk
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (100 g) quick oats
- 1 1/4 cups (125 g) finely grated fresh carrots
- 3/4 cup (115 g) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
- Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)
Instructions
Make the Eggless Carrot Cake Cookies:
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a bowl. Set aside.
- Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the milk and vanilla; mix until incorporated.
- Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the flour mixture; mix until combined.
- Stir in the oats, grated carrots, and pecans (if using) and mix until evenly distributed.
- Scoop out 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie. Roll each portion into a ball and place it on a baking sheet or large plate. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Place the chilled cookie balls on the prepared baking sheets, evenly spacing them about 2 inches apart. I recommend baking one sheet at a time.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges, but still soft in the middle. When you remove the cookies from the oven, they will still look doughy, and that’s okay; they will continue to set as they cool.
- Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Make the Cream Cheese Frosting following the steps in this recipe.
Assemble:
- Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cookies and sprinkle with chopped pecan, if desired. Or add a tablespoon or two of frosting on the flat side of half of the cooled cookies and sandwich with another half cookie.
- Measure the ingredients correctly! A kitchen scale is always the best option.
- Don’t over mix your cookie dough, or you will end up with a dense cookie.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking; this gives the dough a chance to firm up a little and bake much better.
- For evenly sized cookies (better for baking), use a small spring-loaded ice cream scoop to spoon out the dough.
- Bake the cookies until they are JUST golden around the outside. The cookies might still look a little raw in the center, but they will be perfect once they cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. If you leave the cookies on the baking sheets for too long, they will continue cooking and be hard.
Nutrition
Eggless Baking Frequently Asked Questions
You’ve asked, and I’ve answered! Read on for a handful of answers to the most frequently asked questions about eggless baking.
Originally posted in March 2021, post content edited to add more helpful information, no change to the recipe in March 2022.
The recipe doesn’t say how much cinnamon nutmeg and ginger to use in the recipe. I didn’t realize it until I had already mixed it all up. I hope it turns out well. I’ll come back and let you know when it’s done.
Hello Shantrell! I apologize for that. For some reason, the recipe got misconfigured. It’s fixed now. Thanks for letting me know.
I made these today with my 5-year-old nephew and they came out AMAZING!!! We used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose flour (one-to-one swap if weighed with kitchen scale) and used jaggery (similar to brown sugar) instead of granulated sugar and then added raisens in half the cookies. The title “Carrot cake cookies” is definitely accurate. Yum! The cookies with the raisens tasted like a mix of a oatmeal raisen cookie and carrot cake. We noticed the first dozen in the oven weren’t naturally spreading out so we took a spatula and flattened them half way through cooking (this was possibly due to using all brown sugar and/or whole wheat flour) but the results were exactly like the photos on the website. Very soft and cakey on inside and a nice firm outside texture like a cookie. We made the icing as well which was great but the cookies didn’t need the icing. They had the perfect sweetness so you could eat them either way (with icing or without). Will definitely make them again! Thanks so much for sharing your recipes.
Hello Krishna! It sounds like you nailed it! Thanks so much for trying my recipe, for your feedback, and for taking the time to come back and let me know.