Soft and Chewy Spiced Carrot Cake Cookies

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Spiced Carrot Oatmeal Cookies — All the flavors of richly spiced carrot cake, but in cookie form! Soft, chewy, extremely moist, and not at all cakey! The cookies are loaded with oats, spices, grated carrots, and butterscotch chips!

Spiced Carrot Cake Cookies — All the flavors of richly spiced carrot cake, but in cookie form! Soft, chewy, extremely moist, and not at all cakey.

These easy oatmeal carrot cookies are supremely moist, soft, and chewy without being cakey. I like my cake to be cakey, but never cookies.

They’re loaded with texture from the carrots, oats, raisins, and butterscotch chips.

The carrot cake cookies are pleasantly spiced, and just robust enough, but not overdone. Bland carrot cake is so unappetizing, and carrots desserts like this can stand up to a lot of spices without becoming overpowered. In fact, they necessitate a heavier hand when adding spices.

Spiced Carrot Cake Cookies — All the flavors of richly spiced carrot cake, but in cookie form! Soft, chewy, extremely moist, and not at all cakey.

These carrot oatmeal cookies are a new favorite and are some of the best cookies I’ve made all year, and I bake a new cookie recipe nearly every week. In large part due to the spices used, they remind me of a perfect slice of carrot cake, minus any cakiness, and I kept reaching for one more. One more.

They have soft, tender interiors with chewy edges. They stay moist for days and get softer the second and third day because brown sugar is hydrophilic (absorbing atmospheric moisture), rather than drying out.

Juicy raisins, oats, carrot shreds, and sweet butterscotch chips lend so much chew factor and texture. I live for those thick, dense, loaded-up cookies.

Spiced Carrot Cake Cookies — All the flavors of richly spiced carrot cake, but in cookie form! Soft, chewy, extremely moist, and not at all cakey.

Recipe Ingredients

To make this easy carrot cake oat cookies recipe, you’ll need:

  • Egg
  • Unsalted butter
  • Brown sugar
  • Granulated sugar
  • Vanilla extract
  • Spices
  • All-purpose flour
  • Rolled oats
  • Baking soda
  • Grated carrots
  • Butterscotch chips
  • Raisins

Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.

Spiced Carrot Cake Cookies — All the flavors of richly spiced carrot cake, but in cookie form! Soft, chewy, extremely moist, and not at all cakey.

How to Make Carrot Oatmeal Cookies

  1. Combine the egg, butter, sugars, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
  2. Mix in the spices and dry ingredients. 
  3. Scoop the cookie dough into mounds and place on a parchment paper-lined baking tray. Chill for at least 3 hours.
  4. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the edges are set and the centers are just set.

A Note About the Bake Time

I strongly recommend baking the cookies at the lower end of the range (9 minutes). The carrot cookies firm up considerably as they cool, so don’t be afraid to pull them even if the tops look glossy and under-done. Overbaking will turn these softies in rocks, with overly browned bottoms.

Spiced Carrot Cake Cookies — All the flavors of richly spiced carrot cake, but in cookie form! Soft, chewy, extremely moist, and not at all cakey.

Recipe FAQs

Can I Use Instant Oats Instead of Rolled? 

No! Rolled oats (aka old-fashioned oats) are a must. Instant oats are too powdery and would result in dry cookies. 

Can I Add Nuts to the Cookie Dough? 

Yes, you’re welcome to use whatever mixture of butterscotch chips, raisins, and chopped nuts that you’d like. 

Can the Mix-Ins Be Omitted Altogether?

Sure! If you don’t like raisins or butterscotch, and prefer nuts and white chocolate, or nothing at all other than just carrots, suit yourself. You can keep these carrot cake oat cookies classic or load them up with mix-ins.

Can I Freeze the Cookies? 

Yes, baked carrot cake cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. To thaw, place on your countertop or gently reheat in the microwave. 

Can I Frost Carrot Cake Cookies? 

I don’t see why not! I’m not sure how much cream cheese frosting you’d need to make, but I bet the frosting I used on these Carrot Cake Cupcakes would work well here. 

Spiced Carrot Cake Cookies — All the flavors of richly spiced carrot cake, but in cookie form! Soft, chewy, extremely moist, and not at all cakey.

Tips for Making These Cookies

Grating the carrots: I prefer to grate the carrots by hand with a box grater using the coarsest blade. It’s three-quarters of a cup, about two medium carrots, and takes one minute. Bagged shredded carrots from the grocery store just aren’t the same and it isn’t a job worthy of dirtying my food processor.

Measuring grated carrots: I measure them by loosely piling them into a one cup measure, and as long as it’s at least three-quarters full, or a skimpy one-cup, that’s ideal.

Scooping out the dough: After the dough comes together, I highly recommend using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop to form mounds and place them on a large plate. The dough is soft and messy and being able to dig into the mixing bowl as if it were a bowl of ice cream, using a scoop, is so much neater and easier.

Storage Instructions

Store cookies airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

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4.50 from 50 votes

Carrot Oatmeal Cookies

By Averie Sunshine
These spiced carrot cake oat cookies have all the flavors of richly spiced carrot cake, but in cookie form! Soft, chewy, extremely moist, and not at all cakey.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 22
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Ingredients  

  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
  • ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon allspice
  • ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • pinch salt, optional and to taste
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup old-fashioned whole rolled oats, (NOT instant or quick cook)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ heaping cup grated carrots, loosely packed
  • ½ to ⅔ cup butterscotch chips, or white chocolate chips (optional)
  • ½ cup raisins or nuts, (optional)

Instructions 

  • To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl with hand mixer), combine the egg, butter, sugars, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
  • Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, optional salt, and beat momentarily to incorporate.
  • Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and beat until just combined, less than 1 minute.
  • Add the carrots and beat to incorporate, about 30 seconds.
  • Add the optional butterscotch chips, raisins, and beat to incorporate, about 30 seconds.
  • Using a medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons) or your hands, scoop out mounds of dough (I made 22) and place them on a large plate. Flatten mounds just slightly with heel of your hand.
  • Cover plate with plasticwrap and refrigerate dough for at least 3 hours, up to 5 days, before baking. Dough is far too soft and moist, and is unsuitable for baking until it’s been chilled or cookies will spread dramatically.
  • Preheat oven to 350F, line 2 baking sheets with Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mats, parchment, or spray with cooking spray; set aside. Space dough 2 inches apart (8 per tray) and bake for 9 to 11 minutes (I recommend the lower end of that range), or until tops have just set, even if slightly underbaked and glossy in the center. Cookies firm up as they cool, and baking too long results in cookies that set up too crisp and hard with overdone undersides (The cookies shown in the photos were baked for just over 9 minutes, with trays rotated at the 5-minute mark, and have chewy edges with pillowy, soft centers).
  • Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

Notes

  • As written, cookies are pleasantly spiced and robust, without being over-spiced, but dial down the amounts as written and adjust to taste if you’re particularly sensitive.
  • Store cookies airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  • Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 146kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 45mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 11g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

All of my cookie recipes!

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Softbatch Glazed Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies — These super soft, very lemony cookies are topped with a lemon glaze that adds to the pucker-up power! 

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Strawberry Cookie Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting — The bars are incredibly easy to make because I used strawberry cake mix and it gives the bars exactly the consistency I want. Soft, chewy, and ironically not cakey.

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Frosted Soft Sugar Cookies — Super SOFT sugar cookies that just melt in your mouth!! To make things even better, they’re topped with the BEST sugar cookie frosting!

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The Best M&M’s Cookies — These bakery-style M&M’s cookies are soft, chewy, buttery, and LOADED with M&M’s and chocolate chips. No one can resist these cookies!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies — These EASY white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies are the perfect combination of sweet, nutty, soft and chewy perfection! 

Orange Creamsicle Cookies — These cookies are so soft, buttery, tender, and just melt in your mouth! The dough is lightly perfumed with orange zest and there’s loads of white chocolate in every bite. They remind me of an Orange Creamsicle, but in cookie form!

Originally published April 29, 2013 and republished March 27, 2020 with updated text.

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. Hi! I made these last week and, overall, they were amazing. They did end up a little flimsy and runny in the middle. I cooked them for over 9 minutes.  I was curious, do you wring out the carrots at all? Thank!!

    1. No I don’t but it’s also summer now and humid and baked goods tend to naturally just be more moist and soft. I also recommend King Arthur Brand flour if you can find it. Best for baking and really combats issues like this.

  2. I don’t have allspice so what can I use to replace it as with the virus going on I try real hard to stay out of the store. Any suggestions please let me know.
    This
    Merry

    1. I think if you just up the amount of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg a little bit it will totally compensate for any lost flavor. You could also always play around with other spices like ginger or white pepper.