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!
Table of Contents
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.
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.
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.
How to Make Carrot Oatmeal Cookies
- Combine the egg, butter, sugars, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the spices and dry ingredients.
- Scoop the cookie dough into mounds and place on a parchment paper-lined baking tray. Chill for at least 3 hours.
- 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.
Recipe FAQs
No! Rolled oats (aka old-fashioned oats) are a must. Instant oats are too powdery and would result in dry cookies.
Yes, you’re welcome to use whatever mixture of butterscotch chips, raisins, and chopped nuts that you’d like.
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.
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.
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.
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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Carrot Oatmeal Cookies
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Originally published April 29, 2013 and republished March 27, 2020 with updated text.
Wow! I’ve never had a carrot cake cookie! I would’ve expected more cakiness but somehow you’ve made it into one of the most delicious looking COOKIES I’ve ever seen! This is so different I’m just gonna have to try it … I love going crazy with spices, hmmm yum, they are my favorite:) And with all this ingredients I bet there is a lot of texture. I wish my recent muffin disaster had turned out so well! Just curious – could this recipe still be made into muffins if I didn’t over fill them? Either way – awesome job! The concept and pictures have me hook, line, and sinker!
No – this is a totally DIFFERENT recipe than the one I used for the muffins. This is cookie dough. That was muffin batter. Apples and oranges. For you and anyone else reading this, don’t try to make muffins using cookie dough. Won’t work :)
Okay! Good to know! I have enough kitchen disasters waiting for me already;) Thanks!
I loved that you turned a kitchen fail into these awesome cookies!! Plus, I love that they are actually kind of healthy! Score!
Oh yeah, cookies trump muffins every time. These look wonderful!
I do not like carrot cake. I do, however, really like these cookies. Sometimes a “failure” is a good thing even though it can be so darn frustrating!! I am so in love with butterscotch chips, I think it was a fantastic idea to include them in these cookies!
A carrot cake cookie?!? Wow…this is fabulous! I love carrot cake and I also love cookies, so this is the most perfect combo!
Mmm! I am a sucker for anything termed “carrot cake.” I wonder if I could sub part of the butter for greek yogurt? I’m sure I’d get an even softer cookie, probably more cake-like… hmm…
I think it would take it into cake-like territory, i.e. the dreaded cakey territory – which is not my preference but go for it! I only like my cake to be cakey :) Not cookies or brownies!
I love carrot cake dearly, so seeing it in cookie form makes my morning bright and happy! Def adding this to my recipes to try – thanks.
LMK if you do try them!
Yay for turning a muffin disaster into something amazingly delicious! I love carrot cake flavors however I can get em and these cookies sound pretty perfect.
Yum, these cookies look amazing!!! I prefer cookies over muffins too and love that you were able to save these by creating these delicious looking cookies. Love carrot cake so can’t wait to try these :)
Yum! Carrot cake is my fave… I love seeing it in the cookie form!
I’m loving your spicy baked chips, btw! :)
Oh man, I love this recipe for so many reasons! I love carrot cake but I love cookies more than I love cake… So, these are perfect. :) And I love the simple ingredient list too! I always have these things on hand, which is good and bad – I could whip them up at any time, but I also might eat more of them than I should. :-D
Girl they are highly addictive and I had to hide them from myself! I loved them so much and if you’re a carrot cake fan (and with all the ingredients on hand no less!) you will love them I bet! LMK if you end up trying them :)
There’s nothing better than when a recipe fails but turns into something else delicious! These look so great, and right up my alley! My best friend’s birthday is coming up, and her favorite dessert is carrot cake. I usually make a cake or cupcakes or her, but I like the idea of cookies to change it up! Going to make for her – pinned!
Thanks for the pin and I bet your friend will LOVE these if she’s already a carrot cake fan. I think I like them better than actual carrot cake!
I’ve never had a carrot cake cookie but I love this recipe–lots of texture and spices! I could easily give them a smear of cream cheese frosting or make a sandwich out of them. The butterscotch chips really do it for me–what a great idea! My homemade mayo was successful, easy and has been a great base for other sauces and dressings. I used 1 whole egg and 3/4 cup oil (half batch). I whirled the egg in the vita (on a speed of around 2-3) then set a styrofoam cup (with a hole poked in the bottom) on the lid and poured the oil into the cup so it would drip in slowly.
Your mayo sounds wonderful. I may have to give it a go one day.
And this carrot cake cookie is so good- it’s just packed with texture and chewiness and so much good stuff. I loved these things! I had to try to hide them from myself :)
I love how you turned a kitchen fail into these awesome cookies. Cookies are more fun to eat anyway :)
So fun meeting you this weekend, Averie! I just wished we were able to spend more time together!
Carrots!! Great save. I can’t stand when recipes go bad. I usually perk up when I can turn them around though. I have been thinking about carrot cake and butterscotch chips! But not together. Now I am! :D haha
Girl I was SO TICKED about the muffins. Like I had this feeling I was overfilling them but was pretty sure I’d be okay. Then 2 mins into baking they were starting to explode up in height and I knew I was doomed. Sigh. But honestly, the cookies are way better than the muffins were and butterscotch complements the carrots and the spices. It’s just so good in here!
Carrot cake is a favorite for me! I actually recently made carrot cake waffles, and was thinking of doing a carrot cake themed week on my blog, this recipe is going on my to try list!
I love the idea of a carrot cake themed week! Mmmm, I’d love to recipe test for that one :) And your waffles sound delish!