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.
I love that the texture is chewy and not cakey … don’t get me wrong I love cake but I’m with you on that cookies are better when chewy : ) And I do love carrot cake!
I’ve made carrot cake cookies too and I agree. Cookies>>>Cake, no matter what flavor. GREAT idea with the butterscotch chips!! I can see these with white chocolate chips too – kind of the cream-cheesy like “frosting” in chip form.
My stomach just growled. For real.
I LOVE carrot cake cookies! These look so perfect right now!
P.S. It was good great to finally meet face-to-face, gorgeous ;)
You too sweetie! I had a lonley lil one at home Fri nite and overslept Sat. morning. Whoops! :)
Love this idea! I love carrot cake and cookies, fabulous idea to combine the two. BTW, we missed you Saturday! I thought you’d be around all weekend.
I’d trade you a cookie for a beer fudgsicle of yours :)
mmm mmm mmm. What a happy mistake!
Just divine! I can’t get butterscotch or white chocolate chips in Taiwan, but I think I might just have to attempt these with plain ol’ semi-sweet chocolate chips and see what happens. And then I won’t feel guilty about eating them since there are carrots involved :-)
Ooo, this looks like another one of your cookie recipes I’ll have to try!
Averie, I need you to open a bakery, so I could order dozens and dozens of these!! These cookies are completely MY type of cookie. :)
And…you know how much I adore carrot cake, right? I feel like this kitchen fail of yours was kismet…because the world needed a non-cakey Carrot Cake Cookie! Absolutely CANNOT wait to bake a batch of these! Because I’m the sharing type, I may need to double the recipe so there’s enough to go around. Thanks for sharing, Averie! Each and every day, you just blow my mind. Pinning to group boards! xo
Thanks for the pins to the group boards and for your sweet comment & support, as always :)
a non-cakey Carrot Cake Cookie! <-- and yes, they are totally NON cakey!
Carrot cake has and always will be one of my weaknesses, Averie! And the combination of carrot cake with oatmeal cookies (another fave) and butterscotch (yes another fave)… my head is spinning. Three of my favorites into ONE amazing cookie. It’s so funny – some of my favorite (and most popular) recipes come from baking failures. That’s how we learn, right? Not everything can be perfect. But from something terrible, something wonderful may be born. A carrot cake cookie that doesn’t look or taste cakey is hard to find! And you delivered it with success. Pinning these – they look amazing!
I love both cookies and muffins but… cookies will always win. ;)
a non-cakey Carrot Cake Cookie is just what these are and like pumpkin whoopie pies, I had really only seen carrot cake cookies that looked sort of like that; flat saucers that looked like cakes, in cookie form. Not my scene (although I do love pumpkin whoopie pies but that’s another post). I was trying to do what you do with the domed muffins. Seriously, I was doubting myself but kept thinking, well, Sally does it all the time. And have had success with the 3/4+full in the past on other recipes, but not on that one!
I have a recipe for carrot cake cookies in Peanut Butter Comfort but I wrote it…like 2 yrs ago. One of the first recipes I ever wrote and can’t even tell you what I did :)
Thanks for the pin!
I saw these cookies and said, “Oh my God” out loud. I’m a huge carrot cake fan, and these cookies are the cookie equivalent! Got ’em pinned!
This is such a great idea! I’m going to make these for my dad’s birthday. They’re two of his favorites combined! :D
You must be reading my mind because my husband recently made a request for carrot cake cookies. I’m pinning this now and will probably try making these this weekend!
wow that’s a pretty unique request and how cool he asked, and now he will receive :)
A Disney chef once told me that sometimes the best recipes come out of mistakes, which is something I always try to keep in mind when a recipe doesn’t turn out the way I want it to. These cookies look great!
A Disney chef…wow that’s impressive that you seem to be on a first name basis with one!
Wow these look great… and not that bad for you!
I jeez I hate recipe failures but these cookies sound absolutely perfect, so clearly even the failure was meant to be :)