Carrot Cake Thumbprint Cookies are a fun twist on two classics! It’s your favorite cake in cookie form filled with a delicious cream cheese frosting.
Looking for a classic carrot cake recipe? Add my Carrot Cake Recipe to your baking list too!
I am all about turning cake into cookies. Remember my Texas Sheet Cake Cookies or my Coffee Cake Cookies? Both of those recipes that I created have been huge hits with you guys and all over the internet! I’m trying to make that happen again today with these delicious Carrot Cake Thumbprints!
These cookies are all the flavors that you love in carrot cake, reduced down into a chewy, flavor packed cookie topped with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. It’s the perfect little portion to satisfy your sweet tooth!
You may even be asking, What are Thumbprint Cookies?
They’re typically shortbread-style cookies and when they’re bake and still warm are pressed down in the center to create a well. You can certainly do this with your thumb, hence the name, or you can use the back of a spoon, which is what I do! Then they’re filled, traditionally with a fruit preserves!
My Lemon Thumbprint Cookies are a more classic thumbprint cookie. If you haven’t made them yet, definitely give them as try!
This Carrot Cake version of thumprint cookies are easy to make and come together quicker than a whole cake. Plus, they’re adaptable! I know everyone has their own preference to what is added into carrot cake and these cookies are a great way to really customize the flavors to suit your own preference. Here are some add-in ideas:
- Raisins: I use golden raisins in the recipe, but feel free to use regular raisins, or even to omit them entirely, although I really love the sweetness they add.
- Coconut: Go ahead and add in 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut to these if you are a fan!
- Nuts: Chop up some pecan or walnuts and add them in to these cookies. About 1/2 cup will do!
- Candied Ginger: You could chop some of this up finely to give these a fun twist!
How To Grate Carrots
For this recipe, and any other carrot cake recipe make sure to grate your own carrots and don’t use pre-grated. The bagged pre-grated that you can find in the produce section in your supermarket are meant for salads. They are grated too thick and too long to work in cake or cookies.
Just pull out your hand or box grater and use the medium grate option and get to work!
Nope! It’s my favorite, but here are a few other options:
Looking For More Carrot Cake Ideas? Try These:
Print
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 9 minutes
- Total Time: 29 minutes
- Yield: 30 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
This fun cookie recipe are all the flavors of your favorite carrot cake scaled down into a cute, bite-sized cookie!
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups grated carrots
- 3 cups all purspose flour
- 3/4 cup golden raisins
- optional – 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix together the butter and both sugars for 2 minutes. Add in the eggs, vanilla, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon and mix for 1 minutes until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Turn mixer to low and add in the carrots and the flour, mixing until just incorporated.
- Stir in the raisins and nuts.
- Using a medium (2 tablespoon) sized cookie scoop, drop the dough 2- inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges are lightly golden.
- As soon as they come out of the oven, press a spoon gently into the center of the cookie, creating a well. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Frosting: In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and cream cheese for 1 minute until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix for 1 minutes until creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Transfer the frosting into a piping bag or a zip-top bag with the corner cut off. Pipe 2 teaspoons of frosting onto each cookie in the well you created. Alternately you can spread the frosting onto the cookie with a knife of offset spatula.
Notes
Store airtight at room temperature for 1 day, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 232
- Sugar: 20.8 g
- Sodium: 101.4 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.2 g
- Protein: 2.2 g
- Cholesterol: 40.6 mg
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Hi! Did you mean light brown sugar in the recipe ingredients? Thank you!
ahh yes, thank you! recipe updated!