I am clearly having a moment with carrots right now. From my orange carrot smoothie bowl to these carrot cake cookies, I can’t stop finding ways to use this sweet veggie in creative ways. When I was little, I wasn’t a huge fan of carrot cake because of the nuts and raisins. Now I’ve discovered a love for smooth carrot cake (sans nuts and raisins) with a good cream cheese frosting.

Today on Food Network Snapchat Discover, I’m making a version of carrot cake but in cookie form. I add oatmeal for texture and natural ingredients to make these a “health-ier” cookie. The consistency is chewy, the flavors are sweet and the glaze is just like a cream cheese frosting from cake. These would make a great change up to traditional chocolate chip cookies for summer parties or potlucks.

When my friend took a bite of the cookie, she commented that it tastes kind of like a granola bar. I think she is right! The combo of the shredded carrots, oatmeal and cinnamon does remind me of a Lara bar flavor because it tastes healthy and has some chewiness. If you’re a fan of oatmeal cookies and carrot cake, these carrot cake cookies are a perfect combo for you! Open up your Snapchat app, swipe over to the Discover section and watch me make this dessert on Food Network’s story.

Happy Father’s Day to all those amazing dads, uncles, grandpas and guys out there. Earlier this week, I wrote about my dad, Jose. You can read it here!

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela

Carrot Cake Cookies

0 from 0 votes

Recipe by Gabriela Rodiles Difficulty: Easy

Servings

16

cookies

Total time

1

hour 

Adapted from Amy’s Healthy Baking recipe.

Ingredients

• Cookies

• 1 cup instant oats

• 1/2 cup flour

• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled

• 1 large egg, room temperature

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, room temperature

• 1/2 cup grated peeled carrot (freshly grated is best, but store-bought shredded will work too!)

• Cream Cheese Drizzle

• 2 ounces of cream cheese (must be room temperature or the frosting will curdle!)

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 1 lemon, juiced

Directions

• In a small bowl, whisk together oats, flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, salt.
• In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter or oil, egg, vanilla and maple syrup. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture and then fold in carrots, careful not to over mix.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes or longer.
• Scoop cookie dough into tablespoon size balls onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Cool completely.
• While cooking, mix cream cheese drizzle. Using a hand mixer or Kitchen Aid, start mixing the cream cheese to soften. Add half of powdered sugar, allow to incorporate and add the rest. Whip until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Add half of the lemon juice and mix until creamy. If needed, use more lemon juice as needed to thin.
• Once cookies are cooled, drizzle cream cheese over cookies.