Vegan carrot cake cookies are perfectly moist and chewy with a delicious cream cheese icing drizzle. These are great for Easter or any time you're craving carrot cake!
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I love cookies, y'all, and these carrot cake cookies are my latest little baking adventure! They're adapted from my brown sugar cookies, and they are absolutely delicious.
These cookies are crisp outside with a soft, slightly chewy inside and are absolutely bursting with carrot cake flavor! I've packed these cookies with seasoning: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon. But if you want to simplify the recipe, you can use an extra ¼ to ½ teaspoon cinnamon and omit the other flavors. I really like the complex flavor of these, though.
What makes these super special is the cream cheese icing that you drizzle on top. You can whip this up while the cookies bake, and it really puts a bow on the whole carrot cake situation. The flavors are so amazing together!
These cookies are super fun to make! The only part we need to talk about is shredding the carrots. You can do this with a box grater, but my preferred method is grating the carrots in my food processor, which takes just a few minutes.
The recipe times are for a food processor, so just allow some extra time if you're grating your carrots by hand. I don't recommend using the shredded carrots that you can buy in a bag at the grocery store. The pieces are too big, and they won't add enough moisture to the dough.
No matter how you go about grating the carrots, these carrot cake cookies are absolutely delicious, especially drizzled with the cream cheese icing!
Looking for more Easter ideas? I have a whole collection of vegan Easter recipes for you!
✓ Ingredients and substitutions
- flour - You can use all-purpose, white wheat, or a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend to make these cookies.
- baking soda, baking powder, and salt - To condition the dough.
- spices - We are seasoning these vegan carrot cookies with cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. You can omit any spices you don't want to use, but definitely use cinnamon! If you omit the extra spices, increase the cinnamon by ¼ to ½ teaspoon.
- sugars - We are using a mix of brown and white sugar in these cookies.
- oil - Adds moisture. You can use applesauce instead, but it will change the texture.
- vanilla extract - For flavor in the cookies and in the cream cheese icing.
- flax egg - Flax meal mixed with water is your binder.
- grated carrots - You do want to grate the carrot yourself, either by hand with a box grater or using your food processor's fine shredding blade. The bagged shredded carrots don't work well in these cookies.
- nuts - If you don't like nuts or want this to be nut-free, just omit the nuts or use raisins or golden raisins instead.
- vegan cream cheese - This is for the icing, and you want it at room temperature, as well.
- confectioner's sugar - To sweeten the icing.
- non-dairy milk - To thin out the icing.
🔪 How to make vegan carrot cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 ℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pull the vegan cream cheese and vegan butter out of the fridge now, so they can warm to room temperature while you gather all of your other ingredients and gate the carrots.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well.
In a smaller bowl, mix wet ingredients, until the brown sugar dissolves.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry, and mix well.
At this point, the dough might be a little bit dry and crumbly. Don't panic!
Mix in the carrots and nuts, if using. The moisture from the carrots will hydrate the dough a little bit more.
Form the dough into 12 to 15 1" balls, and arrange them on a lined baking sheet, leaving about 2" of space between the cookies.
Use your hand to flatten them out, so they're about ¼" thick.
Bake for 12 to 17 minutes, then cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Bake longer for crisper cookies and shorter for softer ones.
Meanwhile, add all of the icing ingredients to a medium bowl.
Whisk together until no lumps remain. You can add more non-dairy milk by the teaspoon, if needed, to reach your desired consistency.
When the cookies are completely cool, drizzle generously with the icing and serve.
💡 Helpful tips
- The dough might be a little bit dry/crumbly seeming after you mix the wet and dry ingredients. Don't add any extra moisture until you've also mixed in the grated carrots. They add some liquid to the dough!
- Pull the vegan cream cheese out of the fridge before you start grating the carrots, so they have time to soften.
- Save time by grating your carrots using your food processors fine shredding blade!
- Depending on the cream cheese and non-dairy milk that you use, your icing may need a texture adjustment. If it's too thick, thin it out with the teeniest bit of extra non-dairy milk. For thicker, add a bit more vegan cream cheese. You want a texture that you can drizzle, but you don't want it too runny.
- The icing works best if you mix with an electric hand mixture. There isn't enough volume to use a stand mixer. If your cream cheese icing is lumpy, transfer it to a small blender canister, and puree until smooth.
🫙 Storage directions
These cookies will keep for 5 to 7 days in a closed container in the refrigerator. Line the bottom of your storage container with a piece of paper towel before storing the cookies.
If you are storing them before icing them, you can keep them in the pantry or on the counter, but if you have added the icing, definitely refrigerate.
📖 Recipe
🥕 Vegan Carrot Cake Cookies
Equipment
- food processor - optional
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose or white wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch of ground nutmeg
- pinch of ground cloves
Wet Ingredients
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon flax meal mixed with 3 tablespoons water
To Add Later
- ½ cup finely grated carrots about 1 carrot
- ¼ cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
For the Cream Cheese Icing
- 2 ounces vegan cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup confectioner's sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk
Instructions
Make the vegan carrot cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 350 ℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pull the vegan cream cheese out of the fridge now, so it can warm to room temperature while you gather all of your other ingredients and gate the carrots.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well. In a smaller bowl, mix wet ingredients, until the brown sugar dissolves. Pour the wet mixture into the dry, and mix well. At this point, the dough might be a little bit dry and crumbly. Don't panic! Mix in the carrots and the nuts, if using. The moisture from the carrots should add to the dough, so you can get a cohesive ball of slightly sticky dough.
- Form the dough into 12 to 15 1" balls, and arrange them on a lined baking sheet, leaving about 2" of space between the cookies. Use your hand to flatten them out, so they're about ¼" thick.
- Bake for 12 to 17 minutes, then cool for 5 to 10 minutes before moving them off of the baking sheet. Bake longer for crisper cookies and shorter for softer ones.
Make the icing while the cookies bake.
- Add all of the icing ingredients to a small bowl, and whisk well. Use more non-dairy milk, if needed, to thin the icing. If it's too thin, add a little more vegan cream cheese. If the icing is lumpy, transfer it to your blender and puree until smooth.
- When the cookies are completely cool, drizzle generously with the icing and serve.
Got a question? Tried this recipe? Leave a reply!