Old fashioned carrot cookies are thick, chewy and packed full of deliciously sweet bites of carrot, dried fruit and nuts. You'll love these deliciously chewy and lightly sweet cookies.
These cookies kind of remind me of oatmeal raisin cookies or the pumpkin oatmeal cookies on my other site, but with all the spring flavor of a carrot cake.
The fruit, nuts and oats gives the cookies such great chewy texture, and these cookies just make the house feel homey. You have to give them a try, they are absolutely delicious.
If you like making unique cookies try the potato chip cookies which have that salty sweet combo going on!
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Here is why this recipe is amazing:
- This carrot cookie recipe is like a chewy spin on carrot cake, which always feels like spring! If you love carrot cake, you have to try this recipe in cookie form!
- These cookies are great for every day, they aren't super sweet and are more balanced. That means you can eat an extra cookie, right?
- If you like coffee, you must try dipping them in a warm mug. These old fashioned carrot cookies are soft and delicious dipped in coffee.
Ingredients needed for old fashioned carrot cookies:
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
Ingredient notes:
- 2 cups flour - all purpose flour works great
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground, you can use a little more if you love cinnamon!
- ½ cup butter unsalted, softened. If you only have salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe to ½ teaspoon.
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup carrot grated, you can use pre-grated carrots from the produce section but I don't recommend using frozen or canned carrots in this recipe.
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats - old fashioned oats, rolled oats or quick oats can be used in this recipe.
- 1 cup dried pineapple - dried pineapple or dried raisins works in this recipe. It can also be left out of the batter if you prefer.
- 1 cup pecans chopped, walnuts can also be used
How to Make Old Fashioned Carrot Cookie Recipe
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly oil the pan.
Place flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Mix well until combined.
With an electric mixer in a second bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla then continue mixing until completely combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix with an electric mixer until fully combined and a cookie dough forms.
Pour the shredded carrots, oats, dried fruit, and pecans into the dough. Stir together until combined with an electric mixer or fold in by hand.
With a medium cookie scoop, portion the cookie dough into balls and drop dough balls on a baking sheet with about two inches between the dough. Press each cookie dough ball down slightly with your hands.
Bake the cookie dough balls for 13 to 15 minutes. The edges should be set and sstarting to brown, it's ok if the centers are still gooey. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes.
Move cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling, then enjoy cookies just like Grandmother made! You can also top with a cream cheese frosting if you prefer!
Storage Instructions
Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to seven days. Carrot cookies will taste their freshest if enjoyed within 3-4 days. I usually store cookies in a single layer.
Storage Tips
Placing a piece of bread in with the cookies can help them to maintain their softness. The moisture in the bread can help to keep enough moisture in the container so the cookies stay softer.
Freezing Tips
When freezing cookies or dough, use a freezer safe container or freezer zip-top bag.
You can freeze these cookies as dough balls. Bake them straight from frozen and expect it will take an extra minute or two in the oven for the cookies to fully bake.
You can also freeze the cookies after baking. I let the cookies defrost on the counter overnight before serving.
Expect frozen cookies or dough will taste best if eaten within 3 months.
Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:
Quick oats can be swapped cup for cup for old fashioned oats in this recipe. Expect that the cookies will taste slightly less chewy, but they will still be delicious.
Instant oats won't work well in this recipe, the cookies will loose all of their chewiness. Instant oats have been steamed before drying to cook faster, but don't rehydrate the same way when you are baking.
Steel-cut oats can not be swapped into this recipe. Steel cut oats are thicker cut and absorb a lot more moisture when baking. Your cookies will likely be dry and crumbly if you try to use steel cut oats in this carrot cookie recipe.
Yes pre-shredded carrots can work to save time. The cookies will have a little more flavor though if you shred the carrots fresh.
Old Fashioned Carrot Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground
- ½ cup butter unsalted, softened
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup carrot grated
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup dried pineapple I also like to sometimes use a mix of raisins and dried pineapple or just raisins.
- 1 cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly oil the pan.
- Place flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Mix well until combined.
- With an electric mixer in a second bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla then continue mixing until completely combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix with an electric mixer until fully combined and a cookie dough forms.
- Pour the shredded carrots, oats, dried fruit, and pecans into the dough. Stir together until combined with an electric mixer or fold in by hand.
- With a medium cookie scoop, portion the cookie dough into balls and place on baking sheet with about two inches between the dough. Press each cookie dough ball down slightly with your hands.
- Bake the cookie dough balls for 13 to 15 minutes. The edges should be set and sstarting to brown, it's ok if the centers are still gooey. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes.
- Move cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling, then enjoy!
Nutritional facts are estimates and are provided as a courtesy to the reader. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates. Nutritional values are calculated via a third party. Changing ingredients, amounts or cooking technique will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
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