Soft and chewy oatmeal cookies loaded with freshly shredded carrots, white chocolate chips and walnuts are a fun twist on carrot cake.
This post is brought to you in partnership with my friends at Bob’s Red Mill. I used their Organic Unbleached White All Purpose Flour and Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats in this recipe and I absolutely love to bake with Bob’s! Thank you for supporting the brands that help bring new content to Big Delicious Life.
Carrot cake might be my favorite dessert of all time. This carrot oatmeal cookies recipe bring all the flavor of carrot cake in cookie form for a delicious twist on a classic Spring dessert.
Soft and chewy oatmeal cookies with finely shredded carrots, warm spices, sweet white chocolate chips and crunchy walnuts, these cookies will disappear in no time. Carrot cake cookies are the perfect sweet treat for the Spring season. Be sure to leave some out for the Easter bunny!
Why you will love this recipe
- It’s like having a slice of carrot cake and a big fat chewy cookie at the same time.
- These are the perfect cookies to share for a holiday – think cookie swap or Easter basket!
- Cookies are way easier to make than cake!
Ingredients
Simple pantry ingredients and freshly grated carrots are all you need to make these cookies!
- All purpose flour – Bob’s Red Mill Organic Unbleached All Purpose White Flour.
- Old fashioned oats – Bob’s Red Mill Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats. Do not use steel cut or instant oats.
- Carrots – use the small holes on your box grater to finely shred fresh carrots. Do not use pre-shredded carrots from the grocery store as they are much thicker and tend to by drier. You will not get the best result!
- Butter – softened to room temperature.
- Brown sugar and white sugar – you definitely need both.
- Eggs – one whole egg and one yolk at room temperature.
- Baking soda and baking powder
- Vanilla extract
- Spices – ground cinnamon, ground ginger and salt.
- White chocolate chips – adds texture and sweetness that mimics frosting.
- Walnuts – optional, but I love the crunch of walnuts in my carrot cake and in these cookies.
- Optional mix-ins – skip the white chocolate chips and drizzle with cream cheese frosting. Add shredded coconut or golden raisins for another variation.
How to make oatmeal carrot cookies
Make sure that your butter and eggs are at room temperature before you start. In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream together butter, brown and white sugar. Mix in whole egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Use the small holes on a box grater to finely shred the carrots. Add grated carrots and rolled oats to the bowl and mix until just combined. Add the white chocolate chips and walnuts and mix until just incorporated.
Use a scoop to measure out two tablespoon balls of cookie dough. Place them all on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours or overnight.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees f and place cookies dough mounds at least 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the tops are no longer shiny. They will be slightly puffed and will fall as they cool. Let the cookies cool slightly on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips for recipe success
- Use a cookie scoop to evenly portion out the dough. This is the best way to make sure that you get uniform cookies.
- Leave the cookie dough in mounds and resist the urge to flatten them before baking! They spread easily so keeping them tall before they go into the oven helps ensure a thick, chewy cookie.
- Do not skip chilling the cookie dough! Chilling gives the dough plenty of time to hydrate, allowing the oats to soften and absorb moisture. It also firms the butter back up so that the baked cookies come out thick and chewy and don’t spread all over the pan.
- When baking cookies, it’s best to bake them on the middle rack and rotate the pan halfway through to ensure even baking. If you’re using multiple cookie sheets, position the racks in the top and lower third of the oven and rotate the cookie sheets.
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to five days. Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
- Let the cookies cool completely for at least an hour before storing in an airtight container. Warm cookies will produce steam and become soggy and fall apart if put away too soon.
- Food blogger tip – reserve about a quarter of the white chocolate chips before you mix them into the dough. Before baking, press a few into each cookie dough ball. That’s how we get those perfect looking chips on the outside of the cookies after they’re baked! An extra step but visually pleasing – you’re welcome!
More of our favorite cookie recipes
- One Dozen Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies
- Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies
- Brown Sugar Cut Out Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft and Chewy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Organic All Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs one whole and one yolk
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 1 cup finely shredded carrots about 2 medium carrots
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon and ground ginger.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat in vanilla extract, one whole egg and one egg yolk.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low until just combined.
- Use the small holes on a box grater to finely shred carrots. Add grated carrots and oats to the bowl and mix until just combined. Stir in white chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Use a cookie scoop to measure out two tablespoon balls of cookie dough. Place dough balls on a parchment lined sheet pan, cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees f. Place cookie dough balls at least two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating cookie sheet halfway through, until edges are lightly golden brown and tops are no longer shiny. Cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Erika
I made these cookies for an Easter party with my extended family. I will start of by saying my extended family is not big on desserts so no one really eats the desserts at any family function. There was not a single cookie left halfway through the party and multiple family members told me they were the best cookies they had ever eaten! I also was asked if there were more hiding somewhere. The recipe was really easy to make; came out exactly as I expected. I did not have white chocolate chips so I ended up making cream cheese frosting, which I piped between two cookies. I highly recommend!!!
Jessica
I definitely need to try making these into a sandwich cookie! So glad you all enjoyed them ; )
C
These cookies are delicious…soft and chewy just like the name says! Made them for my sister who loves carrot cake. Kept a few for myself! I’m normally not a big white chocolate fan but the chips are perfect in this recipe!
Jessica
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you so much!
Lizzy
Kids and I will be baking these this weekend!