Imagine biting into a sandwich cookie that tastes just like the actual cake. These Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies are delicious on every level! These are very tender cookies that taste just like real carrot cake.
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Easy Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies
Enjoying flavors like shredded carrots, cinnamon, and cream cheese frosting is just the beginning. These cookies can be enjoyed by themselves or with a cream filled center. Both ways are super delicious! You can even crumble up these cookies and add them as a topping on your favorite ice cream.
Sometimes you want the carrot cake flavor, but you don’t feel like making an entire carrot cake. Well, this is a recipe you can make in no time! It’s a win-win because then you can get the carrot cake flavor you are looking for ASAP!
Why you’ll love this Sandwich Cookie recipe:
- EASY DESSERT: This recipe is simple to follow and can be a great way to involve the kids in the kitchen. Even beginners bakers will love this easy sandwich cookie recipe.
- PORTABLE TREAT: You can take these cookies on the go with you! Bring them on a picnic or pack them in your lunch. This recipe also makes a great homemade Christmas gift!
- FREEZER FRIENDLY: These Carrot Cake sandwiches are great because you can freeze them easily. Then you can enjoy a sandwich cookie anytime you want!
Making these Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies for a gathering is always a good idea. People have been making carrot cakes since the early 1900s. Being able to take a classic carrot cake and make it portable makes these cookies even more awesome. This is one of my favorite Easter cookie recipes too!
How to make Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling
You can jump to the recipe card for full ingredients & instructions!
- Pulse the oats in a food processor until 1/2 the size.
- Grate the carrots and remove excess water.
- Cream the sugars, butter and oil in a stand mixer.
- Add the salt and vanilla extract.
- Add the eggs in, one at a time.
- Mix in the flours, baking soda, baking powder and spices.
- Mix in the coconut, raisins, pecans and grated carrots.
- Place dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Cream together the cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar.
- Add in the sour cream, vanilla extract, ground ginger, salt, lemon juice, zest, and orange juice. Beat until smooth.
- Spread 1 1/2 tablespoon of cream cheese filling on one cooled cookie and then place a second cookie over top.
YES! The best part of this recipe is that it is versatile. You can add the frosting in the center if you’d like or eat them plain.
The best way to grate carrots for this recipe is to use regular carrots and a cheese grater. Use a cheese grater, but don’t pack the carrots down too much as you grate them! Also, watch your fingers when you grate them.
If you’re making traditional carrot cake, sometimes walnuts are added. You could take these sandwich cookies to a whole new level by adding walnuts or any of your favorite nuts! Pecans or cashews would be a great addition. You can also add white chocolate chips too!
The carrot cake cookies and cream cheese icing can be made up to 2 days ahead of assembling.
To freeze the assembled cookies, place the sandwich cookies on a cookie sheet with a little space between each until frozen solid. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight container or zip-top bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
The filling of these cookies is a cream cheese frosting and is delicious. You can add a big scoop of the frosting to one of the cooled cookies and then place another over top to create your sandwich.
You can then enjoy your homemade sandwich cookie as a snack, dessert or even with a cup of coffee in the morning.
Tips!
- You will want to use the pulse function on your food processor so that you don’t over process the oats. You want them to be about 1/2 of the original size but not processed so much that they become flour.
- Only old fashioned rolled oats will work in this recipe. Quick oats will not yield the same results in these cookies.
- You can easily make a double batch of these cookies and freeze them for later.
The great thing about these cookies is that they are amazing with or without the frosting in the center. You can leave the cookies plain without frosting and enjoy them on their own. You can also crumble up a cookie and add it to your ice cream!
All the Holiday Cookies
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Baking and Christmas go hand in hand. See our guide for our fave recipes + tips and tricks for perfect cookies.
See Guide
However you choose to enjoy these cookies, they are sure to be a hit. They make a great addition to your holiday gatherings but are also great anytime as a quick dessert.
Eat them with or without the frosting and enjoy the great flavors of classic carrot cake in cookie form!
More Easy Cookie Recipes we Love
- Italian Anise Cookies
- Shortbread Cookies
- Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
- Easter Spritz Cookies
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe.
Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake Cookies
- ½ cup unsalted butter 113 grams, room temperature (1 stick)
- ½ cup coconut oil 114 grams
- 1 cup brown sugar 213 grams
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 150 grams
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt 6 grams
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract 6 grams
- 2 large eggs 50 grams, room temperature
- 1¾ cup all-purpose flour 210 grams
- ½ cup bread flour 60 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda 6 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking powder 4 grams
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon 5 grams
- 1½ teaspoons apple pie spice 5 grams
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger 3 grams
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats 100 grams, slightly ground
- ¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut 64 grams
- 3 cups grated carrots 270 grams, from about 9 carrots(2 cups/180 grams yield after squeezing out water)
- ¾ cup golden raisins 128 grams
- ¾ cup chopped roasted pecans 86 grams
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- 1¼ cup powdered sugar 141 grams
- 8 ounces cream cheese 227 grams, room temperature (1 brick)
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 71 grams, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons sour cream 28 grams, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 grams
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ lemon juiced and zested
- ½ orange juiced
Instructions
- Process the oats in a food processor by pulsing 3-5 times. The oats should still have pieces that are approximately ½ the size of original oats (not fully ground); set aside.1 cup old-fashioned oats
- Grate the carrots and place the grated carrots on 3-4 layers of paper towels. Top the carrots with more paper towels and tightly roll up the carrots, squeezing as you roll to remove as much moisture as possible; set aside.3 cups grated carrots
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, coconut oil, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes at medium speed.½ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup coconut oil, 1 cup brown sugar, ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Add the salt and vanilla and beat another 2 minutes at medium speed until fully incorporated, smooth, and fluffy.2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- On medium-low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after adding each egg. Mix just until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds per egg.2 large eggs
- In a large bowl, sift the all-purpose flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, apple pie spice, and ground ginger together. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in one addition and mix on low speed until the flour is incorporated and no dry flour can be seen. (Don’t mix too long or too much gluten will form, making the cookies a little tough.)1¾ cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup bread flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1½ teaspoons apple pie spice, 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- Add the oats, coconut, grated carrots, raisins, and pecans and mix on the lowest speed just until incorporated.¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut, ¾ cup golden raisins, ¾ cup chopped roasted pecans
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes before scooping and baking.
- While the dough rests in the refrigerator, adjust the oven rack to the middle position, heat the oven to 350°F, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
- When ready to bake, scoop cookie dough using a #40 scoop (a 2-tablespoon scoop) and place scoops of cookie dough 2 inches apart onto the lined cookie sheets.
- Bake 12-15 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet halfway through baking. The cookies should be slightly darker in color with slightly firm edges and centers still slightly soft to the touch.
- Let the cookies cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet, then use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to completely cool.
- While the cookies cool, make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the powdered sugar, cream cheese, and butter together for 3 minutes on medium speed, or until light and fluffy.1¼ cup powdered sugar, 8 ounces cream cheese, 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Add sour cream, vanilla extract, ground ginger, salt, lemon juice and zest, and orange juice. Beat on medium speed until smooth and fully incorporated, about 1 minute.2 tablespoons sour cream, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ lemon, ½ orange, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- The frosting can be used immediately. If making ahead, the frosting will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. When ready to use, let the filling come to room temperature and fluff it up using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment at medium speed for 1 minute before using.
- To assemble the cookies, spread about 1½ tablespoons of the cream cheese filling onto the flat side of 24 cookies and top with a second cookie (flat sides together). Slightly press the sandwich cookie together so both sides stick together.
Becky’s Tips
- Plan Ahead: The prepared cookie dough needs to be refrigerated 30 minutes before scooping and baking.
- Make Ahead & Storage Instructions: The cookies and icing can be made up to 2 days ahead of assembling. Once assembled, the cookies can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Freezing Instructions: To freeze the assembled cookies, place the sandwich cookies on a cookie sheet with a little space between each until frozen solid. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight container or zip-top bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment!
Disappointed. It was a lot of work. The cookies were just like airy cake and the cream cheese filling was soupy. I followed the directions exactly. I guess the lemon and orange juice was too much. It was unusable. I had to go buy frosting to fill them.
I am sorry it didn’t work out for you, Debra!
Where do you add the oats? You process them in the first step but then it doesn’t say were to add them.
Step 7!
Thank you Becky. This is what we did. These are amazing by the way however we had to add way more sugar than the recipe calls for because the frosting was basically soup before we did. Thank you for the response.
Where do you add the oats? You grind them in the first step and then it doesn’t say where to put them.
Step 7!