Chewy Brown Butter Carrot Cake Cookies (Printable)
Chewy spiced cookies with brown butter, carrots, walnuts, and warming spices—a portable carrot cake treat.
# What You'll Need:
→ For the Cookies
01 - ¾ cup unsalted butter
02 - 1 ½ cups light brown sugar, packed
03 - ¼ cup granulated sugar
04 - 2 large eggs
05 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
06 - 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
07 - 1 tsp baking soda
08 - ½ tsp baking powder
09 - ½ tsp fine sea salt
10 - 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
11 - ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
12 - ¼ tsp ground ginger
13 - 1 ¼ cups rolled oats
14 - 1 cup finely grated carrots (about 2 medium carrots, peeled)
15 - ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
16 - ½ cup raisins (optional)
→ For the Cream Cheese Glaze
17 - 2 oz cream cheese, softened
18 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
19 - ½ cup powdered sugar
20 - ½ tsp vanilla extract
# How to Prepare:
01 - Place the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until butter foams and begins to brown and smell nutty, about 4–6 minutes. Immediately pour into a large mixing bowl and let cool 10 minutes.
02 - Add brown sugar and granulated sugar to the brown butter; whisk to combine. Stir in eggs and vanilla until smooth.
03 - In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
04 - Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until just combined.
05 - Fold in oats, grated carrots, walnuts or pecans, and raisins if using.
06 - Cover and refrigerate dough 30 minutes for chewier cookies (optional, but recommended).
07 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
08 - Scoop dough into 2-tablespoon balls, placing them 2 inches apart.
09 - Bake 11–13 minutes, until edges are set and centers look slightly underbaked. Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.
10 - Beat softened cream cheese and butter with powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle cooled cookies with glaze.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- Brown butter creates this incredible depth of flavor that regular butter simply cannot achieve
- They are essentially portable carrot cake with a chewy texture and crispy edges
- The dough chill step means you can prep ahead and bake fresh cookies whenever the mood strikes
02 -
- The brown butter needs to cool slightly before adding eggs, otherwise you might accidentally scramble them
- These cookies continue baking on the hot baking sheet, so removing them when centers look slightly underbaked is crucial
- Grating carrots on the smaller holes of your box grater ensures they incorporate seamlessly into the dough
03 -
- Weighing your butter before browning is essential since some water evaporates during the process
- Room temperature eggs incorporate more easily into the brown butter mixture