Yay for carrot cake cookie sandwiches!
Wholesome carrot cake cookies made with shredded carrots and raisins sandwiched with a light cream cheese filling.
They're the best ever little sandwich cookies!
How to make carrot cake cookie sandwiches
Featured Ingredients
For the carrot cake cookies:
- Flour: Any all-purpose flour will work.
- Spices: Cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
- Brown sugar: For that rich molasses flavor.
- Butter: Because you have to have butter in cookies!
- Eggs: To hold everything together.
- Vanilla: For ultimate flavor.
- Carrots: Finely grated.
- Raisins: For little bites of plump, sweet goodness.
For the cream cheese filling:
- Cream cheese: The base of the perfect frosting.
- Powdered sugar: A little goes a long way to sweeten the frosting.
- Vanilla: Flavor, flavor, flavor.
- Coconut: Roll the cookie sandwich edges in coconut.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
- In another medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on medium speed to whip together brown sugar/honey and butter/oil.
- Once fluffy, add eggs, one at a time until incorporated. Whisk in vanilla extract.
- Slowing whisk wet ingredient mixture into dry ingredients, on low, until incorporated.
- Fold in carrots and raisins. Place batter in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Use a medium cookie scoop to form 2-inch mounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes, until soft but slightly browned. Allow to completely cool.
- To make filling, whip cream cheese/mascarpone on high with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer until fluffy.
- Whip in sugar and vanilla extract.
- Spread a 1-inch layer of filling onto the bottom side of half of the cookies.
- Place remaining cookies on top of the filling, bottom side down, to form cookie sandwiches.
- Roll edges in coconut, if desired. Keep refrigerated.
Recipe Substitutions and Alterations
- For the flour: Use all-purpose, whole wheat pastry, whole wheat white, oat or gluten free all-purpose flour, or a combination.
- For the spices: If you don't have the individual spices, use a combination spice such as pumpkin pie or apple pie spice.
- For the sugar: Use dark or light brown, granulated or a sugar substitute like Swerve or stevia.
- For the carrots: You can finely chop them, grate them on a cheese grater or run them through the vegetable shoot on a food processor.
- For the cream cheese: For a lower fat version, use Neufchatel (⅓ fat cream cheese).
- You could also try the frosting recipe with mascarpone (Italian cream cheese).
- If you don't want frosting: Skip the frosting and sandwiching part and eat the cookies as-is!
Nutrition Considerations
- To make these gluten free: Use gluten free all-purpose flour.
- Be sure all ingredients you choose are gluten free.
- To make these dairy free: Skip the cream cheese filling and eat the carrot cake cookies as-is.
- To make these nut free: This recipe does not contain nuts.
- Be sure all ingredients you choose are nut free.
- To make these egg free: Try with an egg replacer such as Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer or a flax 'egg' (although I haven't tested this).
- For an even lower sugar version: Use a sugar substitute like Swerve or stevia.
- You can also use Swerve or stevia-based powdered sugar for the frosting.
Simple dessert recipes:
- Healthy Blueberry Crumble
- Cookies and Cream Nice Cream
- Mini Healthy Berry Crisp
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Raisins
- Summer Raspberry Cake
- Ginger Pear Coffee Cake
Carrot Cake Cookie Sandwiches
Wholesome carrot cake cookies made with whole grains, shredded carrots and raisins sandwiched with a light cream cheese filling.
- Prep Time: 15-20 mins
- Cook Time: 8-10 mins
- Total Time: 23-30 mins
- Yield: Makes 8 sandwich cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven, Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
Carrot Cake Cookies:
- 1 ¾ cups flour*
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup room temperature or softened butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup grated carrots
- ¼ cup golden raisins
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 4-ounces Neufchatel (low fat) cream cheese
- 2 ½ tablespoons powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
- In another medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on medium speed to whip together brown sugar/honey and butter/oil. Once fluffy, add eggs, one at a time until incorporated. Whisk in vanilla extract.
- Slowing whisk wet ingredient mixture into dry ingredients, on low, until incorporated. Fold in carrots and raisins. Place batter in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Use a medium cookie scoop to form 2-inch mounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes, until soft but slightly browned. Allow to completely cool.
- To make filling, whip cream cheese/mascarpone on high with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer until fluffy. Whip in sugar and vanilla extract.
- Spread a 1-inch layer of filling onto the bottom side of half of the cookies. Place remaining cookies on top of the filling, bottom side down, to form cookie sandwiches. Roll edges in coconut, if desired. Keep refrigerated.
Notes
Substitution Tip: You can use whole wheat, all-purpose or gluten free all-purpose flour. You can also swap in 1 ½ cups almond flour + ¼ cup coconut flour for a lower carb cookie.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 293
- Sugar: 21g
- Sodium: 186mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 33g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 7g
- Cholesterol: 75mg
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