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These Crumbl carrot cake cookies are lightly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves then topped with a smooth homemade cream cheese frosting. The perfect holiday cookie anytime!
Love Crumbl cookies? You need to try these, Crumbl pecan pie cookies, The Best Crumbl Apple Pie Cookies with Oats, Crumbl Mom’s recipe cookies/ Soft Oatmeal cookies and The softest Crumbl Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I started getting requests to make the Crumbl carrot cake cookie at the beginning of this year, but I had to wait until they released it again so I could try it myself. Once I tried it, I knew I had to make these for Thanksgiving week.
They have this unique texture, not quite cakey but not like a regular cookie either, and it took a few tries to nail it in this recipe.
Why you need to make this recipe!
- This recipe is easy enough to make with kids.
- These cookies are topped with just the right amount of nuts.
- You can make these for Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter, or any time of year, without waiting for Crumbl to bring it back, and since we’re talking about that you have to try these Easter Bunny Puff Pastry Twists too!
Ingredients for this Carrot cake cookie recipe
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this frosted carrot cake cookie recipe. Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full detailed ingredient measurements.
- Butter– You can use either salted or unsalted butter for this recipe.
- Brown & granulated sugar– This cookie recipe uses both brown and granulated sugar.
- Carrots– We will need some freshly shredded carrots for these carrot cake cookies.
- Vanilla– The vanilla will add a nice depth of flavor to the cookies as well as the frosting.
- Egg yolk – This recipe needs one yolk as the binding agent.
- Heavy cream- The heavy cream is also used to add extra fat to the cookie recipe and make it more soft.
- Cinnamon, all spice, ginger cloves– These are the warming spices used to flavor our carrot cake cookies.
- Baking powder, baking soda– These are the leavening agents that will give some height to the cookies.
- Salt– The salt will help balance out the sweetness of the cookies.
- Flour– AP flour works great for this recipe.
- Cream cheese– You will need full fat cream cheese to make the smoothest cream cheese frosting.
- Powdered sugar– The powdered sugar is used to sweet the cream cheese frosting.
- Pecans– The pecans are used to top the cookies with after frosting.
How to make Crumbl carrot cake cookies
This is how you can make these cookies at home. Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full detailed instructions!
- Cream the butter and both sugar together.
- Mix the egg yolk, cream, and vanilla in until smooth.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until the flour mixture disappears.
- Scoop out the cookie dough, place on the baking sheet, gently flatten and bake.
- Let the cookies cool down then frost.
Make the cream cheese frosting.
- Cream the butter and cream cheese together.
- Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until creamy.
- Frost each cookie with a round tip and decorate with pecans
Frequently asked questions – FAQ
Each of these cookies comes in at about 490 calories, based on 8 large cookies from this recipe. That includes the cookie base and the cream cheese frosting on top.
Yes! This frosting recipe makes enough to frost all 8 cookies and works great on cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, or a slice of cake too.
These carrot cake cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. Just make sure to let the cookies get back to room temperature before enjoying them.
Yes! You can freeze these cookies in a single layer for an hour or until solid, then stack them in an air-tight container, making sure to separate each cookie with parchment paper or wax paper to keep them from sticking to each other.
Pull them out to thaw in the fridge overnight then get them back down to room temp to enjoy!
To make catering size Crumbl cookies you can make 16 cookies instead of the regular 8 large cookies. Instead of baking those in the oven for 12 minutes, you will have to bake them for 9 minutes instead. Frost and decorate the same way you would larger ones.
Crumbl carrot cake cookies
Ingredients
Cookie base
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup carrots shredded
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 yolk
- 3 tbsp heavy cream at room temperature
- 1 & 3/4 cup AP flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- pinch cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
Cream cheese frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 3 tbsp butter salted or unsalted, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- Pecans for topping
Instructions
Make the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350F then line a baking sheet and set aside.
- Cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until smooth and creamy.1/2 cup butter, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup brown sugar
- Mix in the shredded carrots, vanilla extract, egg yolk, and heavy cream until smooth.1/2 cup carrots, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, 1 yolk, 3 tbsp heavy cream
- Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves, and salt and mix just until the flour mixture disappears.1 & 3/4 cup AP flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp ginger, pinch cloves, 1/4 tsp salt
- Scoop out 8 equal cookie dough balls, place them on the prepared baking sheet, gently flatten to about 3/4-1 inch in thickness and bake for 12 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool down on the baking sheet for 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Make the cream cheese frosting
- In a stand mixer cream the cream cheese and the butter with a whisk attachement until smooth and combined.4 oz cream cheese, 3 tbsp butter
- Mix in the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar and mix for 4-5 minutes or until light and creamy.1 tsp vanilla extract, 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- Frost the cookie with a round tip then top with the chopped-up pecans and enjoy!Pecans
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
That’s a good cookie 😋
Thank you!
I’m a complete sucker for carrot cake and OMG!!!! These are a must try!!! Absolutely loved them!! Such a soft cookie and I love that the cream cheese frosting is light and not overwhelming! Definitely recommend these! My friend absolutely loved & enjoyed them🧡
Glad to hear you loved these!! Thank you!
This was absolutely amazing! Easier and less messy than a full on cake and definitely a lot easier to eat! Came out super soft and gooey and a perfect treat for even my little boys to enjoy! Thank you!!
That’s great to hear!! You’re very welcome.
This was the first recipe by Chahinez I tried but oh boy, what a recipe!
The cookies were wonderfully soft and moist, bursting with spices and covered with a delicious, fluffy cream cheese frosting! They were so simple to make and the flavors all balanced wonderfully. 10/10 will be making again and soon! If you’re on the fence about trying these, please go ahead and do so! You won’t regret it, thank you Chahinez!
I always love when the first recipes tried from my blog are winners!! So so glad to hear your cookies turned out wonderful 🙂 !! Enjoy!
Crumbl had these last year for Mother’s Day and I fell in love with them. I was so happy to see a copycat and finally just made them for Easter. They’re delicious! Not too rich or too sweet, in my opinion.
So yummy!!! Whip the frosting extra long for some extra fluffy frosting. And don’t skimp on the pecans, the added flavor and crunch was perfect! The cookies turned out so soft. I did chill them in the freezer for a bit. I added 1 tsp of vanilla to the frosting (it wasn’t specified on the ingredient list)
Did anyone else notice that the written directions say to mix in Vanilla extract for the frosting but the fronting ingredients does not list vanilla extract? How much vanilla extract should I add to the frosting?
The vanilla measurement is right between the carrots and the egg yolk 🙂 Use 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.
Chahinez
These look delicious!
The measurement for vanilla is missing in the frosting ingredients list.
Thank you so much for sharing! The vanilla is the recipe card 🙂 !
These were the best cookies I’ve ever tasted! Cookie texture was light and fluffy and the cream cheese frosting was perfect. 100/10 ❤️
YAYAYAYAY!!! So so glad these were a 100/10 cookie for you too!
Do you think adding raisins and dried pineapple to these would work ok?
Yes, that would make them even more like a traditional carrot cake! I’d chop them finely and fold them in at the end so they don’t weigh down the dough.
So delicious and incredibly easy to make!
Thank you so much for trying these Carli!
Absolutely delicious!
Thank you for trying these Angela!
Chahinez
I just made these and they were amazing!!!! I didn’t change a thing. I am definitely going to make some of the other crumbl copy cat recipes!
So glad to hear you enjoyed these Kari!