These are my favourite cookies so far and I'm not even so much into sweets. So, that tells a lot!
I love creating sweets like these healthy carrot cake cookies since Marco, my husband, has a sweet-tooth. And besides, by the looks, you wouldn't have thought that these are made with healthier ingredients, right?
These cookies have a combo of cookies and cake texture. They're insanely delicious and extremely easy to make (I mean, you should know me by now). A bonus, they're freezer-friendly! So, what are you waiting for, make them!
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Ingredients & Substitutions
Almond butter - Use natural almond butter. Make sure to really mix before use since the natural oil tends to separate and forms a layer on its top surface.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Use any natural nut butter that you prefer. Peanut butter, macadamia butter, your choice. It's totally fine.
Maple syrup - This gives the cookie such beautiful delicious sweetness with that hint of caramel.
SUBSTITUTIONS: You can use honey instead. Or any other liquid sweetener that has the same consistency, and more or less the similar level of sweetness as maple syrup.
Oat flour - I love using oat flour in my healthy recipes as it's super easy to get, cheap and very versatile. I'd highly recommend you have it always in your pantry.
PRO TIPS: Make your own oat flour by grinding oats into a fine texture. Always measure after it's in flour form, not before.
Almond flour - I use blanched almond flour, which basically means ground almond without skin. Of course you can use unblanced almond flour also, no problem at all. Just know that your cookies will be a tad darker, due to the almond skin.
PRO TIPS: You can also make your own almond flour by grinding the almonds into fine-coarse texture. Again, measure after grinding them, not before.
Coconut sugar - Gives that caramel touch to the cookies, delicious I tell ya!
SUBSTITUTIONS: Any brown sugar works great. Erythritol also works (just add 30% more since it's always less sweet). Any dry sweetener can work, actually. Depending on its colour, it'll make your cookies a tad paler or darker.
Cream cheese - I use unsweetened light cream cheese for the glazing. I don't see the need to use full fat since we don't need the glaze to set. We want it a bit loose.
How To Make Carrot Cake Cookies
- Wet ingredients - Mix almond butter, maple syrup, egg and coconut sugar.
- Dry Ingredients - In another bowl, mix oat and almond flour, together with baking powder and soda, cinnamon powder, ginger powder and salt.
- Mix - Dump all the dry into wet, followed by grated carrot. Mix.
- Assemble - Scoop dough onto baking tray. Flatten the top.
- Bake - Bake at 360ºF (180ºC) for 15 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.
- Glaze - Mix cream cheese, maple syrup and a squeeze of lemon juice. Spread on cookies, sprinkle chopped pecans and enjoy!
Tips To Make Them
- Make sure to have all of the ingredients at room temperature (except for the glaze ingredients), as they'll be easier to mix.
- Don't forget to flatten the cookies before you bake them, else they're going to rise too tall when baked.
- Don't skimp on the cinnamon powder, trust me. The amount mentioned in the recipe is just perfect.
How To Store
I don't recommend to keep them at room temperature since they have the cream cheese glazing. Well, unless you're in a very cold winter season.
Fridge - In an air-tight container, they're good up to 7 days.
Freezer - Place them (with glazing and all) on a tray with parchment paper and freeze for 1 hour. Once frozen, wrap them individually with cling film, place in a ziploc bag or an air-tight container, and back into the freezer. Best consumed within 2-3 months.
FAQs
What If I Don't Have Natural Nut Butter?
Usually natural nut butter is unsweetened and is more loose in consistency. The typical nut butter like peanut butter usually comes sweetened and with more solid consistency. What you can do is reduce the amount of coconut sugar so that the cookies won't be too sweet. You also might need less of oat flour to get the right consistency of the dough.
Can I Just Use All Oat Flour?
Well, you can but then the ratio of ingredients wouldn't be the same anymore. Almond flour absorbs more liquid. So the taste/texture/look of the cookies won't be the same. Remember, baking is science. Each ingredient has its own function.
Watch How To Make Them
📖 Recipe
Healthy Carrot Cake Cookies
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- ¼ cup natural almond butter (60 g), room temperature
- ¼ cup maple syrup (75 g), room temperature
- ½ cup coconut sugar (70 g)
- 1 large egg , room temperature
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup oat flour (130 g)
- 1 cup almond flour (130 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup grated carrot (100 g)
Glaze
- 6 oz light cream cheese (170 g)
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- lemon juice , to taste
Instructions
Wet Ingredients
- Preheat oven at 360ºF (180ºC), conventional mode, upper and lower heat. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add all of the ingredients into a bowl, and mix well with a wooden spoon. Set aside.
Dry Ingredients
- Mix all of the ingredients, except for carrot, in a bowl. Dump it all into our wet ingredients, followed by grated carrot. Mix every well.
Assemble
- Scoop the batter using a 1.5 tablespoon sized ice cream scoop, and place them on a our prepared tray. Lightly wet your finger and press the scopped dough to ½-1 cm thickness.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until they turn golden brown and fully cooked. Cool completely on a rack.
Glaze
- Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl using a spoon. Spoon around 1 teaspoon of glaze on each cookie and spread evenly. Lastly sprinkle with some chopped pecans. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use a portable oven thermometer to get the accurate temperature for your oven (I use it all the time).
- Use scoop and level method, if you're using cup measurements.
- Make sure to press the cookies before baking, else they're going to rise too tall when you bake them.
Eugine says
Bea your healthy recipes are so good. Thanks for sharing with us.
I made this recipe and cannot believe how delicious they were.
Keep them coming!
Bea says
Yeay 🙌! I'm happy that you're enjoying them, Eugine. We try our best to use less processed and healthier ingredients in our bakes. Thank you for your feedback!