Carrot Cake Cookies with a Cream Cheese Center
These Carrot Cake Cookies are soft, warmly spiced, and filled with a subtle creamy surprise center: the perfect treat to welcome spring.
Hello there, baking bestie! Thanks for swinging by The Secret Crunch. Consider me your cookie-loving baking bff.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Lisa, and I’m the founder of The Secret Crunch. What started as my love for cookies has now expanded to this wonderful website where I get to share some of my best recipes. I hope you’ll stay awhile!
Today, I get to share with you my easy-peasy recipe for Carrot Cake Cookies. The best part about them? They’ve got a surprise treat inside: a subtle cream cheese center, which I find complementary to any carrot dessert.
What ingredients do you need for these Carrot Cake Cookies?
When I said simple: I truly meant it. Here’s a list of ingredients required to whip up these carrot-filled cookies. Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed measurements and instructions.
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Crushed pineapple
- Flour
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Shredded carrots
- Cream cheese
What’s the texture like?
These cookies are unlike many of my traditional cookies. I usually prefer an oeey, gooey cookie with a bit of a crispy edge. These Carrot Cake Cookies, however, are soft and fluffy. Plus, they have a warm spice to them (all thanks to the cinnamon and nutmeg), which I absolutely adore.
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Could I add lots of cream cheese?
Of course!
I went in for “subtle” and did one teaspoon cream cheese per cookie (mainly because I didn’t want it to ooze out), but you can totally go for more. Just make sure that when you top it off with more cookie batter, that you’re completely covering the cream cheese center.
PSA: you can make this recipe with one bowl!
One of the best parts about these Carrot Cake Cookies? Everything comes together in just one bowl. No complicated steps, no endless dishes in the sink: just simple mixing and layering.
I add the dry ingredients directly into the wet ingredients to keep things easy and beginner-friendly. Cookies are meant to be fun, not fussy, and this method gives you soft, perfectly spiced cookies without the extra cleanup.
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Of course, you can separate the wet and dry ingredient, if you’d like! Just fold everything together once both bowls are ready.
How to Make Carrot Cake Cookies with a Cream Cheese Center
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C)and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth and well combined.
Add the eggs and mix until fully incorporated. Stir in the crushed pineapple.
Add the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt directly into the bowl. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined: do not overmix.
Fold in the shredded carrots until evenly distributed.
Using a large cookie scoop (about 3–4 tablespoons of dough), scoop 10 evenly sized portions onto your prepared baking sheet, spacing them a few inches apart. This recipe makes 10 large cookies.
Using the back of a spoon (or your thumb), gently create a small indent in the center of each dough mound. Place about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese into each indent.
Top each cookie with about 1 tablespoon of additional dough, gently covering and sealing the cream cheese inside.
Bake for 14–16 minutes, or until the edges are set and lightly golden. The centers may still look slightly soft: that’s perfect.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5–10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Carrot Cake Cookies with a Cream Cheese Center
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter melted
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 8 oz. crushed pineapple
- 2 cups a/p flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup 82.5 g shredded carrots
- 10 tsp cream cheese softened
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth and well combined.
- Add the eggs and mix until fully incorporated. Stir in the crushed pineapple.
- Add the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt directly into the bowl. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined: do not overmix.
- Fold in the shredded carrots until evenly distributed.
- Using a large cookie scoop (about 3–4 tablespoons of dough), scoop 10 evenly sized portions onto your prepared baking sheet, spacing them a few inches apart. This recipe makes 10 large cookies.
- Using the back of a spoon (or your thumb), gently create a small indent in the center of each dough mound. Place about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese into each indent.
- Top each cookie with about 1 tablespoon of additional dough, gently covering and sealing the cream cheese inside.
- Bake for 14–16 minutes, or until the edges are set and lightly golden. The centers may still look slightly soft: that’s perfect.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5–10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
