FRIENDS. These stuffed carrot cake cookies are unreal. They are huge, soft, and stuffed with a cream cheese filling.
Even if you don’t love carrot cake, I still think you will like these cookies. Many people don’t like the raisins in carrot cake — these cookies have no raisins! The only mix-ins are carrots and pecans. The carrots help make the cookies soft and chewy and oh so good.
ingredients needed for stuffed carrot cake cookies
CARROT CAKE COOKIES
- 1 cup butter cold
- 1 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 1/2 cups flour (455 grams)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt (unless you’re using salted pecans, then add 1/2 tsp)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup finely grated carrots
- 1/2 cup pecans crushed
CREAM CHEESE FILLING**
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
how to make stuffed carrot cake cookies
When making these cookies, first start by making the filling that we will stuff the cookies with. The filling needs to set up in the freezer to make it easier to stuff in the dough, so this should be made first. Once the filling is made and scooped out, it can be put in the fridge, but I think it is best to put it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to be almost solid.
Before mixing the dough, grate the carrots. Use a small grater, if possible, to get small pieces of carrots. The small pieces mix into the dough much better. Once the carrots are grated, put them in a bowl with paper towels underneath. Leave them in the bowl for about 10 minutes to let the extra water drain out. I would suggest squeezing out as much water as you can before you add them to the dough.
Now let’s talk about butter and sugar! This recipe calls for cold butter, and by cold I mean taken right out of the fridge. I take it out of the fridge, cut it into small pieces, then add it to the bowl. Cold butter gives cookies such a great consistency that can’t be beat. As for the sugar, this recipe calls for only dark brown sugar. That is an important step. You can use light brown sugar if you don’t have dark, but dark brown sugar will give your cookies a richer flavor. So use dark brown sugar if you can!
As I mentioned earlier, the two mix-ins of these cookies are carrots and pecans. You can use salted or not salted pecans, but if you use salted, cut back the amount of salt you add — instead of 1 tsp, add 1/2 tsp. This will keep the salt balance perfect!
These cookies cook at 400 degrees, which is much higher than most cookies. The higher cooking temp and the relatively short cooking time helps the cookies stay big and get golden brown on the outside, but still stay soft on the inside. Since they will be soft on the inside, this next step is very important — when you take the cookies out of the oven, leave them on the pan for at least 30-60 minutes to completely cool off! This is the hardest step to follow because I know you will want to dive into them right away, but I promise they will be even better if you let them cool! Giving them adequate time to cool lets the gooey inside set up perfect. Then you won’t have a doughy cookie, but a beautiful, huge, soft cookie. Please make these and let me know what you think!
other recipes you will love
- carrot cake loaf with brown butter cream cheese frosting
- carrot cake cupcakes
- mini carrot cakes
- carrot cake bars
stuffed carrot cake cookies
ingredients
CREAM CHEESE FILLING**
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
CARROT CAKE COOKIES
- 1 cup butter cold
- 1 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 1/2 cups flour 455 grams
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt (unless you're using salted pecans, then add 1/2 tsp)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup finely grated carrots
- 1/2 cup pecans crushed
instructions
- For the cream cheese filling, add the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla to a medium bowl. With a hand beater (or stand mixer) beat until the mixture is smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix for about 2 minutes until there are no clumps.
- Using a 1 tbsp sized cookie scoop, scoop the filling onto a piece of wax paper. Scoop out 9 dollops of the filling. There will probably be a little extra filling. Put the filling in the freezer while you make the dough.
- Using a small grater, grate carrots and add to a bowl with a paper towel. Let the carrots sit for at least 10 minutes to let the extra water drain off.
- In a stand mixer, combine cold butter and brown sugar. Mix until smooth and slightly fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Add the eggs and mix on low until the eggs are just mixed in.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix on low until there is only a little bit of flour not mixed in.
- Add the carrots and pecans and mix on low until they are just combined in with the rest of the dough and there are no streaks of flour.
- Put the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to chill.
- When you take the dough out, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Grab a large handful of dough. Put one ball of frozen cream cheese filling in the middle of the dough and enclose the dough around it. Place the dough on a kitchen scale. Each dough ball should weigh 8 oz. Add or take away a little dough to get it close to 8 oz. If you want smaller cookies, that is fine, just make them a consistent weight! If you don't have a scale, eyeball it and make them as consistent as you can.
- Bake the dough for 8-11 minutes, until the outside is slightly golden brown and barely set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 30-60 minutes. This is important so the dough will set up properly.
- If you are frosting your cookies rather than stuffing them, double the frosting recipe. Once you make the frosting, transfer it to a piping bag instead of the freezer. Then, once the cookies have completely cooled, pipe the frosting on top of each one!
- Enjoy! Keep any extra cookies in the fridge.
Are the cream cheese and the butter for the filling supposed to be room temperature?
Yes, it works best if they are at room temperature!
Is there a method you use to prevent the cream cheese from slipping out of the cookie? I notice yours stays pretty soft but solid in the picture. Mine is all liquid-y 🙁
Hi! Yes, if the cream cheese is slipping out of the cookie, you likely needed a little more flour. When making the dough, add 2-4 tablespoons of extra flour so the dough is less sticky. This should help the cookie to be thicker, and the cream cheese to stay in the cookie!
If you leave the butter out of the cream cheese filling they won’t leak.
Hi, this recipe looks amazing!!. But I have one question, what type of flour did you use?
Hi! Thanks so much! I use all purpose flour. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi! I can’t wait to try this! When you’re creaming the butter and brown sugar for the dough, is there a reason the butter needs to be cold? I thought it’s usually meant to be room temp. Thanks!
Hey! Great question. Having cold butter makes the dough a different consistency. Cold butter helps the cookie stay thicker and softer! Melting the butter gives you a flatter cookie. Hope this helps! So excited for you to try these!
It sounds like a great recipe! Is it ok if we use a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer?
Yes, that is totally fine!
Excited to try! Going to make tonight for my Grandma’s 90th bday – she loves carrot cake.
Can I use matchstick carrots instead? or would they be too thick?
Yay! So excited for you to try them! And for your grandma to try them! Matchstick carrots will work fine, just do a quick check to make sure there aren’t any pieces that are extra long.
Can these cookies be stored at room temperature?
hi! since they are filled with cream cheese frosting, they need to be refrigerated!
Hey I have a pecan allergy in the house. Can I use almond flour instead of crushed pecans ?
Hey! You can leave the pecans out completely, or you can use crushed walnuts instead! I would not suggest adding almond flour instead.
Quick question. Once you make it into a ball with the cream cheese in the middle do you flatten it out or leave it in a ball
I leave it in a ball! It will flatten out quite a bit during cooking. You could flatten it slightly, but don’t squish it down too much.
i made these and they were delicious, but they never flattened into a cookie shape. they stayed more in a ball and the texture is crumbly. any ideas why? i’m definitely going to make them again so i was just wondering what i could do different
Hi! I’m glad you enjoyed them! If they were crumbly, I would try cutting back on the flour. Add 1/2 cup less than the recipe says. If the dough is super sticky, just add 1 tbsp additions of flour at a time until it isn’t super sticky. I hope that helps! Feel free to dm me on Instagram if you have any other questions!
Hi, do you measure cups of flour using a butterknife (120g) or do you just scoop it (~140g)? Can’t wait to try these!
Hi! I just scoop it! Can’t wait for you to try these!
We made these today and they’re one of the best cookies we’ve tried! Well done! Thank you
Amazing!! So glad you enjoyed them 🙂
These look amazing! Do they need to be baked on parchment paper or just on an ungreased cookie sheet?
Either of those work! I also use the silicon baking mats and those work too.
Overall, these were delicious! I tried to follow the recipe as closely as possible. I’d definitely make them again.
Two things I’d change though:
1) Two baking sheets! 9 of these did not fit on the one baking sheet I used. I didn’t realize they would spread so much – not sure what I was thinking!
2) After forming the cookies entirely, I would probably freeze for 30 min or so before baking. I’m not sure how much that would help the spread, but I felt like the dough was melting in my hands while making these. The 30 min in the fridge didn’t seem to do much – an extra chill would probably help.
I would NOT change the dough or filling – they were delicious !! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Thank you for the feedback! Yes, I never add more than 6 cookies per baking sheet, otherwise they just don’t fit!
So glad you enjoyed these cookies 🙂
Why don’t you add starch like most cookie dough?
I’m not sure I understand your question — this recipe does call for cornstarch! Am I misunderstanding?
These were so good!! I ended up halving the cookies because they were so big lol. The only issue I had was that the cookies were really crumbly when I was balling them up/rolling them out. Any tips?
Amazing! I am so glad you liked them! Were the cookies crumbly once they were baked? You may have needed a little less flour. Next time try adding 1/4 cup less flour!
Hello! I would like to know if I can store them in the fridge or freezer? If I do the batter and only want 4-5 cookies can I save the remainder for later?
Hi! Yes, you can certainly keep any extra dough! It will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge, or for months in the freezer. Hope this helps!
These are absolutely delicious! I did have a few issues with the filling seeping out of the cookies. My filling was frozen, dough chilled etc. I tried chilling the entire ball, freezing the entire ball, and a few different temperatures. Do you happen to know the flour measurements in grams? I used a 120 g/cup measure for this recipe. I’m hoping by adding more flour, the cookie will hold the filling better. Thank you for any help!
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. Yes, I would try adding extra flour! Sometimes altitude and humidity can effect how much flour is needed, so you likely needed more flour. I would start by adding 1 tbsp additions at a time until the dough is not sticky. Then when you add the shredded carrots, it will soften the dough. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
Hello! I cannot wait to try this recipe. Quick question: if I want to make more smaller sized cookies versus the 9 big ones, is there anything I should change about cooking temperature or time? Thanks so much!
Hi! I can’t wait for you to try them!! Yes, the smaller cookies work great with this recipe. I made smaller version last week! The only thing I did differently was I decreased the cook time. I cooked mine closer to 7-8 minutes. They will look like they are still doughy, but if they are golden brown on the bottom then that is perfect. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
Perfect! Thank you so much!
I just made these and they are almost all the way cool but my spouse and I couldn’t wait any longer to try so we split one. Sooooo gooooood. Soft and delicious. Can’t wait to have another after dinner ?
Yay!! So glad you tried them and enjoyed them! And yes — waiting for them to cool is the hardest part!
These look amazing and I can’t wait to try them! Since the filling is cream cheese, do they need to be stored in the fridge after baking?
Hi! Yes, if you are not eating them the same day, keep them in the fridge!
These look amazing and I can’t wait to try. Since there is cream cheese filling, do these cookies need to stay refrigerated?
hi! yes, since they have cream cheese, any extra cookies should be kept in the fridge!
My sister made these and they were amazing! I’m wondering if you tried making them as bars instead of cookies? I’m hoping bars would be less time consuming/easier to assemble.
i’m so glad you loved these! i’ve never tried making them into bars, i don’t think they would turn out great. but you’re more than welcome to try it out! i also have a carrot cake bar recipe so you could also just make that instead! also, if it is easier, you don’t have to stuff the cookies — you could just make the frosting and pipe it on top of the cookies once they’re cooled. that may save you some time!
These cookies were delicious. When they are cooked and cooled should they be stored in refrigerator or just on counter in an airtight container.
hi! i’m so glad you enjoyed these! they should be kept in an airtight container in the fridge because of the cream cheese in the frosting!
Hi! I know this is an older recipe but I was wondering if grated sweet potatoes might work instead of carrots? I recently found out I’m allergic to carrots, but carrot cake type desserts are one of my favorites.
hi! you could try sweet potatoes! i would probably recommend subbing zucchini or apples, but sweet potatoes would probably be fine too!