I’m feeling determined lately. To create the things that I can’t stop thinking about as I fall asleep. Even when I don’t sleep well, I’m excited to get up and jot down a few ideas for creative recipes. And lately I’ve been thinking about cookies. Mostly because cake-making has not gone well lately. So, with Easter on the horizon, I decided to make another version of my favorite cookie ever – my oatmeal chocolate chip molasses cookie. This one also starts with brown butter infused with spices and molasses, but comes together with shredded carrots, coconut, walnuts, and a maple glaze. I’m confident that these carrot cake cookies are now in my cookie pantheon!

Easter Memories

My body has been feeling anxious lately. I’m hitting a bit of a lull where I feel stuck. But this creative outlet continues to make me feel excited and inspired. So, I decided to create an easter-themed recipe. I have such fond memories of easter egg hunts and dyeing eggs with my parents as a kid. We bought those kits with colored cups and 6 different dyes. I vividly remember the pungent smell of the vinegar in each cup. Those flimsy little wire egg holders. We would sit around the kitchen table and hold our white store-bought eggs in multiple colors, creating unique patterns and combinations. On Easter, my parents would go outside when the sun rose and hide the eggs all over the back yard.

I would wake up around 8, so excited to start the day. There would usually be a Reese’s cup or something small sitting outside of my door, leading to a trail of candy hidden all over the house. There were some years when I didn’t find everything and my parents couldn’t remember where they put them either. We would eat chocolate candies for breakfast and store-bought cinnamon rolls from a tube and I would hunt for eggs outside in my pajamas. In the fresh but slightly cold spring air. I remember an egg on my dad’s truck tire. One hidden in a flower pot, one behind a railing. It was exhilarating and so joyful.

My Favorite Brown Butter Cookies

I don’t remember when we stopped that tradition, but Easter is still a food holiday for us. And I love to celebrate with my parents. Last year they flew to Florida to visit family on Easter, and I stayed home. I remember waking up very early, like my inner child was itching to hunt for eggs even at 28. There was a Reese’s egg and a lovely note waiting for me. But I spent the whole day reading, watching TV, and cooking. The rest of the week was hard, living alone for the first time in a while, with a huge snowstorm that caused a power outage. So this year I’m ecstatic to celebrate with my parents once more. I’ve had big plans – homemade breakfast pastries and gifts and watching movies in pajamas.

But I’m trying not to be such a perfectionist, as usual. And I trust that just being together will be enough. So, I’ve been trying to decide what I truly want to make for food. We decided on a roast chicken and popovers for dinner. But the sweet, gluttonous breakfast is up to me. I’ve thought about homemade babka, my pecan sticky buns, and classic cinnamon rolls. But I’ve been craving cookies. Always thinking of my favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with molasses, spices, brown butter, and orange chocolate. They’re unbelievably good, and set me down a rabbit hole of wanting to make new variations of brown butter cookies. So, because of Easter, I decided to make carrot cake cookies.

Baking Carrot Cake Cookies

I had a bunch of fresh carrots waiting to be used. And there was no way I was going to make carrot cake after a series of unfortunate cake-making adventures last week. I’m all caked out. And, to be honest, I don’t really enjoy classic cream cheese buttercream. So, I decided to make a small batch of carrot cake cookies with that familiar brown butter spiced cookie dough batter, but filled with shredded carrots, coconut, and nuts. Like carrot cake. To sweeten them up a bit, I also decided to coat them in a Maine maple glaze. And garnish with a carrot slice and a carrot leaf for a pop of color.

I started midway through the day by peeling carrots. I photographed the beautiful orange peels and thought about using them for compost. And starting an herb garden once the spring weather really hits. I listened to a podcast, merrily peeling and grating carrots into a bowl. Then, I melted a stick of butter in a sauté pan until it began to brown, swirling the bubbling liquid around in a pool. Then I folded in my spices, molasses, coconut, and shredded carrots. To permeate the dough with spiced carrot cake flavor.

Scooped + Chilled Overnight

I continued my carrot cake cookies by mixing up a batch of homemade brown sugar and measuring it into the warm brown butter carrot mixture. It coalesced into a syrupy thick goo. Then, I added an egg and whisked it together. All that was left to do was add the dry ingredients. These carrot cake cookies are great to make and have an easy cleanup, both because you bake them a day later (after chilling) and because all you need is one pan or pot. You just keep adding things to the brown butter until you have a luscious cookie dough. When I finished incorporating my flour and baking soda, baking powder, and salt, I had a thick, rich cookie dough. With rich fall spices, carrots, and sweet coconut.

Next I scooped out six equal portions of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet to chill in the fridge. This way the gluten has time to develop and the cookies become even more flavorful and chewy when they’re baked. I ate a few small scraps of cookie dough and cleaned up my sauté pan, ice cream scoop, and measuring cups. Then, I enjoyed the rest of the day knowing that I would wake up to fresh baked carrot cake cookies the next day. In plenty of time before Easter.

Baking + Glazing with Maple

The next day I woke up elated. Ready to bake my cookies and fill the house with that familiar, comforting spiced cookie smell. My carrot cake cookies were firm, so I let them sit on the counter for about 30 minutes while I preheated the oven and did a little cleaning. Then, I prepped my baking sheet with a simple sheet of parchment paper. I placed 4 cookies onto my first baking sheet (and actually preheated the pan to help the cookies spread) and pressed down on the dough to flatten into discs. Lastly, I topped them with a generous amount of whole walnuts and thin slices of carrots for decoration.

I took a few photos and then placed them into the preheated oven. Squatting in front of the oven light impatiently as the spiced cookie scent started to swirl out of the oven cracks. The cookies don’t spread that much because there’s a high amount of flour. Hence why you press down on them. But I find them to be a perfect mixture of chewy and thick but also full of that familiar carrot cake texture. I’m not a fan of cream cheese frosting, and always would choose cake over icing, but I was excited to see how they turned out. And to glaze them with a maple syrup and powdered sugar mixture for that extra sweetness.

Carrot Cake Taste, Cookie Texture

You could melt down a little cream cheese and add that to your powdered sugar and maple syrup if you really want that flavor. But I kept it simple, whisking up a thick, light brown glaze. When the cookies came out I took some more photos and let them rest, picking at pieces of an odd-shaped one. The dough itself is slightly less sweet than most cookies. Which is intentional – to complement the sugary glaze. But just the carrot cake cookies on their own were delightfully spiced, chewy, and full of carrot and coconut. Crunchy walnuts, too.

Once they cooled I carefully dipped them top-down into my glaze, like you would glaze a donut. And then I waited again for them to chill and develop that delicious icing crack on top. To pass the time I picked at more pieces of that first rogue cookie and absolutely melted with the delicious flavor. These carrot cake cookies are thick and chewy but have a slightly cakey texture that is so reminiscent of carrot cake. There’s an abundance of spices, too, which reminds me of warm fall baked goods. You get all the components of carrot cake – coconut, carrots, and crisp toasted walnuts on top. The glaze is sweet and adds a delightful crunch which melds and mixes with the salt and spices of the cookie.

Half-Batch Cookie Recipe

I’m so happy with how these turned out. And I can’t stop thinking about other combinations of cookies I want to make. My formula of starting with melted brown butter and adding flavorings, sugar, and egg seems to work really well for a delicious, chewy cookie. These remind me of a delicious fall scone or a caramelized, thick carrot cake with no cream cheese. But they came out so delicious, and I’m always happy to develop a recipe for a half batch. Which is easier for small families and during hard economic times anyway.

I’ll be finishing these off and sharing them with my family (reluctantly) and dreaming of other cookie recipes. And trying to stay on my toes for this winter/spring cocktail of weather. Thank you as always for reading! Be sure to check out my Etsy for 100’s or recipe cards and art prints. Use code THEFORKEDRING for 25% off.

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Brown Butter Carrot Cake Cookies (Small Batch)

A brown butter carrot cake cookie with coconut, walnuts, and a maple glaze

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword brown butter cookies, carrot cake, cookies

Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 15

Servings 6

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

1 1/4 stick butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp fresh ginger
2 tbsp cup molasses
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded coconut
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 whole egg
1 1/3 cups bread flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup shelled walnuts
2 tbsp real maple syrup
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Heat butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat until melted. Continue cooking for 3-5 minutes until butter begins to brown, then remove from heat.
Add cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, fresh ginger, and molasses and stir to combine. The fresh ginger may spit if your butter is too hot, so be careful.
Add your carrots and coconut and stir to combine. Then, add your brown sugar until the mixture becomes syrupy and thick. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
Add your egg once the mixture is lukewarm. Stir vigorously to combine. Then, sift in your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Fold your dry ingredients into the cookie batter with a spatula until no streaks remain. The mixture should be thick and hard to stir.
Scoop your cookie dough into 6 equal balls with a large ice cream scoop. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.
Chill cookie dough for 12 – 24 hours in the fridge. When ready to bake, remove from fridge to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 3 balls of dough on each sheet and flatten into a disc with your hand.
Top each cookie with whole pieces of walnuts and thin slices of carrots and press into the dough to adhere. Bake cookies for 12-18 minutes until mostly set.
Let the cookies cool for 30 – 60 minutes at room temperature.
In a medium bowl, combine maple syrup, powdered sugar, and a small pinch of salt. Whisk into a thick icing. If it’s too thick, add a few drops of water or milk until it’s easy to mix but still very thick.
Once cookies are cooled, dip each top-side down into the maple glaze. Then, quickly flip them right side up and place them on a wire rack or cool counter to chill until set.

Notes

To help the cookies spread a little more, preheat your baking sheet for 5 minutes.
The glaze should be very thick but still somewhat pourable. If it’s too thin it will soak into the cookies and not set.
Make sure to add a pinch of salt on top so the sweetness of the glaze doesn’t take over.
You can bake these cookies right away instead of chilling them overnight and they’ll still be delicious! They may take a couple minutes less to bake through.

Carrot Cake Cookies [Brown Butter + Maple]