Two weekends ago, my mom started craving carrot cake. She talked about it at lunch, mentioned it at dinner, and finally caved at 9 pm and drove to Safeway to pick up a slice. When she arrived home, she grabbed a fork, plopped down in her favorite armchair, and slowly savored every bite, stopping with enough left to finish the following day.
Although Mom bought me a slice of my favorite 6-layer chocolate cake at the same time, I couldn’t help but stare and hope with all of my fingers crossed behind my back that she’d offer me a taste. That cream cheese frosting… Those soft streaks of carrot… The tender cinnamon cake… It looked mesmerizing!
Despite enjoying every last morsel of my chocolate piece, I couldn’t get carrot cake off of my mind. I pictured that square during every run (since my path went past the same grocery store) and whenever I stuck my head into the fridge for fresh fruit and veggie snacks.
I seriously contemplated baking my own again, but knowing that my self-control flies straight out the window with any type of cake, I went with the next best thing…
Cookies! These Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies blew me away, and not just from their built-in portion control. The cozy oats, the comforting cinnamon, the soft carrots… Pure bliss in every bite!
I based this cookie dough off of the most popular recipe on my site: my blueberry oatmeal cookies. Have you tried them yet? Hands down, they’re the BEST oatmeal cookies I’ve ever eaten. They’re soft, tender, chewy—everything a cookie should be—and countless readers have said nobody believes that they’re lightened up and made without butter, refined flour or refined sugar!
For this version, I swapped out honey for maple syrup because I love its sweet woodsy flavor in my carrot cake, and I also added more cinnamon (it’s a carrot cake staple!) and carrots. Lots of grated carrots. I used one smallish medium carrot, but if you have a larger one and a little extra leftover, throw that in too. It won’t hurt the cookie dough at all!
There are two very important parts of this recipe.
1) Measure the oats correctly! Do not scoop them directly from the canister. Instead, measure them like flour with the spoon-and-level method. Scooping results in 1.5 times as many oats. Since those oats act like little sponges by soaking up all of the moisture in the dough, adding extra will completely dry out your cookies and leave them crumbly.
2) Chilling is mandatory! It gives the oats time to soak up some moisture and helps reduce spreading. If you skipped chilling, the cookie dough would flatten thinner than a pancake while in the oven and create one huge cookie blob on the baking sheet. Not good! So avoid cookie blobs and chill your dough. Just 30 minutes—that’s it!
To ensure the cookies stay soft and chewy, we’ll underbake them ever so slightly. Just by a hair! Pull them out when the centers still feel a little underdone, and let the cookies cool for a full 10-15 minutes on the warm baking sheet. This allows the centers to finish cooking through without the outsides turning crisp and crunchy. The cookies will stay soft for an entire week—if they last that long!
I tried hoarding these Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies, but that didn’t stand a chance around my hungry sweet-toothed family. Every time I walked by the counter, another one had mysteriously disappeared from the jar!
Oh well, at least we’re getting our veggies in… Right? ? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your oatmeal cookies!
My newly released Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook is full of sweet and healthy recipes like these oatmeal cookies! Buy your own copy here!
| Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies | | Print |
- 1 cup (100g) instant oats (measured like this and gluten-free if necessary)
- ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup
- ¾ cup (68g) grated carrots (about 1 smallish medium, peeled first!)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup until thoroughly incorporated. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the carrots. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. (If chilling longer, cover with plastic wrap, ensuring it touches the entire surface of the cookie dough.)
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Drop the cookie dough into 14 rounded scoops on the baking sheet. Flatten slightly using a spatula. (The cookies don't spread very much!) Bake at 325°F for 12-15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
To make your own instant oats, pulse 1 cup of old-fashioned oats in a food processor 5-8 times.
For the gluten-free flour, I used as follows: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will also work, if measured like this.
Melted margarine may be substituted for the coconut oil or butter. Regardless of which is used, be sure that the egg is at room temperature before whisking it in. A cold egg added straight from the fridge would rapidly cool the fat source, resulting in small blobs of semi-solid coconut oil, butter, or margarine.
Honey or agave may be substituted in place of the pure maple syrup.
If the cookies are still really flimsy after cooling on the baking sheet for 15 minutes and threaten to break apart, let them cool completely on the baking sheet. That won’t let them crisp up too much, and they’ll still stay soft for an entire week!
For all other questions regarding the recipe, including ingredient substitutions, please see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ + Video page.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
Loved these!! It was my babies first cookie and he loved it so much he almost started crawling to get more. These were definitely not as sweet as I thought they would be so it might make me feel they’re healthy enough to eat them all tonight. Haha. That’s okay right? Thanks for such an easy and yummy recipe! I will try it again and add some raisins maybe?
I’m so incredibly honored that you made my recipe for your baby’s first cookies, Linda!! My heart feels so full right now — thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 It’s my pleasure, and I think it’s perfectly fine to eat as many as you’d like! 😉
You can definitely add raisins! I’ve actually done that in this version. I highly recommend hydrating your raisins first — it makes them really plump and juicy! To do that, add them to a microwave-safe bowl, cover them with water, and place a lid or plastic wrap on top. Microwave them on HIGH for 1 minute, and then let them sit while you measure and mix together the rest of your ingredients. Just before adding them to the cookie dough, drain off the excess water. I think raisin have a much better texture in baked goods when I hydrate them like this first!
Just one quick question for you! How did you measure your oats and flour? Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups? I’m just a tiny bit surprised that the cookies weren’t nearly as sweet as you thought, so I’m wondering if there might have been some extra flour or oats that therefore made your cookies taste less sweet than they should’ve! 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I made them for my toddler and he loves them. My hubby and I have a sweet tooth, so I added a cream cheese frosting on ours and OMG! Let’s just say I made these on Friday and they’re all gone now. Will definitely make it again.. Maybe even today. 😊
Oh my goodness — that’s the BEST kind of compliment if your batch of cookies has already disappeared, Kim! And that you’re already considering making them again… Wow! I’m truly touched! ♡ I’m so glad you and your family loved them, and thank you for taking the time to let me know! You just made my entire day!!
I don’t have gluten-free flour (or the ingredients to make it). Can I substitute regular (all purpose) flour? If so, do I need to modify the amount of flour or make any other adjustments to the recipe?
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe! I’ve actually covered the answer to this exact question on my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page, and there’s a link to that FAQ Page in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions!). I know it can be easy to miss! 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these oatmeal cookies if you try making them!
Thank you for the reply. I would not have known to look there. I will post my results once I get around to making the cookies.
It’s my pleasure! I’m always happy to help. 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of these cookies!
I finally got around to making the cookies. I didn’t have whole wheat flour or maple syrup, so I used regular all-purpose flour and honey. I also (inadvertently) grated the carrots finer than you did. The cookies were fine; although they didn’t have the flavor I was expecting. I wonder if the substitutions I made had anything to do with it. In any case, I think I will try your Loaded Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies next.
I’m honored that you tried making these cookies! It sounds like they didn’t quite meet your expectations, so I’d love to help figure out how to fix that. 🙂 What flavor were you expecting? Something sweeter, stronger spices, or something else? What brand of cinnamon did you use? Also, how was the texture — soft and chewy or more bready or cakey?
Once I know your answers to all of those questions, I should be able to troubleshoot so your next batch of oatmeal cookies (whether these or the loaded version!) turns out more to your liking!
Can I lower the maple syrup amount, I dont want it sweet ? Will it change the texture?
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe, Edyta! If you’d like to lower the amount of maple syrup so they’re not as sweet, then I actually recommend trying my carrot cake oatmeal breakfast cookie recipe (here) instead. They’re half as sweet as this recipe, but they have the same taste and texture! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try either of my recipes!