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
Hello. Tried these to give treats to my toddler. I might substitute a bit of milk for maple syrup as these were a bit too sweet for my taste. I also added a lot more carrots. Finally, I only put 1 tsp of cinnamon but then added nutmeg, ground cloves and a bit of ground ginger. They turned out great! Thanks for the recipe. Recommended it to a couple of friends.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies Cat! I’m truly honored that you recommend my recipe to your friends. You’re so kind to do that — thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 I actually have a “breakfast” version of this recipe here, which has the same flavors and texture but uses half of the sweetener. I’m wondering if that might be a better fit for your tastes! If you decide to try that half-sweet version, I’d love to hear what you think of it!
Hi! Newbie baker here 🙂 Tried this recipe and it tasted really good, but consistency turned out to be more muffin-like than cookie.. was just wondering what I did to make it like that, and what can I do to make it more cookie-like in my next attempt? Thanks a mil! xx
I’m so honored that you tried making my recipe Eka! I’ve actually covered 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! 😉
Despite measuring the weights exactly (using scales not scoops) my cookies also turned out much more like cakes. The oven setting is also far too low or the time is too short as mine needed almost double the amount of time to gain any sort of colour and hold together. I also left them in the fridge before baking and they still spread loads and all stuck together. Only positive is that the flavour is good!
I’m honored that you tried making this recipe! That’s so strange, and I’d love to help solve the mystery. 🙂 Did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? Did you use a kitchen scale to measure the maple syrup? Did you use the standard holes of a boxer grater to grate your carrots, or did you use the really fine holes instead? How was the consistency of your cookie dough after chilling compared to mine in the video above the recipe?
I know I just asked a lot of questions, but once I know your answers to all of them, I should have a much easier time of narrowing down the culprit and figuring out how to fix it! 🙂
I am quite anxious to make these cookies. My aunt is turning 100 on May 11 and would love to mail her some. (She loves carrot cake). Can I mail these safely?
I’m incredibly honored that you’d consider making my recipe to celebrate such a special occasion, Connie! Happy birthday to your aunt!! 🙂 If you bake these the same day you mail them, then it shouldn’t be a problem! When I’ve mailed these cookies to friends, they’ve arrived safe and sound. I usually tuck a little note inside that suggests storing the cookies in an airtight container or zip-topped bag in the fridge, just to make sure they last a little longer. 😉 I’d love to hear what you and your aunt think if you decide to try making these oatmeal cookies for her!
Just made these tonight and they were FABULOUS! We used Almond flour and followed everything else to the T. We will definitely be making these again! Look forward to trying more recipes from you. 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies Alissa! That’s the best kind of compliment, if you already think you’ll make them again. I’m so honored — thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of any of my other recipes that you decide to try making too!
Hi, I’m thinking of making your recipe but I would like to ask if it is okay to add walnuts and pineapple? I know this would be good to throw into if I will be making a carrot cake but I’m just curious and not so sure about it. Also, can I use olive oil instead of coconut oil? Thanks heaps!
I’m honored that you’d like to try making these cookies Jennifer! I actually have a version of this recipe with nuts and pineapple here. Perhaps that would be better suited to your tastes and what you had in mind? 🙂
For the best results, taste, and texture, I do recommend butter, coconut oil, or vegan-style butter. This is because these options will melt when the cookie dough goes in the oven, which creates tender little pockets in the cookies. Since olive oil is already a liquid, it won’t melt when it goes in the oven, so the texture will be a bit different. (It also has a much more pronounced flavor, which can be easier to detect in baked goods!) However, I know a lot of people are trying to use ingredients they have on hand right now to avoid going to the grocery store, so if that’s all that you have in your pantry, then it’s probably worth trying, as long as you keep those taste and texture things in mind. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these oatmeal cookies if you try making them!
I have made these cookies several times with butter or coconut oil, almond or gf flour, agave or maple syrup, and no matter what was substituted, they always come out AMAZING! My kids gobble them up instantly and I have to fight them to steal a couple for myself. Have recommended this recipe to many friends and coworkers because they love them everytime I take them to work!
I’m SO honored that you’ve made these cookies so many times, Siobhan! That truly means a lot to me that you love them and that you’ve recommended the recipe to your friends and coworkers too. You’re so incredibly kind to do that — thank you!!! Your comment just made my entire day!! 🙂