Healthy Carrot Cake Thumbprint Cookies

 
During my senior year of college, one of my mom’s cousins and her husband drove their RV to California for a road trip in the spring. Although traveling for over two months, they ended up in our town just before Easter, so we invited them to our house for a special holiday meal.  

Throughout my childhood, most of our Easter festivities happened first thing in the morning. Similar to our stockings on Christmas Day, my brother and I raced to the kitchen table to see what the Easter bunny had left in the plastic eggs in our wicker baskets, and we eagerly shook each one, squealing over what we found when we cracked them open: marshmallow Peeps, milk chocolate eggs, Starburst-flavored jelly beans, and sometimes even a few miniature Reese’s peanut butter cups wrapped in festive pastel-colored foil.

However, we usually kept our Easter dinners fairly simple, if we even cooked anything special at all… So that particular year when we hosted Mom’s cousin, we made a big effort to prepare an actual Easter meal!
 

 
Mom picked up a gigantic honey-baked ham from a local shop as the main course, and Dad volunteered to whip up some side dishes of sautéed asparagus, mashed potatoes, and a spinach salad. Always a baker, even back then, I offered to handle dessert and help Dad with making his whole wheat rolls from scratch.

Shortly before the holiday, I skimmed through one of my favorite cookbooks and picked out a classic single-layer carrot cake recipe. (Carrots… The Easter bunny… It seemed fitting!) I baked the cake in our well-worn metal 9×13” pan the day before, covered it with foil, and refrigerated it overnight.

After church the next morning, I whipped up a bowl of homemade cream cheese frosting, which I slathered all over the top of the cake in a beautifully thick layer. My carrot cake looked and smelled incredible — even better than most of the grocery store bakeries in town! — yet when the time came to serve it…
 

 
We all looked at each other with wide eyes. We didn’t have a platter big enough to hold the entire cake… And most of the adults completely forgot to save room for dessert!

I seem to remember eating carrot cake every day for the entire week after Easter… We had that much leftover — but at least it tasted amazing!
 

 
In hindsight, these Healthy Carrot Cake Thumbprint Cookies probably would’ve been a much better dessert for our little Easter dinner that year! They’re soft and chewy, bite-sized, perfectly portioned… And there are very few leftovers to worry about, especially compared to a big sheet cake!

These fun thumbprint cookies still have the same rich flavors as classic carrot cake… Including their sweet centers, which taste just like the cream cheese frosting often spread on top of carrot cake! Yet unlike traditional carrot cake recipes, these healthy carrot cake thumbprint cookies contain no refined flour or sugar… And they’re 42 calories!
 

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CARROT CAKE THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Let’s go over how to make these healthy carrot cake thumbprint cookies! You’ll start by making the cookie dough. This cookie dough is actually a bit wetter than most, and that’s intentional! I found that gave these cookies the perfect blend of traditional carrot cake texture and classic chewy cookie texture. Or in other words… It made these healthy thumbprint cookies literally taste like little bites of carrot cake!

For the cookie dough, you’ll need white whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, and a trio of spices: cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. I buy my favorite cinnamon online here! It tastes stronger, richer, and sweeter than ordinary cinnamon, yet it’s still really inexpensive. It’s the only kind I use in my baking now! Then the allspice and nutmeg round out the spice flavor to create an even richer and cozier flavor.
 

 
Just in case you haven’t heard of it… White whole wheat flour actually exists, and it’s not a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and regular whole wheat flour! Instead, white whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They have the same health benefits, like extra fiber, but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture… And that lets the soft texture and sweet flavor of your healthy carrot cake thumbprint cookies really shine!

Tip: I’ve also included my favorite gluten-free options in the Notes section of this recipe, if you’d like to make your healthy carrot cake thumbprint cookies gluten-free instead!

Unlike traditional thumbprint cookie recipes that often call for a full stick of butter (if not more!), you only need 1 ½ tablespoons to make these cookies. That small amount of butter really helps keep your healthy carrot cake thumbprint cookies low calorie and low fat! Yet they still taste just as rich and buttery as traditional recipes, thanks to…
 

 
Vanilla extract! Vanilla enhances butter’s rich flavor, so by using a bit more vanilla in your cookie dough compared to regular cookie recipes, your healthy carrot cake thumbprint cookies taste just as rich as traditional ones. It’s one of my favorite cookie baking tricks!

You’ll skip the refined granulated sugar often found in traditional thumbprint cookie recipes and sweeten your cookie dough with coconut sugar instead. Coconut sugar is exactly what it sounds like: an unrefined sweetener that comes from coconuts! However, it does not actually taste like coconuts. It has a rich caramel-like flavor, similar to brown sugar, and you can usually find it on the baking aisle right next to the regular sugar!
 

 
Of course, it’s impossible to make these cookies without one very important ingredient… Freshly grated carrots! Yes, they must be freshly grated. Do NOT substitute store-bought pre-shredded carrots (also called matchstick carrots). These are much thicker and drier, and they don’t soften properly while baking… which means they’ll stay crisp and crunchy… and therefore ruin the texture of your cookies. Not good.

So for the best results, grate your own carrots — and use the smallest holes of your box grater! Finely freshly grated carrots (say that five times fast…) completely soften while your cookies bake, so your healthy carrot cake thumbprint cookies have the best soft and chewy texture!

Remember how I mentioned this cookie dough is fairly wet? That means you must chill it! Chilling helps stiffen the cookie dough, so it’s easier to shape and work with later.
 

 
Then while your cookie dough chills, it’s time to make the filling! It’s really simple to prepare, and it tastes just like cream cheese frosting, even with no butter or powdered sugar. How amazing is that??

To make it, you’ll mix together Greek yogurt, light cream cheese, liquid stevia, and a hint of vanilla until the filling is smooth and creamy. You can do this by hand or with a mixer — whatever is easiest for you! (Although I will admit… Doing it by hand and smoothing out every single one of the little lumps is quite a workout! 😉 )

Then transfer your filling to a zip-topped bag. Just before baking, you’ll cut off one corner and pipe the filling into the center each cookie. That’s so much easier (and faster!) than using a spoon to fill each of your healthy carrot cake thumbprint cookies!
 

 
But I’m getting a little ahead of myself… You need to get your cookie dough out of the fridge first!

Even after chilling, your cookie dough will be sticky. Remember, that’s intentional! That creates the perfect carrot cake texture for your healthy thumbprint cookies. However, that sticky texture means you should not touch the cookie dough with your bare hands!

Use a spoon and spatula to transfer it onto your baking sheet instead. Then moisten your fingers and palms with a little water before shaping them into round spheres… And moisten your fingers with more water before making the indentation in the center of each one. (I dipped my fingers in a small bowl of water in between shaping each one, and the cookie dough never stuck to my hands!)

Then pipe the cream cheese filling into the cookies’ centers… Slide your baking sheet in the oven…
 

 
And enjoy your adorable and sweet carrot cake treats! Then 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 healthy carrot cake thumbprint cookies!

Healthy Carrot Cake Thumbprint Cookies

© Amy's Healthy Baking

Yields: 24 bite-sized cookies

These fun bite-sized cookies literally taste just like carrot cake! They have the same supremely soft and moist texture, and they also have lots of carrots, rich spice flavor, and sweet centers that taste like velvety smooth cream cheese frosting. They’re perfect for Easter — or any day you’re craving carrot cake! Leftovers will keep for at least one week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

5 from 4 votes

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Ingredients 

FOR THE COOKIES

• 1 cup (120g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground allspice
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tbsp (21g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 large egg white, room temperature
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp nonfat milk, room temperature
• ½ cup (96g) coconut sugar
• ½ cup (53g) finely grated carrots (about one medium, peeled first — and see Notes!)

FOR THE FILLING

• 2 tbsp (30g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp (28g) well-softened light cream cheese (see Notes!)
• ¼ tsp liquid stevia (or adjusted to taste)
• ⅛ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• To prepare the cookies, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg white, vanilla, and milk. Stir in the coconut sugar. Add in the flour mixture, stirring until incorporated. Fold in the carrots. Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
• To prepare the filling, mix together the Greek yogurt, cream cheese, stevia, and vanilla in a small bowl until completely smooth. Transfer the mixture into a zip-topped bag.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
• {See Notes below before beginning this step!} Roll the cookie dough into 24 small spheres, and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Using your index finger or thumb, make an indentation in the center of each. Cut off a small piece of the corner of the filling bag, and pipe it into the indentations. Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack. (If the cookies stick to the baking sheet, slide a knife underneath each cookie first!)

Notes

This cookie dough is sticky, and that’s intentional! It gives these cookies the same texture as carrot cake. However, that means the cookie dough will stick to your bare hands. So in Step 4, moisten your fingers and palms with water before rolling the cookie dough into spheres and making indentation in the centers. (I keep a small bowl of water next to the baking sheet, and I re-moisten my hands in between shaping each cookie. The cookie dough never sticks when I do that!)

 

For the gluten-free flour, use as follows: ¼ cup (30g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, 3 tablespoons (21g) coconut flour, and ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will work as well, if measured like this.

 

Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.

 

It’s important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much flour will make your cookies turn out dry and crumbly, rather than soft and chewy. If you can’t incorporate all of the flour into your cookie dough, then stir in additional milk ½ teaspoon at a time until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.

 

For a stronger spice flavor, increase the cinnamon to 1 teaspoon. (That’s the way I prefer my cookies!)

 

Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.

 

Brown sugar may be substituted for the coconut sugar.

 

Do NOT substitute store-bought pre-shredded carrots (also called matchstick carrots). They’re thicker and drier, and they don’t soften properly while baking. Use the finest holes of a box grater to grate your carrots. This tiny size ensures the carrots completely soften while baking, which ensures your cookies turn out perfectly soft and chewy.

 

Any type of cream cheese will work (Neufchâtel cream cheese, Greek yogurt cream cheese, fat-free cream cheese, even regular cream cheese!). Just make sure it’s very well softened first!

 

I highly recommend using the liquid stevia! It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine too. (I buy mine online here because it’s the cheapest price I’ve found!) However, if you prefer, 1 ½ tablespoons of powdered sugar, granulated sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar may be substituted in the filling. I don’t recommend using honey, maple syrup, or agave because it’ll make the filling too liquidy.

 

This recipe is easily doubled!

 

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
 
 
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡  The Ultimate Healthy Carrot Cake
♡  Healthy Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes
♡  Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
♡  Healthy One-Bowl Carrot Cake Bars
♡  Healthy Carrot Bundt Cake
♡  Healthy Peanut Butter Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies
♡  Healthy Apple Pie Thumbprint Cookies
♡  Healthy Pumpkin Pie Thumbprint Cookies
♡  …and the rest of Amy’s healthy carrot cake recipes!