Print

Print Recipe

Thick, soft and chewy carrot cake cookies made with nutty brown butter, toasted pecans, freshly grated carrots and cream cheese icing decoration.

Ingredients

Scale
  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, browned
  • ½ cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • ⅔ cup (75g) finely grated carrots, blotted to remove excess moisture
  • 1 ½ cups (215g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ cup (55g) chopped pecans
  • Icing:
  • 3 oz (85g) cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoon (25g) granulated sugar
  • milk to thin it out

Instructions

  1. Brown the butter over medium heat and let it cool for about 15 minutes until warm but not hot.
  2. Grate finely enough carrots to get about 75g (⅔ cup), spread on a plate, and blot with paper towels to remove excess moisture, repeating two more times.
  3. Mix the cooled brown butter with light brown sugar and granulated sugar until mixture looks like moist sand.
  4. Add the egg and whisk until smooth and creamy, then stir in vanilla extract and grated carrots, mixing well.
  5. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
  6. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, then fold in chopped pecans without over-mixing.
  7. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  8. Using a 1½-ounce cookie scoop, portion dough into balls and smooth with hands. Place evenly spaced on baking sheets.
  9. Bake for 10–12 minutes until edges turn golden brown. Let rest on trays for 2 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
  10. For the icing, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar until silky smooth.
  11. Add milk slowly, ½ teaspoon at a time, until the frosting reaches a pipeable consistency (about 1 teaspoon).
  12. Divide frosting into two bowls, tint one orange and one green with food coloring.
  13. Pipe small carrot shapes onto each cookie with colored frosting and let icing set for about an hour before storing.

Notes

Blotting the grated carrots multiple times is key to preventing soggy cookies and keeping texture chewy., Let brown butter cool to warm temperature before mixing to avoid melting sugars or egg and greasy dough., Weighing flour is recommended to prevent dry or crumbly cookies., Fold ingredients gently to avoid activating gluten, which can toughen cookies., Cookies should cool on baking tray 3-5 minutes before handling because cream cheese frosting is delicate when warm.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://cozyovenkitchen.com/chewy-brown-butter-carrot-cake-cookies/