Vegan Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies

These Vegan Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies are perfectly chewy and packed with nuts, dates & caramelized carrots.  Part carrot cake part oatmeal cookies these little bites are perfect for those of us who cannot decide between those two favorite desserts! Gluten-free, nut-free option.

Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies – a cookie that combines everything I love into one chewy cookie! Part oatmeal cookie, part carrot cake, these little bites are perfect for those of us who cannot decide between two desserts!

We have a perfectly chewy spiced oatmeal cookie made with almond flour and studded with caramelized carrots, dates and chopped nuts. Pistachios on top add a fabulous flavor! All the carrot cake spices like cinnamon and nutmeg are added to the mix! Divine.

The base of this recipe is a classic oatmeal cookie dough with a few flavorful upgrades like warming spices and maple syrup. What takes these to the next level and what sets this recipe apart from other carrot cake cookies: we CARAMELIZE the grated carrots with brown sugar and maple syrup before adding them to the dough. Sounds like a hassle but it’s rather quick and SO worth it as it intensifies the flavor and natural sweetness of the carrots and makes the cookie taste like a frsdhly baked carrot cake!

The rest of the recipe comes together in one bowl in no time at all.  Make a double batch – these are great for gifting and freeze well.

Why you will love these carrot cake oatmeal cookies!

• Wholesome ingredients, no flour!
• These cookies are Gluten-free  and can be made without nuts
• the caramelized carrots take these to the next level
• dates add a chewy sweet texture
• They are not too sweet and are great for snack or breakfast.

More vegan cookie recipes:

• Chocolate Tahini Cookies
• Gluten-free Thumbprint Cookies
• Cinnamon Roll Cookies
• Pistachio Cookies
• Lemon Chia Cookies
• Ginger Tahini Cookies 
• PB Oatmeal cookies 

 

Ingredients:

•  oats: I recommend old-fashioned rolled oats, not the quick-cooking kind
• almond flour is my flour of choice here
• baking powder gives these a slight rise
• flax eggs help bind the dough together
• brown sugar caramelized carrots give the cookies a pop of color, moisture, and an added rich, molasses-y flavor that tastes like caramel.
• cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and cloves lend extra excitement. Play around with the amount if you want them extra spicy
• maple syrup gives the cookies both a pop of flavor and added moisture.
• nuts and dates add texture and crunch

Tips:

• add whatever you like adding to your carrot cake. It could be some shredded coconut, or some chopped pistachios or candied pineapple, ginger, or mango
• To make these cookies without nuts, you can use oat flour instead of almond flour. You will need 1/2 to 3/4 cup of oat flour. Omit the pecans and add in some chopped pumpkin seeds hemp seeds or other seeds of choice instead

How to make Carrot Cake Cookies:

In a bowl, mix in the almond flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and spices and mix well.

In another small bowl, mix the flaxseed meal and water. Mix well and let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken.

Then add in this flax egg, maple syrup, vanilla, and oil to the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix well to combine. Add in the pecans and dates.

Caramelize the carrots by adding the carrots to a skillet with the maple syrup and sugar and cook until the maple and sugar thickens and the carrots caramelize a little bit.

Cool this mixture for 3-4 minutes then add to the bowl with the dough. Mix everything really well. Then refrigerate to chill for at least 20 minutes. The dough is pretty sticky so you want to refrigerate so that the oats absorb some of that stickiness from all the extra moisture.

Take the bowl of the dough out of the fridge and oil your hands using a cookie scoop or a spoon, take about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons worth of the dough.

Roll it into a ball and then flatten it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can also make them larger for large chewy cookies

Top it with either pistachios or pecans and flatten it really well. The cookie is going to expand so you want to flatten it to about 1/4 inch or less thickness.

Preheat the oven to 340 degrees Fahrenheit then bake the cookies for 16-18 minutes depending on the size and the thickness of the cookie.

The cookies will be soft when they are freshly baked. Let them cool for 5 minutes on the sheet then remove them from the sheet and let them cool completely.

How to store cookies:

Store these carrot cake cookies on the counter for the day and in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.