These Glazed Carrot Cake Butter Cookies are everything you love about carrot cake packed into a cookie! If you're not in the mood to bake a carrot cake, this easy recipe combines all the flavors of the classic in a fraction of the time.
Stacking these cookies is a breeze, making them perfect for your cookie jar with their firm-setting glaze. They're the ultimate shareable anytime treat to enjoy all year long!
Visual instructions
Here are step by step pictures so you can see what the dough and glaze at each stage should look like.
The full printable recipe with amounts and instructions are at the end of this post.
- Butter mixture: In a large bowl use a spatula to mix ½ cup (113g) butter and ½ cup (55g) powdered (icing) sugar until it turns pale in color and light in texture.
- Flour mixture: In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 ⅛ cups (140g) all purpose flour (same as plain flour -UK) OR cake flour, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves (optional) and ¼ teaspoon salt (add ½ teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter)
- Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture, then stir in ½ cup (40g) shredded carrots. If you want, you can also mix in ¼ cup of finely chopped pecans. Mix to form a crumbly dough.
- Use your hands or a spatula to mix everything together until you have a soft dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it in 2 pieces. Roll each piece into a log shape of approximately 4 inches (10cm) in length and 1 inch (3cm) in thickness (diameter)
- Wrap the log shapes separately in plastic wrap and freeze for minutes.
- Remove from the freezer and unwrap the shaped dough. Cut each log into slices that are ½ inch (1 cm) thick.
- Arrange the cookies about 2 inches (5cm) apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden.
- Remove the tray from the oven but leave the cookies on the baking tray for 5 minutes. The baked cookies will be soft when you take it out of the oven but crisp as they cool.
- After 5 minutes on the baking tray, the cookies will be firm and crisp enough to transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before topping with the glaze.
- To make the glaze, mix 1 ½ cups (170g) powdered / icing sugar with 2-3 tablespoons of very hot water.
9 and 10. Whisk well until thick and smooth.
Note: To make the glaze thinner, use more hot water; for a thicker glaze, use less hot water.
- Spread the glaze over the cooled cookies then leave to dry and set for at least 10 minutes. Once the glaze is dry and set, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Tips for this recipe
- Use short shreds of carrot, grated from the tip, for better results, rather than longer strands from the sides.
- Ensure that your butter is softened to room temperature. Get it out of the fridge at least 1 hour before baking. All the ingredients are incorporated much easier and quicker in soft butter. This also prevents overworking the dough, which produces dense instead of crispy cookies.
- Refrigerate the dough if it becomes difficult to handle: The dough has a high ratio of butter and can get difficult to work with if it gets too warm. If the dough gets too warm, simply put it back into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. This helps to cool the butter, making the dough much easier to work with.
- Do not skip the steps of chilling the dough. First after mixing (refrigerated for 20 minutes) and second after dividing and shaping into a log (freezing for 45 minutes) These are important steps. The first refrigeration firms the dough, making it easy to roll into a log. The second time (freezing) cools and firms the log shapes making it easy to slice into disks.
- Adjust the baking time if cutting the cookies thinner or thicker than specified in the recipe
- Do not overbake the cookies. They will be soft after baking straight out of the oven, but will crisp and get firm as it cools.
Enjoy 😋
Recipe
Glazed Carrot Cake Butter Cookies
servings20 cookies
These Glazed Carrot Cake Butter Cookies are everything you love about carrot cake packed into a cookie!
Ingredients
For the cookies
- ½ cup (113g) salted butter, softened to room temperature (see note 1)
- ½ cup (55g) powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- 1 ⅛ cups (140g) all purpose flour (same as plain flour -UK OR cake flour)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (add ½ teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter)
- ½ cup (40g) shredded (grated) carrots (see note 2)
- ¼ cup (25g) chopped pecans (optional)
For the glaze
- 1 ½ cups 170g powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- 2-3 tablespoons of very hot water
Instructions
Make the cookie dough
- Butter mixture: In a large bowl use a spatula to mix butter and powdered (icing) sugar until it turns pale in color and light in texture.½ cup (113g) salted butter, softened to room temperature, ½ cup (55g) powdered sugar
- Flour mixture: In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves (optional) and salt.1 ⅛ cups (140g) all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture, then stir in shredded carrots. Add chopped pecans (if using). Mix to form a crumbly dough.½ cup (40g) shredded (grated) carrots, ¼ cup (25g) chopped pecans
- Use your hands or a spatula to mix everything together until you have a soft dough.
Refrigerate the dough
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes (see note 3)
Divide and roll the dough
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it in 2 pieces. Roll each piece into a log shape of approximately 4 inches (10cm) in length and 1 inch (3cm) in thickness (diameter)
Freeze the log-shaped dough
- Wrap the log shapes separately in plastic wrap and freeze for 25-30 minutes.
Slice and Bake
- Preheat the oven to 356° F / 180° C (160° C fan)
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Remove from the freezer and unwrap the shaped dough. Cut each log into slices that are ½ inch (1 cm) thick.
- Arrange the cookies about 2 inches (5cm) apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden.
Cool
- Remove the tray from the oven but leave the cookies on the baking tray for 5 minutes. The baked cookies will be soft when you take it out of the oven but crisp as they cool.
- After 5 minutes on the baking tray, the cookies will be firm and crisp enough to transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before topping with the glaze.
Glaze and store
- To make the glaze, mix powdered / icing sugar with very hot water.1 ½ cups 170g powdered sugar, 2-3 tablespoons of very hot water
- Whisk well until thick and smooth.
- Note: To make the glaze thinner, use more hot water; for a thicker glaze, use less hot water.
- Spread the glaze over the cooled cookies then leave to dry and set for at least 10 minutes. Once the glaze is dry and set, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
1.Butter: Get the butter out of the fridge at least 1 hour before baking. All the ingredients are incorporated much easier and quicker in soft butter. This also prevents overworking the dough, which produces dense instead of crispy cookies.
2. Carrots: Use short shreds of carrot, grated from the tip, for better results, rather than longer strands from the sides.
3.Do not skip the steps of chilling the dough. First after mixing (refrigerated for 20 minutes) and second after dividing and shaping into a log (freezing for 30 minutes) These are important steps. The first refrigeration firms the dough, making it easy to roll into a log. The second time (freezing) cools and firms the log shapes making it easy to slice into disks. See post above for instructions on making the cookie dough in advance
The cookie dough can be prepared up to 2 months in advance!
- Mix the dough, let it chill for 20 minutes, and shape it into a log as per the recipe size.
- Wrap it tightly in plastic, freeze for up to 2 months.
- When you're ready, take it out, and quickly slice the cold dough into disks. Avoid letting it warm up too much, as it'll become soft and difficult to handle.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 115kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 20mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 12g | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.4mg
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