If you are like me and love teeny tiny one-bite desserts these will be right up your alley. My Mini Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting are bursting with flavor in each little cookie. This easy recipe is low carb, keto, gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.
Carrot cake is one of my weaknesses. Store-bought cakes don't really appeal to me. They generally taste fake and overly sugary. I moved past wanting to eat the bright pink icing flowers long ago. The exception is store-bought carrot cake. Maybe they use more real ingredients or maybe it's just the cream cheese icing but when I see one of those it is very hard to resist a piece.
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Carrot Cake Bites
With my due date a week past and baby still cooking in my huge round belly one of the ways I've been nesting is by baking. The funny part about this recipe is I didn't set out to make cookies. I set out to make a copycat recipe for the Keto Love Carrot Cake Almond Butter I love so much.
I'm not sure where exactly I went wrong but it started looking more like cookie dough than almond butter and I decided to throw in some egg whites, bake it, and see what happened. Perfect carrot cake cookies are what happened.
How many cookies does this make?
My original batch made about 80 cookies. I decided to scale down for you guys because 80 seemed like a few too many. But if you want to double this recipe to get 80 cookies go for it. It would be perfect if you need to bring a lot to a cookie exchange or big party.
Are these cookies sweet?
The gluten-free carrot cake cookies themselves are not overly sweet. Most of the sweetness comes from the icing. If you decide to skip the icing, for whatever reason, I would suggest increasing the sweetener amount in the cookie.
Can I stack the cookies?
In case you were wondering I did end up stacking these carrot cake cookies successfully with parchment paper between them. The cream cheese frosting got a little smushed but still looked ok and they still tasted great.
Mini Carrot Cake Cookies Ingredients:
- almonds
- Trim Healthy Mama Gentle Sweet (or my sweetener)
- half and half
- butter
- egg whites
- cinnamon
- baking powder
- shredded carrots
- coconut flakes
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting:
- cream cheese
- Trim Healthy Mama Gentle Sweet (or my sweetener), finely ground
- butter
- half and half
- vanilla
- cinnamon, to sprinkle on top
Prefer a full-sized cake? Check out my Keto Carrot Cake! It is inspired by this recipe.
My Oatmeal Cream Pies are also a must-try.
Below is my original batch of 80-ish cookies. I froze some but we ate most of them. I had them for breakfast a few mornings with my coffee. Best breakfast ever.
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📖 Recipe
Ingredients
Cookie Ingredients:
- 2 cups almonds
- ¼ cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 2 oz half and half
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup coconut flakes
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 6 tablespoon Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes) finely ground
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon half and half
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Process the almonds in a food processor until they start to break down into a nut butter. Stop the machine and scrape the sides down as needed. Add the sweetener, half and half, butter, egg whites, cinnamon, and baking powder. Process until smooth. Stir in the carrots and coconut flakes.
- Using a small cookie scoop make about 40 cookies.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until firm to the touch and golden around the edges. Cool completely.
- Meanwhile, cream together the filling ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth. Put into a piping bag with a small round or star tip. Press the tip halfway down into the center of each cookie. Gently fill with the icing and then swirl on top.
Notes
Nutrition
Karen says
These came out great and are so cute! I love carrot cake, but with just the two of us, a whole cake is too much. But cookies are easy to freeze and fun to give away. The recipe made the perfect amount of cookies. I used 1 cup of store bought almond butter, and my dough was runnier than yours, so next time I might leave out the half and half. I had more frosting than I needed, so I made a cinnamon roll mug cake and used the extra frosting on that.
Kathy says
All of your recipes are terrific. Thank you for taking the time to do what some of us can't.
Again Thank you.
Vickie says
They are yummy! How do you store them, fridge or counter? Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Taryn says
I'd keep these in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting.
Amy says
Can you use the THM baking blend instead of almonds?
Taryn says
I have not tested that. I prefer this with coarsely ground almonds. It would not be the same with a floury blend.
Alexandra W says
Can I use Stevia and how much of it?
Thank you!
Taryn says
Stevia might work in the cookies but I'm not sure about the icing. Here is a conversion chart: https://trimhealthymama.com/#usefulinfo
Diana says
Can I use Splenda. If yes, how much, please.
Thank you
Taryn says
I think splenda should work but I have not tested it. You can try the same amount and then taste test as you go.
Gina says
Could I make this into bars?
Taryn says
I'm sure you could! I don't know an exact cooking time without testing it. My guess is 20 minutes.
Kristi says
Oh wow! Just pulled these out and slathered the frosting on. Soo tasty! Used almond butter and it worked well! Husband has trouble with THM based baked goods. He loves traditional baking and said my cookie was missing a crisp crunch. I told him they were based on carrot cake then replied quickly with, "Then that's mighty tasty carrot cake." Winning recipe here. Thank you for sharing!
PammieWe says
has anyone tried to use zucchini in place of the carrots?
Kay Inman says
These are sooooo good. I just made my second batch and always double it. My husband loves them! Thanks!
Rachel Wall says
I don't like coconut at all!! What could I sub for that and keep it low carb? Or could I just leave it out?
Taryn says
You could leave it out but I'd probably use sliced almonds to give these a little more texture.
Beth says
Hi there! Do you recommend using raw or roasted almonds for this recipe? I plan on making these today 🙂 Thank you!
Taryn says
I used raw almonds. Hope you like them 😀
Kelli says
Is the sweetener you use 1:1 sugar? I have Lakanto, Swerve , and Sukrin sweeteners that I would like to use and math is not my strong suit , lol. Can you help?
Taryn says
No, it is twice as sweet. If you use any of those you will need 1.5 to 2 times the amount listed. It is not as sweet as the sweetener I use.
megan says
Lakanto is 1:1 unless you have their powder which is 2:1. Good luck
Krista says
These are so tasty. I thought about adding ginger (either ground or fresh) next time I make them. Thoughts? What would that do to the carb count?
Taryn says
A little ginger will not affect the carb count. You'd have to use a ton to change the nutrition facts.
Kristen says
I’m not a fan of coconut, could I sub in GF oats?
Taryn says
Yes, that should work as long as you aren't trying to keep these very low carb.
Sabrina Vant says
In lieu of crushing two cups of almonds, how much almond flour would you estimate is necessary? Thanks!
Taryn says
I like the slightly coarser texture of using a nut meal instead of almond flour in this. But almond flour should work. Try half the amount called for and then check the consistency.
Ruth says
Thank you for your hard work. I really appreciate it.
Tomi says
What can I sub out the half and half for?
Taryn says
Heavy cream or almond milk should work.
Wynonah says
How can I sweeten these with natural sugars? Apple sauce, maple syrup, honey,.... I do not eat or use chemical/fake sweetners and don't like the flavor of stevia. Ideas? Thanks!
Taryn says
Coconut or maple sugar would work. A liquid sweetener may thin the batter too much.
Amber says
Thank you so much for your response. I'll be trying these out soon with almond butter!!
Amber says
These look amazing!! I'm wondering if starting with almond butter would work--then just mix in other ingredients as listed. Any thoughts you have on that would be wonderful!! Thank you for all the time and effort you put into your recipes. It sure makes it easier for me!
Taryn says
I think so. Two cups of almonds equals about one cup almond butter.