Enjoy carrot cake in cookie form with my Gluten Free Stuffed Carrot Cake Cookies. Soft gluten free carrot cake cookies are stuffed with a dairy free cream cheese filling for a delicious take on a classic cake recipe.
Although I consider carrot cake to be a fall dessert since it's made from a root vegetable and filled with warm spices, it's also a popular spring recipe with Easter being at that time. No matter when you make these cookies, though, they're sure to please! We are basically turning traditional carrot cake inside out to make carrot cake cookies with cream cheese filling. The soft and chewy cookies are made with real carrots and plenty of spice and then a sweet and simple, but tangy cream cheese frosting is stuffed into the middle instead of spread on top of the cookies.
Why You'll Love These Gluten Free Stuffed Carrot Cake Cookies
- These cookies are versatile and bring the flavors of carrot cake to cookie form! They're perfect for a fall get together with your friends or to make for the kids on Easter.
- These easy carrot cake cookies aren't hard to make. Just plan enough time to let the cream cheese filling set.
- They are gluten free, dairy free, and can be made refined sugar free. My goal is always to make healthier and allergy friendly versions of recipes, so these cookies are a fraction of the sugar of most cookie recipes while still being delicious!
- They are customizable. You can add whatever your favorite carrot cake flavors are to the dough.
Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cookie Ingredients
- Tigernut flour: a nut free alternative to almond flour, I love using tigernut flour to add sweetness without added sugar.
- 1:1 gluten free flour: be sure to use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend for the best outcome.
- Tapioca starch: adding a little bit of tapioca starch to gluten free baked goods helps keep the texture light.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger: our main blend of sweet spices in this carrot cake cookies recipe.
- Coconut oil: the main fat for these cookies. I have not tested them with with olive oil or butter.
- Coconut sugar: the unrefined sweetener for this recipe. If you can't access coconut sugar, see below for alternative.s
- Applesauce: applesauce helps reduce the amount of oil needed and keeps the cookie texture soft.
- Egg: you'll need 1 large egg for this recipe.
- Grated carrots: can't miss the carrots! Make sure you use peeled carrots. Also, there's no need to squeeze out excess moisture, we're shredding the carrots and throwing them right into the batter.
- Walnuts, raisins: I love carrot cake with delicious add-ins like walnuts and raisins, but you can always leave them out if you prefer.
- Cream cheese: I use a plant based variety to keep these cookies dairy free, but whatever cream cheese you like will work.
- Powdered sugar: to keep this recipe refined sugar free, just blend 1 cup of coconut sugar with 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch for a healthier powdered sugar.
- Baking soda, vanilla extract, salt
How to Make Stuffed Carrot Cake Cookies
- First you'll make the cream cheese filling by beating together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl. Then scoop teaspoon sized dollops onto a parchment lined tray and pop them in the freezer for an hour. You should get about 20-24 servings.
- Whisk together the flours, baking soda, and spices in a medium bowl.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer to cream together the coconut oil and sugar in a large bowl. Add the applesauce, egg, and vanilla and beat to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined.
- Fold in the carrot shreds, walnuts, and raisins.
- Pop the carrot cake cookie dough into the fridge while you preheat the oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- When ready, scoop large portions of dough that are about 35g (about 2-3 Tbsp). I like to use a large cookie scoop for this Flatten the cookie in your hand and add a cream cheese dollop to the middle. Fold the cookie around the filling and roll in your hand to create a smooth ball. Place the cookie on the prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough, placing cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. You should get about 18-24 cookies. Make sure to keep the filling in the freezer as needed. As the cream cheese comes to room temperature, it melts and will be difficult to handle.
- Bake for 18-22 min, until golden brown and center looks almost done (it should seem a little underdone).
- Let cookies cool for 10 min on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Enjoy these soft cookies and maybe they'll even become your new favorite dessert!
Substitutions and Variations
- Oil: I haven't tested using butter or dairy-free butter in this recipe, but I think it would work just fine.
- Sugar: if you don't have coconut sugar, you can use ¼ cup of dark brown sugar and ¼ of white sugar.
- Orange zest: if you'd like to add a twist to these cookies, add ¼-1 teaspoon of orange zest to the batter. The more you use, the stronger the flavor becomes!
- Add-ins: switch up the walnuts for pecans or the raisins for chopped dates for a little twist on the classics.
Storage
Store these gluten-free carrot cake cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. These cookies taste best fresh and I don't suggest freezing them, as the filling won't be the same once frozen and thawed.
What's the Best Way to Shred Carrots?
Although you can shred the fresh carrots by hand using a box grater, it's much easier to use the food processor. I'm not sure why more people don't recommend this. Just peel your carrots, chop off the end and pop them through the food processor.
Do I Need to Use a Scale to Measure the Cookie Dough?
You don't have to use a scale, but it does make things more efficient and uniform. If you don't have a digital scale, use a large cookie scoop or about 2-3 tablespoon of dough per cookie. You should want to make sure you have enough dough to wrap around the cheesecake filling without gaps or tearing.
More Gluten-Free Cookies
Gluten Free Pumpkin Brownie Cookies
Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Cookies
The Best Gluten Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gluten Free and Dairy Free Butter Pecan Cookies
Gluten Free Stuffed Carrot Cake Cookies
You'll love this cookie take on a classic cake recipe. We're turning carrot cake into cream cheese stuffed carrot cake cookies that are fully gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free!
Servings 18 cookies
Equipment
- Baking trays
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling
- 4 oz. cream cheese of choice I used a plant-based variety
- ¼ cup powdered sugar*
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Cookies
- 1 cup 1:1 gluten free flour
- ½ cup sifted tigernut flour or almond flour
- 2 tablespoon tapioca starch
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ⅓ cup coconut oil softened
- ⅓ cup applesauce room temp
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- 1 egg room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- Combine all the cream cheese filling ingredients in a small bowl and beat until well combined and fluffy. If you're using vegan cream cheese, it can sometimes start to melt and not get fluffy, that's okay! Scoop teaspoon sized dollops onto a tray or plate lined with parchment paper and freeze for an hour. You should get at least 18 dollops, but up to 24.
- When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk the flours, baking soda, and spices together in a bowl and set aside.
- Beat the coconut oil and sugar in a larger bowl until creamed together. Add the applesauce, egg, and vanilla and beat to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients and beat on low until just combined.
- Fold in the carrots, walnuts, and raisins.
- If the dough is too wet and hard to work with for any reason, let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes until you can work with it.
- Use a large cookie scoop to scoop balls of dough that are about 35g. This is about 2-3 Tbsp. You should want enough dough to be able to wrap around a dollop of cream cheese filling without gaping or tearing apart.
- Flatten the dough in your hand and add one of the frozen cream cheese dollops. Fold the cookie around the cream cheese and roll into an even ball. Place on the cookie sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining dough, you should get about 18 cookies
- Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the baking sheet and bake for 18-22 min, until center looks done. It is best to place the cookie sheet in the middle of the oven, so you’ll bake one sheet at a time while the other cookies remain in the fridge.
- Let cool for 10 min on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling
Notes
*Make your own by blending 1 cup of coconut sugar with 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
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