Carrot Cake Stuffed Cookies

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Carrot Cake Stuffed Cookies taste just like the classic cake, but the frosting has been hidden inside each treat instead of spread on top!

Prep Time20

Cook Time13

Freeze Time2

Total Time2 33

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cookies

Calories: 211kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Filling

4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
1½ tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Carrot Cake Cookie Dough

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar packed
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup finely shredded carrots water squeezed well from the shredded carrots with a paper towel

Instructions

Cream Cheese Filling

To a small mixing bowl add the softened cream cheese, granulated sugar and vanilla extract. Use a small spoon, or rubber spatula, to combine the ingredients until the mixture is smooth. Be sure that your soft cream cheese is very soft in order to get a nice smooth texture to the filling.
4 ounces cream cheese, 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Using a very small cookie scoop, or small spoon, scoop out 12 (approximately 2 teaspoon sized) dollops and place them onto a small parchment paper lined, freezer safe, tray. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and freeze the cream cheese dollops for at least 2 hours (or up to overnight) or until frozen solid.

Carrot Cake Cookie Dough

Preheat oven to 350* F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
To a small bowl stir together the all-purpose flour, ground cinnamon, baking soda, salt and ground nutmeg. Set aside.
1¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
To a large mixing bowl add the room temperature unsalted butter, light brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed, using a handheld mixer, for 1-2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
½ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup light brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar
To the beaten butter, add the large egg and vanilla extract. Beat again, for 30 seconds - 1 minute, until the mixture is smooth and the egg is fully incorporated. Add the shredded carrots and mix on low just until the shredded carrots are fully incorporated.
1 large egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ½ cup finely shredded carrots
Add the flour mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix on low speed just until all the flour has been incorporated and the dough comes together and is no longer crumbly. The dough will be very thick and slightly sticky to the touch. See tips about refrigerating the dough if too sticky to work with at this point.
Using a 2 inch, or 2 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop, and scoop out a leveled scoop of dough. Using your finger, carefully create a well in the center of the dough while still in the cookie scoop. You will now have dough that lifts taller than the edge of the scoop. This will make it easier to stuff and shape the slightly sticky cookie dough.
Place one of the frozen cream cheese dollops into the well of the carrot cake cookie dough, then gently cover the cream cheese with the sides of the dough that have pushed up on the sides of the cookie scoop.
Squeeze the cookie scoop handle to release the dough ball into the palm of your hand and gently roll the dough to create a smooth ball. Place onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat until all the cookies have been filled, and shaped, and have been placed onto the prepared baking sheets. You should fit 6 cookie dough balls, spaced about 2-3 inches apart, onto each of the prepared baking sheets.
Bake the cookies (with the baking sheets evenly spaced) in the center of the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges.
Allow the baked cookies to cool on the baking sheet, on the counter, for at least 15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely, allowing the cream cheese filling to set up and firm, before serving.

Notes

Storage:

To Store: These cookies should be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 24 hours. For longer storage, you can refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
To Freeze: These cookies can be frozen in an airtight container, in a single layer, for up to 2 months. You will need to thaw them in the refrigerator when ready to serve. Please note that the texture of the cookie may be a little softer after being frozen then thawed.
To Make-Ahead: You can make the cream cheese filling up to 24 hours ahead of time and freeze the dollops up to overnight before stuffing them into the cookie dough. You will find it is so much easier to stuff the cookies with the frozen solid cream cheese dollops.

Tips:

When measuring the shredded carrots, you just want to lightly pack the carrots into the measuring cup. Then make sure to squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible before adding them to the mixing bowl. This will ensure the dough doesn't become too wet, which could affect the texture and spreading of the cookies.
Be sure to use the fine (or smallest opening) side of a standard box grater for shredding the carrots. Pre-shredded carrots are too thick and large to use in this cookie dough recipe. One large carrot should yield the ½ cup finely shredded carrots needed.
You can add ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans to the cookie dough portion of this recipe for a similar texture and flavor to traditional carrot cakes. Keep in mind that the texture of the baked cookie will be slightly different than the recipe as written.
This carrot cake cookie dough is slightly sticky, so using a cookie scoop to scoop and create a well in the dough makes it much easier to stuff and roll in your hands.
If you want to decorate your carrot cake stuffed cookies with a cute little sugared candy carrot, you can carefully place the candy onto the top of the freshly baked cookie while still very warm. This will ensure that the candy sticks to the top of the cookies once cooled completely!

Nutrition