cheesecake stuffed carrot cake cookies;
Delicious soft carrot cake cookies, stuffed with cream cheese filling and topped with extra sweet cream cheese icing. These stuffed carrot cake cookies are the perfect combination of sweet, with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg throughout the carrot dough.
I used Stephanie’s Sweet Treats recipe for inspiration, but I upped the icing because I wanted the whole cookie to be covered, and with a young baby, I don’t have time for piping tips! But check out her recipe if you want to see these cookies with cute cute little iced carrots for topping.
When it comes to jumping into the recipe, start with the cream cheese filling. It’ll need to freeze before you shape the cookies, and then you’ll need to chill the cookies after freezing, so prepare yourself for a little wait time. But the first part is simple. Simply mix together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla to make a sweetened filling, then scoop into balls and freeze.
There’s two tips for you here. The first is make sure your cream cheese is room temperature when you whip in the sugar.
secret to success
There’s two tips for you here. The first is make sure your cream cheese is room temperature when you whip in the sugar and vanilla. Room temperature cream cheese will make whipping a breeze, and also helps ensure a smooth texture. Make sure to prepare a lined pan that can fit in your freezer before you scoop out balls of filling. Parchment paper, wax paper, or a silicone baking mat will all work well to easily release your filling once they’re frozen.
The second tip for the filling is to use a mini cookie scoop to create the balls. If you don’t have access to a cookie scoop, no worries, you can totally use two spoons to make your filling dough balls. It helps to not rely on your fingers since the filling is sticky and malleable. You want blobs somewhere roughly in the 1/2 Tbsp range, but the key is mostly to get 16 roughly-even balls. Do what you need to when it comes to making them even! Take advantage and go back and add an extra smear here or there to even out your filling.
Grate your carrots. Then squeeze out the moisture. Don’t skip this step!
secret to success
Then comes the waiting. Luckily you can start on the stuffed carrot cake cookies batter while you’re waiting. And, true to form we start with the carrots. Grate your carrots. I use a plane old box shredder, but whatever gets the job done is fine. Then squeeze out the moisture. Don’t skip this step! It’s critical to ensure the correct texture of your stuffed carrot cake cookies.
As you start adding your cookie ingredients into a bowl, pay special attention to the melted butter. Nothing crazy here, just melt it in the microwave. But the key is allowing it to cool. Cool, as in, not hot, but still in liquid form. This is critical so as not to excessively melt the sugars or scramble the eggs when you add them. Trust me if you want a breakfast cookie, try something other than accidentally scrambling eggs in your stuffed carrot cake cookies.
As you start adding your cookie ingredients into a bowl, pay special attention to the melted butter.
secret to success
You will need one more stint in the freezer once you form the individual cookies, wrapping cookie dough around the frozen filling. You then pop them back into the freezer. This will help the butter and solids firm up a little and means the cookies will bake evenly and thoroughly.
Take care to space out your stuffed carrot cake cookies on the cookie sheet, since they will spread. These stuffed carrot cake cookies end up being on the large side of cookies because they have a stuffed filling. But you won’t hear complaining from me!
Once you bake your cookies, be gentle with the pan as you remove it from the oven. Too much movement can cause the cookies to deflate or ooze extra cheesecake filling. But once the cookies set, you’re in for a delicious treat!
secrets to success;
Want all the best tips and tricks to make this recipe a success? Check out the blog post above to find out more!
more recipes;
Looking for other spring recipes? Check out all these delicious options!
- Make these sweet little bunny-butt chocolate pretzel treats for a fun, festive, spring treat!
- Strawberry chocolate chunk cookies take a classic chocolate chip cookie and turn it up a sweet notch with intense strawberry flavors
- For a savory-sweet treat, try this sweet corn mochi cornbread. It’s got such a chewy texture that’s really satisfying as a side dish, and a perfect way to use up extra corn this summer!
stuffed carrot cake cookies;
Ingredients
cheesecake filling;
- 6 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
carrot cake cookies;
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted and cooled
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup grated carrots grated fresh, heaping cup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
cream cheese icing;
- 4 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
cheesecake filling;
- Add 6oz room temperature cream cheese, 3 Tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract to a small bowl. With a hand or stand mixer, beat on high speed until creamy and smooth.
- Place wax or parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Use ½ Tbsp scoop to make 15 even-sized dollops of cheesecake filling. Put cookie sheet into the freezer to allow the filling to harden.
carrot cake cookies;
- Melt 2 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter in a microwave-safe dish. Make sure to stir to prevent hot spots, then set aside.
- Grate your carrots using a grater, making sure to pack the cup well. Once you have enough, pour the carrots into paper towels and squeeze to release the moisture. Repeat 2-5 times depending on how moist your carrots are.
- In a large bowl, add the cooled melted butter. Add 1 cup brown sugar and ½ cup of sugar. Beat with hand or stand mixer on high speed for ~2 minutes or until sugar is evenly distributed and begins to dissolve.
- Add in the grated carrots, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2 egg yolks. Mix on medium speed until combined.
- Add in the dry ingredients: 3 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, and heaping ¼ tsp ground nutmeg. Mix on low speed until ingredients are just incorporated and no more streaks appear in the dough.
- Divide the dough into 15 portions. I used roughly 2 scoops of my cookie scoop for each cookie.
- Once the cheesecake filling are frozen, or at least chilled enough to handle without sticking, stuff each cookie. Take one portion of cookie dough and press a thumb in the middle. Fill with cheesecake filling and cover with cookie dough. Roll into a ball, and place on the baking sheet and after repeating with remaining cookies, return to the freezer for 10-20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove cookies from the freezer, and arrange on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Make sure to allow cookies room enough to spread, I wouldn't recommend more than 5-6 cookies on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes. Once edges begin to brown slightly, remove from the oven, and allow to sit on the pan for 10-15 minutes before transferring
cream cheese icing;
- Add 4oz cream cheese and 4 Tbsp softened unsalted butter into a small bowl and beat with a mixer until creamy and smooth. Add in 1½ cup powdered sugar and 2 tsp vanilla and blend until smooth.
- Once cookies have cooled, add a small dollop of icing on each cookie and spread as desired.
