Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies
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Eat cookies for breakfast with this simple recipe for carrot cake breakfast cookies! Loaded with whole grain oats, carrots and nuts for a filling and hearty on-the-go breakfast option.
I don’t know why, but I’ve been obsessed with the idea of carrot cake cookies for a couple years now. I specifically remember having the most amazing carrot cake cookie at the Union Square Greenmarket during a trip to New York.
The whole weekend I couldn’t stop thinking about coming home to recreate the recipe. Lucky for me, my friend Kathryne of Cookie and Kate just released her first cookbook, Love Real Food which happens to have the carrot cake breakfast cookie recipe in it.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They’re hearty, filling and not too sweet.
- They’re portable and perfect for busy weekday mornings. Make a batch on Sunday during meal prep and have cookies for breakfast all week… doesn’t that sound awesome?
- All you need are 11 simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry!
- These cookies are dairy-free and can easily be made vegan!
Ingredients Needed
- rolled oats or quick-cooking oats – rolled oats or quick-cooking/instant oats will both work for these cookies. Instant oats are the most processed of all the oat varieties. They are pre-cooked, dried, and rolled and pressed slightly thinner than rolled oats. For rolled oats, the oat groats have been steamed and then rolled. These are my personal favorite. I like to use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free rolled oats.
- white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour – I love using whole wheat flour for added nutrition. It is packed with protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals and is really easy to bake with! That said, you can definitely use all-purpose flour if that’s all you have on hand.
- shredded carrots – the star of the show here! Feel free to use store-bought grated carrots or peel and grate them yourself.
- raw walnuts – I love the crunch the nuts add, but feel free to sub in a different nut like pecans or almonds or skip the nuts all together.
- raisins – carrot + raisins = best combo ever! They add a hint of sweetness to these cookies.
- honey – the perfect natural sweetener for these cookies. If you want to keep these vegan-friendly maple syrup is a great substitute.
- coconut oil – helps keep the cookies moist! Make sure you’re using in the liquid sate!
- baking powder – to help the cookies rise.
- ground cinnamon – you can’t have carrot cake without cinnamon!
- fine sea salt – just a pinch.
- ground ginger – for a little spice!
How to Make These Cookies
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and ginger. Whisk to blend. Add the shredded carrots, pecans, and raisins and stir to combine.
Step 3: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients: honey and melted coconut oil. Whisk until blended.
Step 4: Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. The dough might be rather wet, but don’t worry.
Step 5: Drop ¼-cup scoops of dough (an ice cream scoop is perfect for this) onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving several inches of space around each one. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten each cookie to about ¾-inch thick.
Step 6: Bake until the cookies are golden and firm around the edges, about 15 to 17 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely (otherwise, the bottoms can brown too much).
Notes + Subsitutions
- Flour: All-purpose flour would work just fine as a substitute. I haven’t tried a gluten-free version of these cookies, but I bet gluten-free all-purpose 1:1 flour would work well. If you try it, let me know in the comments below!
- Honey: If you need the cookies to be vegan just use maple syrup instead of honey for the sweetener.
- Coconut oil: You can use another oil like avocado, olive or vegetable oil instead of the coconut oil. Melted butter will also work well.
- Walnuts: I prefer chopped walnuts, but you could play around with other nuts! I bet almonds or pecans would be delicious. Feel free to skip them if you need these cookies to be nut-free.
- Raisin: If you aren’t a raisin fan, you can use chopped medjool dates or skip them all together.
How to Store Leftovers
Store leftover breakfast cookies, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Carrot Cake Inspired Treats
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, or quick-cooking oats
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ cups peeled grated carrots
- 1 cup raw pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup raisins
- ½ cup honey, or maple syrup
- ½ cup melted coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and ginger. Whisk to blend.
- Add the carrots, pecans, and raisins and stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl, combine the honey and coconut oil. Whisk until blended. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. The dough might be rather wet, but don’t worry.
- Drop ¼-cup scoops of dough (an ice cream scoop with a wire scraper is perfect for this) onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving several inches of space around each one. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten each cookie to about ¾-inch thick.
- Bake until the cookies are golden and firm around the edges, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely (otherwise, the bottoms can brown too much).
- Leftover breakfast cookies will keep, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Recipe republished from Love Real Food with permission.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
This sounds delicious and I can’t wait to make them! Can I use old fashioned rolled oats instead of quick oats, and if so, do I bake for the same amount of time?
Hey Asha – Yes, you can use rolled oats and can cook them for the same amount of time. Let me know how these cookies turn out if you end up trying them!
These are great! I actually did two substitutions… I did 1/2 cup of applesauce instead of 1/2 cup of honey, and 2/3 cup Greek yogurt instead of the 1/2 cup of oil. The taste and the texture turned out perfect both for me and my toddler! They’re very healthy and I love that they included so many food groups.
Yay! I’m so glad you and your toddler enjoyed this recipe, Melinda! Thanks for noting the subs you made and for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I so appreciate it!
Would almond flour work with this recipe?
Hi Courtney! I haven’t tested this recipe with almond flour so I am not sure if the cookies would turn out the same. The ratios might need to be altered a bit if using almond flour. If you’re looking for a GF option I would use an all-purpose gluten-free 1:1 flour. Let me know how they turn out if you end up making them!
Brittany, thanks for sharing this recipe. I made these today and they turned out great! I bought Love Real Food last year and have been enjoying cooking through it. Next up to try is your chia oatmeal breakfast cookies; I love the breakfast cookie concept!!
These cookies are absolutely delicious and are very hard to resist. I had to put some in the freezer and give a couple to a friend to try, to keep myself from eating them all too quickly. They are very filling and healthy. I plan on taking them for a snack during a round of golf, as they will be just the trick to renewing my energy half way around. Your recipes are always inspiring, and I really appreciate the way you share them and your knowledge with us. You help us more than you know! Sincere thanks.
It looks very much intresting.Instead of oil, plz give me the option
Brittany, I’m afraid I never commented to thank you for sharing this recipe. THANK YOU! Your kind words still mean so much. xoxo
These were delicious – soft, chewy and lots of good carrots. I used whole oats cause that’s what I had and turned out yummy. Thanks for the recipe. These could be a habit. I’ll have to make some for my neighbors. They love when I bake for them.
If I wanted to make these Gluten free what flour would you suggest? Coconut flour?
Hi Sarah. Would use an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix instead of the whole wheat flour. Bob’s Red Mill makes a great one!
Just made these! Amazing! Soft, chewy, and delicious! I omitted the nuts and added 2 scoops of Vega protein & greens powder. I may have doubled the raisins too, haha. They turned out perfectly! I’ll make a double batch next time so they last longer!
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed the cookies, Laura!