Sourdough Carrot Cake Cookies

If you have been on the hunt for the ultimate carrot cake cookie, your search is officially over. These Sourdough Carrot Cake Cookies are ultra chewy, slathered with cream cheese frosting, and feature that classic spiced flavor that we all crave. Not to mention, adding the sourdough discard keeps them really moist, while delicately balancing the sweetness and creating a bakery-style chew that is impossible to beat. You don’t need fancy equipment or hours of chill time for this recipe either! It comes together quickly, making it the perfect recipe for Easter, Christmas, or other special occasions! Trust me, once you try carrot cake cookies with sourdough, you’ll never go back!

Essentials for the Perfect Sourdough Cookie

• Digital Kitchen Scale: In my kitchen, a digital scale is a non-negotiable! I have had this exact digital scale for years, and it has never failed me! Measuring by weight is the only foolproof way to ensure that you measure difficult ingredients accurately. This is especially true for flour or sourdough starter, both of which can make or break a sourdough cookie’s final texture if improperly measured.
• Stand Mixer: A quality stand mixer can be an amazing tool for making sourdough cookies. You need to make sure that you do not over-mix the dough, but it can help to combine difficult ingredients or thick dough with ease!
• Large Cookie Scoop: Almost all of my sourdough cookie recipes are designed for making jumbo cookies. Using a large cookie scoop will help ensure that you get the perfect size cookie every time, and will help them bake evenly too!

Ingredients

Sourdough Carrot Cake Cookie Ingredients

• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed (220g): Make sure you pack it tight! The right amount of brown sugar gives the cookies the perfect amount of spread while keeping them chewy.
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar (65g): Including white sugar will help balance the moisture from the brown sugar and carrots, ensuring the cookies spread just the right amount.
• ½ cup salted butter, softened (113g): The perfect softness of the butter is “dent soft”, meaning it will indent somewhat easily when the corner is pressed with your finger, but still offers some resistance and is not completely room temperature yet. Depending on the temperature of your home, the perfect softness can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes at room temperature. If you want to use unsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp. additional salt to the recipe.
• ½ cup sourdough starter, active or discard, stirred down (150g): The sourdough starter can be active or discard starter! Be sure to stir the starter down before measuring. Or for best accuracy, measure by weight.
• 2 large egg yolks (40g): Having room temperature yolks is ideal, but cold yolks are fine too!
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (5g): Pure vanilla extract is best! Imitation vanilla often contains unnecessary additives.
• ½ tsp salt (3g): I prefer to use sea salt, as iodized salt may add an unwanted flavor profile.
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon (5g): Don’t skip the cinnamon! This is what gives the sourdough carrot cake cookies their classic warm-spiced flavor.
• 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour, scooped directly from bag (not spooned and leveled) (210g): It’s very difficult to accurately measure flour by volume. This is because it is all dependent on how you scoop it! For ease of measuring, I designed this volume measurement to simply be scooped directly out of the bag (not spooned and leveled). Pro Tip: For the best accuracy and best overall cookie texture, you should measure flour by weight.
• 1 tsp baking soda (6g): Ensure you are using baking soda, NOT baking powder. They are not interchangeable and will affect the spread and texture of the cookie.
• 1 cup peeled & grated carrots (2-3 medium carrots / 100g): To prevent adding too much moisture to the cookie dough, you should thoroughly dry the carrots after shredding. You can do this by laying them out on a paper towel or clean kitchen towel and patting them dry. Pre-shredded carrots are not recommended because they tend to be too thick and may cause the cookies to break apart after baking. If you must use pre-shredded, try to roughly chop them further before including.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

• ¼ cup salted butter, softened (55g): It is best to make sure the butter is softened enough that it will whip smoothly without chunks. It can be anywhere from “dent soft” to room temperature. If you want to use unsalted butter, add 1/8 tsp. additional salt to the recipe.
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened (113g): Note that cream cheese should not be left out at room temperature for more than two hours. Leaving it at room temperature for about one hour to soften is fine before making the frosting and putting it back in the fridge!
• ½ tsp vanilla extract (3g): Pure vanilla extract is best! Imitation vanilla often contains unnecessary additives.
• Pinch salt: I prefer to use sea salt, as iodized salt can add an unwanted flavor profile.
• 2 cups powdered sugar (250g): If you prefer a frosting that is less sweet, you may choose to use less powdered sugar. Note that adding less powdered sugar will thin the icing out, so you may need to add a small amount (1-2 tbsp) of cornstarch to reach the desired frosting thickness.

(Optional) Topping Ideas

• Optional Topping Ideas Include: Pecans, walnuts, raisins, a dusting of cinnamon, or a sprinkle of shredded carrots

How to Make Sourdough Carrot Cake Cookies

For the Cookies

Preheat Oven & Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream the Butter & Sugars: Start by beating the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and softened butter together. This works best with an electric mixer (either handheld or a stand mixer). You are looking for more than just a mix here, you want the texture to change. It should look creamy, uniform, and slightly aerated. If you see chunks of butter, keep mixing!

Add the Wet Ingredients: Add your sourdough starter, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat until it becomes smooth and slightly frothy. Tip: Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to ensure the starter is fully incorporated! You should not see any chunks floating around by this point.

Incorporate the Dry Ingredients: Add the ground cinnamon and flour, turn your mixer to low speed, and stir until it is mostly combined. Sprinkle in the baking soda last before giving it one final stir. Critical Step: Stop mixing when you still see a few tiny streaks of flour left. If you over-mix at this stage, you will accidentally over-develop the gluten and your cookies will be tough rather than soft and chewy.

Fold in the Carrots: Switch to a spatula, and gently fold in the grated carrots. This ensures that they are evenly distributed without accidentally overworking the dough.

Scoop & Bake: Use a large cookie scoop to place 6 generous portions of dough onto your parchment-lined baking sheet. Ensure even spacing between each to allow for spreading. Bake for 14–18 minutes. You’ll know they are done when the edges look slightly crisp, but the center looks mostly set but still soft. They will continue to set as they cool! This recipe makes about 14 cookies total.

Cool On Baking Sheet: Let the cookies sit on the hot baking sheet for right around 7 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. This is a crucial step for ensuring that the cookies set up completely. If you try to move them too soon, they will fall apart. Allow to cool completely while you make the frosting!

For the Frosting

Whip the Butter, Cream Cheese, Vanilla, & Salt. Beat the softened butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and salt on medium speed. I find that using the whisk attachment is best for this when possible. You want to whip air into this mixture until it looks fluffy and smooth (about 2–3 minutes). Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure no lumps remain at the bottom.

Incorporate the Powdered Sugar: Turn the mixer to low, and gradually add the powdered sugar (about ½ cup at a time), mixing well between each addition. Once incorporated, turn the speed up to medium-high and whip for another 1–2 minutes until it is light, airy, and smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl when necessary!

Check the Consistency: Test the frosting for desired consistency by lifting the beater out of the bowl. It should be thick and hold its shape on the beater, yet still be spreadable with a spoon. If it feels too stiff, you can add milk, a teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the correct consistency. If it’s too runny, you can add powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until it’s perfect.

To Assemble & Store

Frost & Top Cookies: Once cookies have cooled completely, top each cookie with a generous amount of frosting. If desired, optionally sprinkle with your choice of toppings, such as walnuts, pecans, raisins, cinnamon, or shredded carrots.

To Store: Transfer unfrosted cookies to an airtight container, where they can be stored at room temperature for up to 1-2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Frosted cookies must be refrigerated due to the cream cheese in the frosting, and are not safe at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Store frosted cookies in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Pro Tip: To prevent a mess of the frosting, you can frost cookies on the cooling rack and then place the entire rack in the fridge for a couple of hours! This allows the frosting to solidify before transferring the cookies to an air-tight container, where they can be stacked without smushing icing and making a mess.

To Make Sourdough Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

To make these into sandwich cookies, spread the underside of a cookie with a generous amount of frosting, top with optional toppings if desired, and then place a second cookie on top!

Substitutions & Variations

• Substitute dark brown sugar for light brown sugar if necessary.
• If using unsalted butter for the cookie dough, add an additional ¼ tsp salt.
• Active sourdough starter can be used! Just stir down before measuring.
• If you’re looking for a warm spiced cookie that doesn’t have carrots, then try my Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookie recipe.

Can I freeze sourdough cookie dough?

Absolutely! To freeze sourdough cookie dough, scoop into balls and place in a gallon freezer ziplock bag, ensuring space is left between each ball to prevent sticking. Frozen sourdough cookie dough can be stored for up to 2-3 months. Note that the texture of the carrots may change, and you may get a more crumbly result than you would from fresh cookie dough!

Pro Tip: Double the recipe to intentionally freeze an extra batch! This provides you with a ready-to-bake dough for when that sweet tooth hits. You can even bake just a few at a time for a quick, no-prep dessert.

Tips to Bake Sourdough Cookie Dough From Frozen:

• Add 2-4 minutes to the specified baking time
• Alternatively, allow dough to sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes to achieve a texture and baking time similar to fresh dough.

How to Make Long-Fermented Carrot Cake Sourdough Cookies

To long-ferment the dough for more flavor, gut-health, and nutritional benefits, follow these simple directions:

1. Prepare: Follow the recipe directions to make the dough.
2. Ferment: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, or transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for 1-3 days. Note: After the first day, longer fermentation increases the health benefits, but it also intensifies the tangy flavor.
3. Bake: The dough temperature will significantly affect the final texture of your cookies.

• For Chewier Cookies (preferred): About 1 hour before baking, remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. This will yield a texture result that is similar to freshly-made dough.
• For Cake-Like Cookies: If you’re in a pinch, you may bake the dough straight from the fridge. The cookies will not spread as much as freshly made dough, and will result in a thicker, more cakey consistency.

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More From The Sourdough Cookie Lady

• Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Sourdough Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
• Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies

Sourdough Carrot Cake Cookie Recipe: