Making Carrot Cake Cookies with Cake mix is a quick and easy trick to make this delicious sweet treat. Carrot Cake Mix Cookies with cream cheese frosting are a great option for those with limited time or baking experience, that still want to make homemade cookies for their friends and family. A great last minute recipe to make for cook-outs, potlucks, Easter cookies and holiday cookie swaps. These easy chewy cookies won't disappoint!
Carrot cake mix cookies are perfect for satisfying a sweet tooth without baking a full cake. This easy carrot cake cookie recipe makes nice big cake cookies. One cookie should suffice for a serving. Using boxed cake mix in the recipe saves time, a little clean-up and omits some potential measurement errors.
How to Make Carrot Cake Cookies from Cake Mix
Let's make a batch of these yummy and super easy Carrot Cake Mix Cookies. Follow along here for step-by-step directions complete with pictures or hop down to the printable recipe card below.
The recipe yields 16 cookies.
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Bake Time: 12 minutes
Equipment: two large bowls, baking sheet, parchment paper or silicone mat, electric mixer (hand or stand), cookie scoop or spoon and spatula
Ingredients for Carrot Cake Mix Cookies
- 1 box (13.25 oz) of carrot cake mix
- ¼ cup of sour cream
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup of vegetable oil (or melted butter)
Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz of cream cheese (softened)
- ½ stick of unsalted butter (softened)
- 3 cups of powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup of chopped walnuts
Make sure the cream cheese and butter for the cream cheese frosting recipe are room temperature or slightly warm.
Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat to prevent the cookies from sticking and set aside.
Dump the carrot cake mix, sour cream, eggs and vegetable oil into a large bowl. Stir until well combined to make your cookies dough.
Take 2 tablespoon sized scoops of the dough for each cookies and drop onto the prepared baking sheet. (A cookie scoop makes this easier.) Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes until they puff up and are lightly golden brown at edges.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting: Put the softened cream cheese and butter in a large bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until smooth and creamy. Slowly add the powdered sugar while beating on low until all 3 cups are mixed. Add the vanilla extract and beat once again.
Once the carrot cake mix cookies are fully cooled, spread the cream cheese frosting over the cookie tops with a swirling motion. Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top if you like.
Enjoy all the carrot cake flavor in an easy to grab soft and chewy cookie with cream cheese frosting!
Tips
- While optional, chilling the dough for 20-30 minutes before scooping and baking will avoid spreading of the cookies.
- If the dough balls seem too fat, squash them down a little so you will have a flatter surface to frost.
Variations
Here are a few simple add-ins or swaps you may like to try when making these carrot cake mix cookies your own.
- First off you are free to add a little fresh shredded carrot to the carrot cake cookie dough if you want. Don't add a lot, just a small grated carrot is plenty.
- Swap melted butter for the oil in the recipe for richer flavor and a chewy texture to the cookies.
- Add white chocolate chips, chopped nuts, shredded coconut or raisins to the batter before baking.
- Add some extra warm spices such as nutmeg, ginger or cinnamon to the dough if you like, just remember the box cake mix will include a little of these spices, so don't over do it.
- Top the cake mix cookies with candy sprinkles or a dusting of cinnamon, rather than walnuts.
- If you don't feel like making homemade frosting for the cookies, a tub of cream cheese frosting will do. You can even melt and drizzle it over the cookies as icing rather than a frosting.
Store Cookies
Store cooled and frosted cookies in an airtight container. They will be good on the counter for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 4 days.
For longer term storage of these delicious cookies, freezing will make them last up to 3 months. Freeze the unfrosted cookies and make sure to seal well in a freezer safe bag or container.
For more easy cake mix cookies, try my Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies or Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies.
Carrot Cake Mix Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 box carrot cake mix 13.25 ounces
- ¼ cup of sour cream
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened (½ a stick)
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts optional topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Dump the carrot cake mix, sour cream, eggs and vegetable oil into a large bowl. Stir until well combined to make your cookies dough.
- Scoop about two tablespoons of dough for each cookie and place them on the prepared baking sheet. (A cookie scoop makes this easier.) Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until they puff up and the edges are slightly golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting the,
Make the Frosting
- Put the softened cream cheese and butter in a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Slowly add the powdered sugar while beating on low until all 3 cups are mixed. Add the vanilla extract and beat once again.
- Once the cookies are fully cooled, spread the icing over the cookie tops with a swirling motion. Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top if you like.
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