These vegan carrot cake cookies deliver all the warm, spiced flavours of a classic vegan carrot cake in a soft, chewy cookie. Topped with a simple vegan buttercream and decorated with piped buttercream carrots, they’re delightful for Easter or any time of year.
If you love carrot cake flavours, you might also enjoy the author’s carrot cake pancakes or vegan carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
Brown sugar, warming spices and crunchy nuts are the hallmarks of these cookies. They have cakey, tender centres with lightly crisp edges and are loaded with the flavours you expect from carrot cake. The buttercream adds sweetness and visual charm, but the cookies are delicious even unfrosted—skip the icing if you prefer less sweetness.
After piping little buttercream carrots on a vegan carrot cake, the author wanted to recreate them on cookies because they’re so cute. Instructions for decorating are included below.
Key Ingredients
These cookies use everyday pantry ingredients and contain no eggs or special egg replacers.
Quantities are listed in the recipe card below.
- Brown sugar – adds sweetness and moisture, helping the cookies stay soft.
- Dairy-free butter – use a quality plant-based butter for best flavour.
- Vanilla extract – pure vanilla gives the best aroma and depth.
- Plain flour – also called all-purpose flour.
- Bicarbonate of soda – baking soda helps the cookies rise and puff slightly.
- Spices – ground cinnamon plus mixed spice create the classic carrot cake profile.
- Carrot – one medium carrot, peeled and finely grated.
- Walnuts – provide crunchy contrast; pecans can be used instead or omitted.
Equipment & Tools
Basic kitchen tools are all you need: an electric hand or stand mixer, mixing bowls, baking trays lined with paper, a cookie scoop and a cooling rack.
- Electric hand mixer – speeds up creaming the butter and sugar, though a stand mixer works too.
- Baking trays – large, flat sheets give the cookies space to spread.
- Cookie scoop – for consistent cookie sizes.
- Cooling rack – allows cookies to cool evenly before decorating.
Step-By-Step Instructions
This is a straightforward one-bowl recipe. Start by creaming the brown sugar, dairy-free butter and vanilla together until light and combined. Using a mixer helps achieve a smooth texture.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The dough may seem slightly crumbly but should press together when squeezed.
Fold in the grated carrot and chopped walnuts, switching to a spatula if needed to fully incorporate them.
Scoop dough into evenly spaced balls on lined baking trays, leaving room for spreading. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for about 14 minutes, or until the edges are golden. Cookies will be soft when removed but will firm up while cooling.
After removing from the oven, you can gently reshape each warm cookie with a spoon or large round cutter for a neater circle. Let cookies cool on the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
👉Tip! Shape warm cookies immediately after baking if you want perfectly round edges — they must still be soft for this to work.
Decorating the cookies
The little buttercream carrots are surprisingly simple. Start by making the buttercream: beat dairy-free butter with vanilla, then add icing sugar in increments until smooth. If the frosting becomes too stiff, add dairy-free milk by the tablespoon until creamy. Finish with a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness.
Spoon 2–3 tablespoons of buttercream into two small bowls and tint one orange and one green for the carrots. Spread the remaining white buttercream over each cookie.
Fill small piping bags: a small petal or flat tip for the orange carrot shape and a leaf tip for the green leaves. Pipe an orange zigzag in the centre of each cookie, starting narrow at the top and widening toward the bottom to form a carrot. Add two small green leaves at the wider end and finish with a sprinkle of extra chopped walnuts.
Allow the buttercream to crust in a cool, dry place if left uncovered; these cookies aren’t ideal for stacking once frosted. If you need a firmer topping for storing or travel, consider using a hard-setting icing instead of buttercream.
Recipe FAQs
A gluten-free all-purpose flour blend that includes xanthan gum can be substituted, though texture may differ slightly.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to a week.
Yes. Freeze baked cookies (before decorating) in a single layer with baking paper between layers for up to 3 months. Thaw before frosting.
Yes. Scoop dough into balls, freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and a rating below — the author would love to see your creations.
More vegan cookie recipes:
Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
Vegan Carrot Cake Cookies
Ingredients
For the vegan carrot cake cookies:
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 160 grams (⅔ cup) dairy free butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups plain flour/all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda/baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice
- Pinch salt
- ¾ cup grated carrot approx 1 medium carrot
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
For the vegan buttercream:
- 60 grams (¼ cup) dairy free butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon dairy free milk
- Pinch salt
- Orange and green gel food colouring (optional)
- Chopped walnuts (extra, optional)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line two baking trays with baking paper.
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Make the cookie dough. Beat the brown sugar, dairy-free butter and vanilla until light and creamy.
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Add flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, mixed spice and salt, mixing until just combined. Dough may be crumbly but should press together.
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Fold in grated carrot and chopped walnuts.
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Scoop dough (about 1½ tablespoons each) onto prepared trays, leaving room to spread.
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Bake 14 minutes or until edges are golden. Cookies will firm as they cool.
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Cool on the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
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Make the buttercream. Beat dairy-free butter with vanilla until smooth. Add icing sugar ½ cup at a time, adding dairy-free milk if needed to reach a spreadable consistency. Season with a pinch of salt.
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Decorate. Tint small amounts of buttercream orange and green. Spread white buttercream on each cookie, pipe the orange carrot shape and add green leaves. Sprinkle extra walnuts if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide and may vary based on ingredients used.