Chewy Brown Butter Carrot Cake Cookies

This recipe for Brown Butter Carrot Cake Cookies makes soft and chewy cookies that taste just like your favorite homemade carrot cake! They are packed with freshly grated carrots, brown butter and warm spices. They also stay soft and chewy for a whole week, so you will never suffer a dry stale one. If you love the idea of turning carrot cake into cookies, then check out my Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Cake Cookies too!

WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE

• Soft, moist and chewy cookies - these cookies have the softest and chewiest texture! They are very moist and they stay chewy for a whole week.
• Brown butter cookies - In this recipe, you will brown the butter which is a technique common in French cooking called "beurre noisette". It translates to "hazelnut butter" since the butter actually takes on nutty flavors once it is browned. Brown butter does two things for this recipe: 1) it adds incredible depth of flavor, 2) the cooking process removes the moisture from the butter to account for the added moisture from the carrots so that the cookies will be chewy instead of cakey. Too much moisture in cookie dough will make cakey cookies and I want these to be chewy.
• Fresh grated carrots - there are freshly grated carrots right in the cookie dough and it works great!
• Cookies taste just like carrot cake - this recipe is so great because these cookies taste just like carrot cake all in one portable cookie! There are fresh grated carrots right in the cookie dough, and a blend of sweet spices just like traditional carrot cake.
• Cream cheese frosting decoration - I decorate these cookies with a simple cream cheese icing dyed orange and green to make little carrots on top of each cookie.

INGREDIENTS FOR CARROT CAKE COOKIES

• All purpose flour - regular unbleached all-purpose flour works just fine in this recipe to make cookies with a soft and chewy texture. For best results, use a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients.
• Spices - a fragrant blend of cinnamon and nutmeg pairs nicely with carrots and pecans! Sometimes I also add a touch of ground ginger. Carrot cake has a mild spice taste, and this blend suits these cookies perfectly.
• Granulated sugar - granulated sugar helps to give the cookies a golden brown top and caramelized edges.
• Brown sugar - brown sugar adds rich molasses undertones to complement the sweet spices and also helps to create chewy cookies. You can use light or dark brown, but I prefer light brown in this recipe.

• Brown butter - browning butter is a process where you cook the butter over the stove until all of the moisture boils away and the milk solids (proteins and sugars) turn golden brown through a reaction called "Maillard browning" to give the butter a nutty, caramelized taste and aroma. The instructions for how to brown butter are here.
• Eggs - one large egg will bind this cookie dough.
• Pure vanilla extract - vanilla will enhance the spices. I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.
• Grated carrots - you will need ⅔ cup of shredded carrots which is about 75g from about 1 large carrot. Make sure you weight the carrots because if you use too much, it will add too much moisture to the dough and the cookies won't bake properly. Also, it is important that you blot the moisture out of the carrots after you weigh them with a paper towel to remove as much moisture as you can. Do this 3 times for best results.
• Cream Cheese - the filling for these cookies is made with just 2 ingredients! All you need is cream cheese and regular sugar.

HOW TO MAKE BROWN BUTTER

If you've never made brown butter, you MUST try it. It adds amazing complexity and richness in the form of nutty, caramel-like flavors that enhances many recipes.

• STEP 1). First melt your butter over medium heat in a small sauce pan. Make sure to use a stainless steel saucepan so you can see what's happening. If you use a dark pan it may be difficult to monitor the change in color.
• STEP 2). Once melted, let the butter come to a simmer. It will crackly as it boils. This is the sound of the water content (approximately 15%) evaporating out. Stir the butter constantly as it melts to ensure it cooks evenly and so the brown bits don't catch at the bottom. Stirring will bring them up to the surface above the foam so you can watch the color change.

• STEP 3). As the moisture evaporates, the butter will start to foam. This is the point when the browning starts to happen. Keep stirring the butter. Keep a close eye on the butter and DO NOT WALK AWAY.
• STEP 4). Eventually the crackling will settle down and the foam on the surface will become very dense to the point that you cannot see the clear butterfat beneath it. The foam will turn golden and as you stir you should see little brown flecks coming up into the pan. This is the sign that you are done! The butter will turn a golden color and you'll know it's done by the smell... it will have a toasted, caramelized and nutty aroma.
• STEP 5). Immediately pour it out into a clean bowl and let it cool before using it in the recipe.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

• STEP 1). Brown the butter. First melt the butter over medium-low heat in a saucepan. Continue cooking, letting it boil gently and crackle. Once all of the moisture boils off, a dense foam will begin to appear at the surface and it will start to smell nutty as the milk solids brown. Stir the butter constantly. When the foam subsides and you see the golden brown bits, it is ready.
• STEP 2). Cool the butter. Immediately pour the hot brown butter off into a clean bowl. You should be left with golden yellow liquid butter and lots of nutty brown flecks. Let it cool until for about 15 minutes so it is no longer hot. If the butter is too hot, the cookies will be greasy.
• STEP 3). Shred the carrots. Use the fine or medium size on your box grater - do not the largest size. If the carrot shreds are too large then they won't bake into the cookie dough as nicely.
• STEP 4). Cream butter and sugar. Combine the brown butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar and whisk or beat until combined. It will look more like wet sand than a pale and aerated mixture.
• STEP 5). Mix in egg. Add the egg mix until well combined. Mix in vanilla.
• STEP 6). Mix in carrots. Add the grated, blotted carrots and mix until well combined.
• STEP 7). Add dry ingredients. Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly. Add them into the bowl with the wet ingredients and fold them in gently. Fold in pecans. Do not over-mix.
• STEP 8). Bake. Scoop up portions of cookie dough and roll into smooth balls. Place them onto lined baking sheets and bake until evenly golden. Let them cool on the trays for 2 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

EXPERT BAKING TIPS FOR CARROT CAKE COOKIES

• Blot the grated carrots with paper towel. Do this at least 3 times with 3 dry paper towels. This will absorb excess moisture from the carrots so that you don't add too much extra water to the cookie dough. Moisture is the nemesis of chewy cookies!
• Let the brown butter cool. If the brown butter is too hot when you add the sugar and other ingredients, then it will not incorporate evenly the cookie dough will be greasy.
• Measure flour accurately. Too much flour can make these cookies more dry and crumbly instead of soft and chewy. For the best results, weigh your flour.
• Do no over-mix on the last step. Just fold the dry ingredients in until they are combined. Over-mixing the dough will make it a bit gluggy as the moisture from the carrots reacts with the gluten proteins in the flour.
• Let the baked cookies cool on the baking sheet. The cream cheese filling makes these cookies delicate while warm, so let them cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

RECIPE FAQ

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