These healthy oatmeal cookies taste like carrot cake in cookie form. These cookies are just 4 ingredients and don’t contain any flour, eggs, refined sugar, butter or oil. The cookies are soft and chewy.
With Easter just around the corner, all I keep seeing are recipes for carrot cake. So I wanted to create a healthy recipe that lets you enjoy the flavors of carrot cake.
Ingredients
- Carrots
- Cinnamon applesauce
- Quick oats
- Maple syrup
Carrots: Make sure to use finely shredded carrots. I don’t recommend using pre-packaged shredded carrots because they will be too thick. You want to shred your own to make very fine shreds because the cookies do not bake very long.
Cinnamon applesauce: These cookies use unsweetened cinnamon applesauce. The applesauce acts as a binding agent, creates the soft texture and adds natural sweetness to the cookies. I also chose to use cinnamon flavored applesauce so that it also adds cinnamon spice to the cookies. If you can’t find unsweetened cinnamon applesauce, you can also just use unsweetened applesauce and mix in some cinnamon into the cookie batter.
Quick oats: I used quick oats for these cookies though you could also use rolled oats. Quick oats are rolled oats that are thinner and smaller, so they cook faster.
Maple syrup: The cookies are lightly sweetened with maple syrup. I found that using unsweetened applesauce wasn’t quite sweet enough, but adding a touch of maple syrup helps give enough sweetness to these cookies.
How to Make Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
The carrots, applesauce and syrup are first stirred together. The oats are then mixed in until they are evenly combined and coated. Use a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop to scoop the dough and place onto your prepared baking pan.
The cookies do not spread in the oven so you do need to shape them yourself. Flatten the cookie mixture with the back of a spoon and smooth the edges to form thick round disks. I like using these MIU* mats because they have circle outlines to help guide me. (*This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.)
The cookies are then baked for about 12 minutes or until done.
Cookie Texture and Sweetness
These cookies have a soft and chewy texture. They have a texture similar to baked oatmeal, but not as soft or cakey. The cookies are very lightly sweetened. You can add raisins or other sweet mix-ins if you want a sweeter cookie. You can also add chopped pecans or walnuts for more texture. I did add chopped pecans to the ones pictured in this post but the nuts are completely optional. If you don’t like nuts or can’t consume nuts, you can leave them out.
More Oatmeal Cookie Recipes
- 4 Ingredient Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Crispy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Apple Oatmeal Cookies
4 Ingredient Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (29 g) finely shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup (122 g) unsweetened cinnamon applesauce
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup
- 1 cup (93 g) quick oats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Add carrots, applesauce and maple syrup to a large mixing bowl. Stir until the ingredients are evenly mixed. Add in oats and stir until they are evenly mixed in and coated. Taste, and if needed, you can add another 1 tbsp syrup if you desire sweeter cookies. If you want to add mix-ins like chopped nuts, chocolate chips or raisins, stir them in.
- Use a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop to scoop cookie dough and place onto prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies 1.5 inches apart.
- Use the back of a metal spoon to flatten dough and smooth the sides of each cookie until they are thick round disks (a little less than 1/2 inch thick). If your dough is too sticky, wet the spoon lightly with water and then shape the cookies. The cookies will not spread much during baking, so shape the cookies how you want the final outcome to be. See photo in post for reference.
- Bake cookies for about 12-13 minutes or until done. Let cookies cool before removing and eating. Store uneaten cookies in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- I recommend shredding the carrot yourself rather than using pre-shredded carrots which are too thick. Choose a grater with small holes to make very fine shreds like in the photo in the post.
- These cookies have a soft and chewy texture. You can also add nuts, chocolate chips or raisins to add more texture. I added 1/4 cup of chopped pecans, but it is optional.
- If you can't find cinnamon applesauce, you can use regular unsweetened applesauce and add 1/4 tsp of cinnamon to the mixture.
- You can also use sweetened cinnamon applesauce (you may want to reduce the maple syrup if you do).
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
My husband and Son are diabetics and they love sweets. I would like these recipes
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Thanks
You’re welcome!
I would like to try this recipe.. thank you
We hope you love the cookies!
These cookies look lovely going to av a go they look really easy to make and only a few ingredients xx?
hope you enjoy!
Oh my goodness!! Such a wonderful combination. I will admit, I ate some raw. Fabulous, on the first go?
Glad you liked them!
THANK YOU
You’re welcome!
can i substitute anything for the mayple suryup , or do i have to use really mayple or can i use like mrs buttersworth
The maple syrup is used only to sweeten the cookies so yes you can substitute with other syrups.
Sounds like a great cookie for diabetes
We hope you try them soon!
I really like these cookies and very easy to make thank you so much looking forward to b sent emails with further recipes
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Looks very very tasty and healthy
Will make them lovelyy tnx
These sound good…I will try this weekend. Would you think replacing half or more of syrup with date paste will affect taste/structure much?
Without trying it, it’s hard to know how it will change the texture. Let us know if you try it!
I love your easy recipes! Your explanations are clear, precise and uncomplicated. Thank You!
Thank you! We’re glad you like the recipes.
Excellent I have high cholesterol so I am going to try and bring it down without stating.. starting with this one Thank you..
Let us know what you think!