Chocolate Chip Carrot Cookies

Sneak some veggies into your chocolate chip cookies! These are the perfect mid-afternoon vegan treat.

chocolate chip carrot cookies

I’ve been baking a lot of chocolate chip cookies lately. I’m not sure what prompted the obsession, but what I’ve learned is that once you start a 3 o’ clock cookie habit, it’s hard to break. This particular day I had carrots, so I worked those into the mix.

I quickly realized that grating carrots by hand was a tedious task, so I turned to the food processor. And instead of dirtying another bowl for my wet ingredients, I just mixed them straight in there. (My mom uses the same method for her carrot cakes).

chocolate chip carrot cookies

A couple of notes… these are eggless (vegans, I’ve been listening and have been embracing the flax egg). However, they’re a bit on the crumbly side. But, tasty crumbs.

This is a relatively small batch – there are just two of us living in our household, so I don’t like to bake tons and tons of cookies at one time. I also find that these are best straight out of the oven. There’s a slight crispness on the edges that goes away after being stored.

chocolate chip carrot cookies

 
Author:
Serves: about 12 small cookies
Ingredients
  • 6 tablespoons flour (I used half spelt, half millet, but half white/wheat would work)
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ tablespoon ground flax seeds plus 1.5 tablespoons warm water
  • ½ cup grated carrots
  • ¼ cup butter (or vegan butter or melted coconut oil)
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • ¼ cup oats
  • ¼ cup chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup walnuts
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour(s), baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.
  2. In a small bowl, mix the ground flax seeds with the warm water. Let that sit for a bit and then stir it after a few minutes until the mixture becomes a bit thick.
  3. In a small food processor*, pulse the carrots until they're "grated" consistency (i.e., not pureed). Add in the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and the flax seed mixture. Pulse until combined, scraping the edges a few times as you go. Gradually add the flour mixture into the food processor. Pulse until just combined, don't over mix.
  4. Scrape your batter into a bowl (i.e., the one you just used for the flour). Refrigerate for 30 minutes.** Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  5. Remove from the refrigerator and stir in oats, walnuts and chocolate chips. Using a tablespoon, scoop batter into balls and place on cookie sheet at least a few inches apart.
  6. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown and the edges become slightly crisp.
Notes
*If you don't want to use a food processor, grate the carrots by hand and whisk the wet ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.

*these are on the crumbly side, and I've found that chilling the batter before baking helps them to set.

 

29 comments

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  1. I adore the combo of the chocolate chips and carrot. So unique in a cookie but I bet they are incredible together!

  2. These look great! I love the idea of mixing the unexpected carrots with the sweet chocolate chips. I will be sure to try this when we yank our first carrots out of the ground!

  3. Adriana from thefamilystandardblog.com
    04.12.2013

    I too have had a recent insatiable craving for chocolate chip cookies – no other kind, and unless I have that, I can’t satisfy my craving. Thanks for posting such a unique recipe – this is next on my to-make list!

  4. Carrots in cookie form is an amazing idea! I kind of despise carrots in their natural form (awful, I know…) but in baked goods I adore them. Keeping these in mind!!!

  5. Ashley
    04.10.2013

    My boyfriend and I made these tonight and they were amazing!! We just happen to have all the ingredients to top of the cookies with some frosting. Delish!

  6. Tieghan from halfbakedharvest.com
    04.10.2013

    Carrots in cookies! Who knew? Well, not me! But these sound and look awesome!

  7. These look amazing! I make a similar cookie (gluten-free and dairy-free though) that is more like carrot cake. Instead of chocolate chips, I use raisins. Now I have to try with the chocolate, looks amazing!!

  8. Food processors are a girl’s best friend. Any gluten-free baking has the issue of not staying crisp and fresh for long. It’s best to eat it when baked or you could put the leftovers in the freezer and take them out as you need them. I have never baked without eggs – I would think it was a bit of an issue but I know there are solutions. To keep the cookies together, you could use 1 tsp xanthan gum. It works well. Otherwise, a little tapioca flour mixed in does the job too.

  9. I bet these taste delicious! I could feel good about eating more chocolate chip cookies since I was getting some carrots in there!!!

  10. Rachel from popandsizzle.com
    04.10.2013

    These look amazing! Definitely adding to my list of recipes to try.

  11. Love carrot cake cookies! Made something similar before I’d say if you use about 1/3 cup of flax and don’t mix it with water it will bind them perfectly!

    • jeanine
      04.10.2013

      thanks I’ll try that out next time!

  12. What a clever idea! I will definitely try mixing carrots into my next batch of cookies.

  13. Erika from thepancakeprincess.com
    04.10.2013

    This is a great-sized batch for my household as well–my roommate and I like to bake in small batches so we don’t completely overdose on cookies! A 3:00 cookie habit sounds like a fantastic thing to me–as does carrots in chocolate chip cookies!

  14. Yohann from meltingpotaufeu.wordpress.com
    04.10.2013

    Looks absolutely fantastic!

  15. Kathryn from londonbakes.com
    04.10.2013

    I fully support a 3 o’clock cookie habit and these beauties look just perfect for that.

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.