Well, I didn’t end up making the Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies, but I did end up making an off-spring!
Meet the carrot cake cookie in breakfast form. I cut down the oil (using applesauce to replace some of it) and amped up the protein, fibre, and healthy fats naturally using ground flax.
In my first version, I used protein powder instead of flax, but the texture was weird and the flavour was off. Ground flax all the way!
I also left them chunky instead of flattening them down. Much better.
The cookies are lightly sweet, with a lovely carrot cake flavour and the texture of a muffin top. I added in a full cup of grated carrots and a tablespoon of freshly grated ginger for a boost of nutrition and an authentic carrot cake flavour. Ginger also aids in digestion as an added bonus.
Eric summed them up nicely, “If I was looking for a healthy cookie, I would be happy with these. If I wanted a regular unhealthy dessert cookie, I might be a bit disappointed. But they are perfect for breakfast or a snack and I like that they taste like a muffin.”
I’m not sure I can add anything to that, so I’ll just give you the recipe! Nutritional info follows.
If you’re feeling like cake instead don’t forget to check out my Whole-grain Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf with Lemon Glaze.
Oh Mega Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies
Yield
13 cookies
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Like a healthy breakfast muffin in carrot cake cookie form. Coconut oil, maple syrup, and fresh ginger work well to create a nice carrot cake flavour, however if you are without those ingredients you can try subbing in another light tasting oil of your choice, other liquid sweetener, and ground ginger (maybe 1/4 tsp?).
Adapted from Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies, which was adapted from 101 Cookbooks.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
- 3/4 cup ground flax
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup regular rolled oats
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1 cup lightly packed shredded carrots (use finest grate)
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (other liquid sweeteners should work)
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 325F and toast the pecans for 10-11 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the batter. In a large bowl, mix together the flax, flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and raisins.
- Grate the carrots and ginger using the finest grate. In a smaller bowl, melt the coconut oil in the microwave for about 45-60 seconds. You want the oil hot so it doesn’t clump up when adding the cold wet ingredients. Now add in the maple syrup, carrots, applesauce, grated ginger, and vanilla. Stir well.
- Remove pecans from the oven and add to the dry ingredients. Increase oven temp to 350F. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. The dough will be very sticky, so not to worry.
- With a spoon, scoop about 13 cookies onto a lined baking sheet. They don’t spread much so you can put them an inch apart. Bake for 14-15 minutes at 350F and allow to cool on baking sheet.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Just a word of caution- the dough is very sticky so don’t be alarmed when you mix it up. It’s easiest to just scoop the dough with a spoon and drop it onto the baking sheet.
They are a lovely cookie for an on-the-go breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack. And like Eric says, keep in mind that it’s a healthier cookie and you won’t be disappointed.
Breakfast this morning was a lovely Green Monster with a side of cookie.
Superfood Green Monster
Yield
1 serving
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
This Green Monster packs in superfoods like blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, chia seeds, and spinach! For more Green Monster recipes, visit the Green Monster Movement.
Ingredients
- 1 large handful spinach
- 1 cup + 2-3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 cup frozen mixed berries
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 scoop Garden of Life Raw Protein powder, or other powder
- Ice, if preferred
Directions
- Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth. Add ice if desired.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Note the hot tea in the background to warm me up!
[Mason glass was picked up in November while visiting Fish’s Eddy in NYC]
Have a great day!
I just made these and they are yummy. Keep in mind they are not super sweet which makes them perfect for breakfast!
We have what seems like a ton of carrots from our CSA share. To help use them up I made these last night with my 3 year old. They were a huge hit all around! We all love them!
I need to add an update: My 3 year old asked for these carrot cookies for breakfast this morning! The batch I made a few days ago disappeared so I made another per his request.
Yesterday morning I made your blueberry muffins (http://ohsheglows.com/2014/02/19/blissful-blueberry-banana-spelt-muffins-vegan-refined-sugar-free/) – I made them in mini muffin tins, and he devoured them. Big hit! …At this rate I’m thinking you would have great success with another cookbook “Vegan recipes for picky preschoolers”! It feels wonderful to give little guy (and big guy) fresh-baked, delicious, homemade treats for meals and snacks that are truly nutritionally sound. So happy :)
I just found your website recently and totally enjoy it. I am not Vegan but my daughter is a vegetarian and I find Vegan Cookingm to be healthier and way more creative. I am sooooo looking forward to making these to send as a snack with school lunches but had a question about the applesauce – do you use sweetened or unsweetened
Thanks. Keep on recipe creating.
I made these today and they are excellent! I used a regular cookie scoop and ended up with 25 cookies. I think I should have baked them for maybe 10 minutes instead, but they were good. My husband and I liked them and my 4 year old ate one too. My 2 year old sniffed out a carrot and wouldn’t eat his though lol. I’ve got to figure out new ways to get him to eat veggies. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
My son, too!
The best way I’ve found so far, is to finely shred carrots and stir into lemon jello. For broccoli, I slice off the green buds and mix with lime jello.
Noticing the date of your comment, perhaps you found other effective ways to incorporate veggies?
Hi Angela! I‘m thinking of making these for a 5 day trip. Would make for a very good breakfast! Do you think they would keep ok in a container at room temperature?
Hiya! Made these bites and accidentally used a whole cup of pecans instead of a half cup. Not a totally fatal mistake, it’s quite nutty and I love the savory aspect; I can really see myself enjoying these on my way to work with a thermos of irish tea. I added a tiny bit of mini dark chocolate chips for fun, why not?! I also used a mixed lot of raisins, Trader Joe’s sells a little bag with different colored raisins and I thought it’d make a pretty cookie : )
One question, *how can I have these last the week without molding?* I made delicious blueberry banana muffins off this site last week and they were molded by Thursday–I chopped the molded part off, sliced them in half, toasted them, and topped them with Earth Balance anyway, but would like to know if there’s a recommended way of storing baked goods.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. As an Aussie some of the ingredients aren’t as common here so I used what I had in the house at the time: plain flour instead of pastry flour, no pecans, ginger syrup & extra maple syrup instead of applesauce and ground ginger. I found they were rather plain by themselves (to my surprise as I usually like milder flavours) but delicious with marmalade or peanut butter. It’s a great base recipe though and I’ll try them again, perhaps with marmalade IN the mix or with dried fruit or rind, spices (nutmeg, cloves) or lots of fresh ginger. Thankyou!
Hmmm… my green monster turned brown… very delicious but not very attractive…I used raspberries – what to use next time? strawberries maybe? Now off to make carrot cookies – excited!!
One of my favorite OSG recipes! :)
Hi! Would regular whole wheat flour work for this recipe?
I made these this past weekend, and they’re delicious! Tasty, and super filling, you only need to eat one of these for breakfast! I am attempting to make some healthier choices, and these were my solution to replacing my morning muffin. YUM! Also, just to put it out there, I made them exactly as the recipe instructs. No substitutions. :)
Thanks for the delicious recipe! I used walnuts instead of pecans, and they were great. I also didn’t have applesauce, so I just peeled and chopped up an apple and steamed in the microwave with a bit of water, cinnamon and nutmeg to soften – there were still apple chunks throughout but it was nice for the variety in texture. I only used about 1/4 cup maple syrup and I found they were sweet enough! Finally, I hope this isn’t offensive, but I cut mine in half and put cream cheese in the middle, to go along with the carrot cake theme – I’m not sure what would be the vegan alternative – this was my first experience baking something vegan, so please forgive me :)
I made this recipe after finding on Pinterest. Your recipes are some of my favourite out there! Even bought the cookbook! Today I want to make these again but don’t have oats. Could I just up the flour instead? Or maybe add more flax? Thanks!
This is the second time I’ve made these. They are soooo good. But they do take me 30 minutes to prep-hand grating my carrots and ginger- and 30 minutes to bake to get the bottom crisp and a cooked layer on top. I don’t bother lining the tray with cooking paper and the cookies come off with no problem. Thank you for your brilliance!
These look delicious! I never have applesauce around – what do you think about replacing the applesauce with an egg? (I’m not a vegan…) Thank you!!
Hi! Just made (& ate) these… AMAZING!!! Unfortunately, I didn’t have everything so I made a couple of swaps… I used light spelt flour, chopped dates instead of raisin, food processed baby carrots and mashed banana instead of applesauce… And it worked perfectly! I really love that most of your recipes can be adapted with whatever we have on hand, it makes every single recipes I did (about 10000040404838) all amazing and unique. I am basically living off of your recipes and I am always amazed by your creations.
So soft and chewy! I used peppitas instead of walnuts, prune purée instead of oil, and they turned out amazing! Great base for vegan fat free cookies.
I could never master “lightly packed” anything :) so could you please give the weight of the shredded carrots in grams? And if possible (pleease) give all weights in grams to satisfy this perfectionist so that all my trials of your recipes will turn out like yours!
haha you’re comment is the best! I actually started adding metric measurements into my recipes a year or two ago, so all of my recent recipes have the weights in them. :) I hope someday all of them will though! Thanks for your input!
Sounds delectable, could you sub coconut flour for the whole wheat pastry flour? Thanks!
Hey Taylor, Coconut flour tends to be a hard flour to work with as a sub because it soaks up a ton of moisture in recipes and it also doesn’t contain any gluten (which whole wheat flour has). So my guess would be that you’d have to combine coconut flour with other flours for it to have a chance of working.