So confession: I’m not much of a cake person. Growing up, we could always choose our birthday meal and dessert. I would always choose something other than a birthday cake. Favorites included Oreo ice cream dessert, brownie sundaes, or strawberry pie. I think it’s a texture thing. I’m all about texture and fudgy, dense brownies or cookies are WAY better than light, fluffy cake any day. Am I the only one who thinks this? And of course, it figures any celebration you can possibly think of usually involves cake. Everything from birthdays, graduations, weddings and baby showers!
Unbaked Cookie Dough
Anyways, moving on to carrot cake flavor. Love it or hate it? Growing up, chocolate desserts reigned supreme in our house. I can attribute my love of all things chocolate to my mother. We frequently bond over massive chocolate desserts. So I rarely ate carrot cake growing up, as any dessert without chocolate wasn’t really a true “dessert.” Especially one that contained a fruit or *gasp* a vegetable!
These cookies are very forgiving and adaptable. Not a fan of raisins? You can just leave them out or add more of coconut, nuts, etc. Or try subbing in dried cranberries. Don’t keep coconut on hand? These cookies will still taste delicious without. Also, I added in a scoop of plant-based vanilla protein powder to boost the protein content of these cookies for more staying power and for a more filling breakfast or snack. However, subbing in an extra 1/2 cup of quick oats will be just fine as well.
These cookies are perfect for making ahead of time on the weekend to have on hand for quick breakfasts or snacks throughout the week. I’m ALL about meal prep, as I’m sure will quickly become evident in future recipes. With a longer commute to work and a busy schedule, it’s pretty much the only way my husband, Chris, and I don’t eat out every single meal during the week or eat PB&J sandwiches for dinner every night haha.
These cookies don’t spread out in the oven, so you may want to slightly press down before baking for a more traditional cookie shape. Also, you can make these as small or large as you want. They take a bit longer to bake than some other cookie recipes. As I’ve mentioned, I’m all about the gooey texture of cookies but I found these taste better baking a bit longer.
Just a tip, I kept these cookies in the fridge to stay the freshest. You can always warm them up in the microwave for a few seconds to warm up. Honestly, these are just as delicious cold from the fridge. They just take a few minutes to prepare, and you will thank yourself later for having these for healthy snacks throughout the week.
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1 scoop (40 grams) plant-based vanilla protein powder (or sub additional ½ cup quick oats)
- ½ cup almond butter
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ cup applesauce
- 2 tablespoons ground flax + 3 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup grated carrots
- ½ cup coconut (shredded or flaked)
- ½ cup pecans (or walnuts)
- ¼ cup raisins
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- Mix ground flax and water in small bowl. Set aside to gel and make "flax egg." This will help with binding the cookies and holding them together.
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients together until dough forms. Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet. These cookies do not spread out much while baking, so you may want to slightly press down into cookie shape.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.
These cookies are exactly what I’m craving for breakfast! Love that it’s basically carrot cake AND cookies in breakfast form!