I made these as well. I only had enough carrot for 1/2 a cup so I also used a 1/2 cup of shredded coconut. I used pecans instead of walnuts and unsalted butter instead of the coconut oil since that’s what I had in my kitchen. They were absolutely wonderful! Also, all purpose flour was fine for these.

i made these last night and they are delicious! can’t wait to share at work! thank you! please keep posting recipes for dessert that use sweeteners other than sugar.

I made these with my daughter tonight, and was hopeful despite the fact that she claims not to like coconut oil or walnuts. She ended up loving them! We substituted agave syrup for maple, with great results. And I’m with you – a little modification seems in order, some additional flavor to take it to the next level. Curry, huh?

These are really yummy! My son and I made them today, and (based upon what was in the house) we used maple pecans instead of walnuts, and added raisins. Excellent!

just made these today and they’re fabulous! had to make some subs, but i’ll definitely make them again.

I just made these this morning and added unsweetened coconut flakes and curry powder. In trying to avoid gluten, I substituted buckwheat flour for regular too. They turned out wonderfully. Thanks so much for the recipe, Heidi!

Thanks so much for this recipe!
Made a batch earlier this week and as it turned into a hellishly busy week, they were almost like little mini energy bars we could grab and go. My husband grated too much carrot for them, so we just threw it all in anyway, maybe 1.5 cups. I also put raisins in addition to the walnuts. A big tsp of cinnamon and a generous dash of nutmeg went in with the ginger. Kept the coconut oil the same, and used 1 tbsp of brown sugar and 2 TBSP maple syrup (on account of it is priced like liquid gold right now. even up here in Canada, and with the extra carrot, sweet spices, and raisins, it just didn’t even need half a cup of sweetener).
Anyway, very forgiving recipe if I can get away with all that, and one I’ll be making for years. Maybe will throw in a bit of bran too next time.
Next thing I know it’ll be a muffin. 😉

Yum – These are delicious!!! Like little scone/muffin/cookies… I omitted the nuts and added lemon zest, shredded coconut and raisins. I’ll be taking them to a baby shower tomorrow along with a pan of moist brownies made with sweet potato puree and topped with shredded coconut and pecans. I know both will be much talked about favorites. Thank you!!! 🙂

Heidi, I literally just pulled my first batch of these out of the oven and just devoured my first one. they are D-I-V-I-N-E! I am tempted to say they are even better than SNC’s choc chip recipe. I made them with olive oil and about a tablespoon more maple syrup. Your talent never ceases to amaze me! Thank you for bringing deliciousness, nutritiousness and great fun into our homes!

Hi! I noticed that my website isn’t appearing well just in case you want to read what I think about food being the food buff that I also am. Cheers!

I made these over the weekend. I recently came down with gestational diabetes and have been looking for something to satisfy my sweet tooth without upsetting my blood sugar. Boy, did these ever fit the bill! Made mine with half olive oil and half butter instead of the coconut oil. They were amazing. I could have eaten them all by myself.
Surprisingly, my friend’s kids (the little cookie monsters) enjoyed them tremendously, too!
Am going to make them with lemon zest next time!
HS: Glad to hear you enjoyed them Chris 🙂

my son and i just made these tasty lil cookies
we used olive oil and macadamia nut pieces then added 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple, 1/2 cup of coconut and some cinnamon, allspice and cloves . . .
thanks for our new fav healthy treat.

Very interesting, as always. I heard a couple days ago on radio that we should use maple syrup in pretty much any sweet recipe to replace cane sugar. Maple syrup contains fibers, has less calories and, most importantly, contains a good dose of antioxidants. Your recipe is a must for anyone with a sweet tooth who wants to eat well.
Thanks!

carrot cake is my favorite! and in cookie?? LOVE it!

I made these cookies and they were delicious. I was a little concerned with all of the fat in coconut oil but nevertheless yummy. I didn’t have whole wheat pastry flour and used whole wheat flour and they were a little dense. Next time I will use whole wheat pastry flour. I also added dried cranberries to the mix.

Heidi, these came out delicious and a little crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside just as Nikki’s cookies did when I made them a few months ago.
However, after storing them in a tuperware container overnight, they became a little soggy and soft all the way through even though I let them cool completely (for an hour). This same thing happened for Nikki’s cookies as well. Do you have any suggestions for how to properly store the cookies in order to maintain the fresh-from-the-oven texture?
Thank you for another great cookie recipe! They still taste delicious, if a bit soft.

These are great! I had to change it up a bit based on what I had on hand- almonds, olive oil, agave nectar and 1/2c coconut. So easy & great for my 2 year old!

Me again… for anyone who may want to gild this lily a little bit, I can’t help but wonder if they would take some sort of glaze to drizzle over the tops…maybe one made with pineapple-, apple-, or orange juice or even apple cider…. hhmmmm…it’s got me thinking….
Heidi – any thoughts on how this might come together?

hmmm… wonder if these could work as a “breakfast bar”? maybe pressing them into a brownie pan and cutting them into bars?

wow this looks incredible!!

I made a batch of these last night – so good! I didn’t have the coconut oil or walnuts so substituted butter and almond meal. Turned out delish!

I made these as a healthy cookie for toddlers and they and I love them. I am in Latvia and not all ingredients are redily available- i used 1/2 c brown sugar instead of maple syrup and olive oil instead of coconut oil. Next time I will try some applesauce, shredded coconut and olive oil to replace to coconut oil. I wonder if this will work with zucchini instead of carrots. Maybe too moist? Well, i will try anyway… Thanks! Keep the healthy cookie recipes coming! (And anything that disguises vegetables as something else!)

OMG!!! These are sooo amazing! My next batch I will get more creative but they are fantastic as is! Thanks for the recipe!

I made these yesterday and they were wonderful! Totally vegan and totally delicious – my kind of cookie.

I made these with my son on the weekend and they were fabulous. The family quickly gobbled them up and we see the potential for so many other ingredient switchups (raisins, nuts, seeds).
We used regular veg oil, but threw in a handful of coconut and instead of oatmeal used porridge oats (our latest discovery – its oatmeal premixed with flax seed, bran and wheat germ).
A huge hit in our house, thanks for the inspiration!

Hello!
We just make these cookies from your site last week. They were so yummy!
I love all the recipes you put up..thank you!

Made these yesterday and they are wonderful! I subbed sunflower seeds for the walnuts since I didn’t have any on hand and ended up with extra grated carrot that I threw in, too and used cinnamon instead of ginger. I think I’ll try your original recipe with half agave half maple syrup for my diabetic family members for Easter!
Also, thanks so much for your cottage cheese muffin recipe – another family favorite! I’ve been making a batch every Sunday to last for a few breakfasts during the week.

I made these right away w/ my sweet 9 yr old dd who loves to bake. We had all the ingredients in the house (rare) and (homemade maple syrup yay!!). But, I was disappointed by the overwhelming flavor of the coconut oil – I really didnt taste much else, except the occasional raisin. I did use organic, unrefined. I measured with a liquid measuring cup – was that it, should I have used a dry cup? Please let me know what I did wrong. I adore carrot cake and was sooo looking forward to these and a subtle maple syrup flavor.

My 4 year old daughter and I made these a couple of days ago. They were a hit with everyone in the family. I love the subtleness of the maple syrup. Thank you for inspiring us to try new things!

Always love the vegan sweets. Due to the severity of my son’s allergies. The vegan sweets are especially helpful! Many super thanks as always!

These cookies came out amazing! The ginger really sings, and the coconut oil makes them moist and fragrant. Thinking I’ll make another batch for a baby shower this weekend.

I was looking for a recipe for carrot cookies last week (before you posted this) and couldn’t find a suitable one. Thanks!

Thanks for posting this recipe! I’m a loyal 101cookbooks fan, and made these cookies over the weekend. I substituted olive oil for the coconut oil and threw in some shredded coconut. The only thing I’d change would be to add less maple syrup…they were pretty sweet! Another great recipe!

This is great. I live in Japan, where I just started using a tiny microwave/oven and I’ve needed recipes to thank the dieting/off white sugar/sweet-toothed couple that gave it to me. I know they love honey and maple syrup recipes and it’s all kinda new to me; your site will inspire healthy exploration! Thanks.

I made these on the weekend. They are a tasty treat. Thank you.

Hi Heidi – I enjoy your blog on Yahoo! so much – I read every new one, then print out most of the recipes. I almost passed this one by, because I am not a coconut fan except in savory dishes, and thought that I HATED oatmeal cookies (well, I always had in the past!) But, I have a friend who is a baker, and was looking for healthier cookies, so…I printed out this recipe, bought the coconut oil for her (because I knew I could use it for other things) and…she gave me half of the batch she made. I almost passed out when I tasted them! She did it EXACTLY according to your recipe, even though she doesn’t like walnuts. These things are addictive. They call to me every time I pass through the kitchen, where they rest oh-so-innocently on the counter…
Every recipe of yours I have tried is the same.
Thank you SO MUCH for showing the general public that being vegetarian doesn’t mean being a boring cook – I have known this for years, but people like you help me to prove it.
HS: Thanks for the nice note Chatty – I’m glad you liked them. They have become one of my favorite little cookies.

I’ve been reading this blog for months and this was my first attempt at one of the recipes. These cookies are a wonderful idea, and I made just a few adjustments: used brown rice syrup instead of maple because it’s what I had on hand, added some shredded coconut, and added some extra ginger. I found them a bit bland, verging on savory, but still good. Next time I would triple the ginger and add some citrus zest to brighten it up. I do loooooove the idea of a rich cookie whose fat comes from coconut oil…. yum!!!

I was just about to make butter and sugar-laden chocolate chip cookies to end this weekend with a bam, but these seem like a much more sensible thing to make. Might add some garam masala to these as well. Lovely job, as usual.

These sound delicious and I really, really want to make them – however, I have everything but the oats, because the only oats I have are steel-cut. Is it possible to do this with steel-cut oats? I was thinking of soaking them in something first to soften them up.

These look wonderful! I might try a batch with xylitol/erythritol/stevia (plus water?) since I can’t do sugar. They look soft and yummy! I always love your cookie recipe, which use such natural ingredients and delicious blends of flavors.
Fyi there is nothing “toxic” about heating honey. Heating fructose + glucose is simple science, and doesn’t produce any dangerous compounds. 🙂

Thanks for this recipe…I made them last night and they came together very easily. I found, though, that I needed to add about 2 tbs more flour. A few notes: They don’t spread, so I flattened them out a little before baking; they also could shine a bit brighter with some warm spices – the traditional ones of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves or allspice. Hubby found them a bit bland, but still very yummy. Didn’t stop us from eating our way through way too many for one sitting!

Made these last night exactly as presented, and they are delicious!
I’ve had the coconut oil and the flour in the pantry ever since getting your book and reading/carrying it with me everywhere. This is my first recipe using it, but not my first HS recipe. I’m here all the time and really enjoy your inspirational recipes and editorials.

I didn’t have coconut oil and just used regular olive oil in its place, however, I also added a splash of orange flower water to it as well. I’ve been addicted to that stuff since your Anzac cookie recipe. I must say I love the hint of orange with the carrot and nuts.

Excellent! I definitely have to try these next time we have a party. My family dad loves oatmeal cookies.

I just made these tonight and they are delicious! I made a few substitutions as I didn’t have a few of the ingredients. I used olive oil in place of the coconut oil, pecans in place of the walnuts, and vanilla in place of the ginger.
I have Type 1 diabetes and am always looking for healthy alternative desserts/sweet snacks-these are perfect! Thank you for such great recipes!

A perfect cookie for me to test out on my four kidlettes! You just know they’re always asking for cookies and I’m always telling them no.

Yum! I just made a batch of these cookies, and they came out great. Like others, I added some coconut, and I also added some raisins and a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Next time I’ll try golden raisins…

followed this to the letter and what a yum! this was the first cookie i felt good enough about to give to my little toddler. she loved them (of course). i recommend baking them until the aroma wafts out of the oven (this took about 14-15 minutes for mine). the nutiva coconut oil and the barely-cooked carrots meld and, eyes closed, you could swear you’re eating a macaroon. yum.

I just made these. They are delicious! My 6 year old, 3 year old and 18 month old think so too!

These came out wonderful,I used a light olive oil added some shredded coconut and some left over currants I had. My parrot’s gave them a thumb’s up!!! Thanks from us all : )

holy cow. i’ve been reading this site for a long time but never commented. however, i made these about 20 mins ago and they are out of this world. i used olive oil instead of coconut, added some shredded coconut, and used cashews instead of walnuts. divine.

Vegan cookies are worth it just for being able to eat the dough out of the bowl without fear, really (and these were very good that way as well 🙂
I tried out the suggestion of adding a bit of lemon zest in my second batch, which I really liked with these flavors. Yum.

FANTASTIC!
I made a double batch of dough last night with a few minor alterations for on-hand items-
Half brown rice syrup, half SF maple syrup for the real maple syrup,
finely minced crystallized ginger for the regular,
half Smart Balance 50/50 Blend, half unsweetened creamed coconut for the coconut oil and I added some cinnamon.
The first batch I simply made regular cookies sprinkled lightly with turbinado sugar for extra crunch. My 9 year old LOVED them! The second batch today I kneaded in more crystallized ginger and fully dipped the tops in the turbinado as hubby was sure they needed to be sweeter. Still awesome! Trying to explain them to a culinarily-challenged friend tho is nearly impossible. How do you describe a cookie that isn’t sweet?? Luckily I saved her one…

This recipe looks delicious-I love the use of coconut oil in it! For all the moms out there, I imagine this would be a great way to get children to eat carrots without adding too much sugar.

Could you use honey as a substitute for maple syrup?

I baked these last night, using cinnamon instead of ginger because I had been craving carrot cake all week. I also only had about 4/5 cup of rolled oats left so I used shredded coconut for the remaining 1/5.
They are delicious! Can’t see myself baking any other cookies for a while. Thanks for another wonderful recipe. 🙂

Carrot Cookies! Looks delicious!
Could you suggest what I can use instead of wheat flour in these cookies, and cooking in general?

Lordy! Those look yummy. I will certainly give them a go.

These are so healthy I can’t count them as a cookie–lucky me!

I made a version of these with what I had on hand, which meant that they’re actually quite different from the original, but they were easy to make and delicious nonetheless. I used olive oil instead of coconut oil, zucchini instead of carrots, eliminated the ginger and added raisins and 1/2 tsp. vanilla.
Yum!

These sound fantastic! Excited to try them!

Heidi,
I made these today with my son and our entire family LOVED them. I added the coconut on your suggestion above, and it was like a macaroon! We’ve have had those in the house since our son’s egg allergy diagnosis, and it was a welcome taste.
Wonderful recipe, as always!

yahoo! i’ve been searching for a vegan cookie recipe that’s not too sweet! a batch of these just came out of the oven, and already five are gone. really excellent — thank you!

heidi, just wanted to say i love every one of your recipes and have tried many of them. thank you.
for someone who is nutrition-conscious, i trust your combination of healthy and wholesome ingredients. this cookie is another example.

So last weekend’s brunchy featured your Wheatberry Bowl and Asparagus Bread Pudding. Tomorrow’s afternoon snack will be these cookies which I made tonight (subbing butter for the coconut oil) piped with just a dollop of cream cheese frosting.
Since I bought your cookbook and discovered your blog, my friends always want me to cook for them. Thanks for that (I think).

Why didn’t I think of that? My husband loves carrots and he will enjoy the recipe!

Look forward to all of your recipes am going to get busy & bake the cookie recipe I just teceived.

Oh my. These are amazing! Just made a batch. Here were my changes: I added 1/2 cup shredded coconut and 1/2 – 1 t orange zest. Also used half maple syrup and half agave nectar. YUM. Thanks, Heidi!

I can’t wait to try these as I loved Nikki’s Cookie Recipe.
I made the following recipe today, and I thought you might like it. It’s a dark chocolate chunk cashew butter cookie. No butter involved, so relatively healthy for a sweet treat.
http://www.wpr.org/zorba/recipes/z08-WI_0209r.htm
My family loves your recipes. My kids are pretty adventurous eaters and always enjoy your creations. Thank you!

These look delish! I just ran the nutritional numbers (using calorieking.com) if anyone is interested:
For the entire recipe:
cals 2650
fat 168
carb 276
fib 33
protein 34
calcium 209 mg
for 1/30th of the recipe (HS says recipe makes 30 cookies, so this would be for one cookie):
cals 88
fat 5.6
carb 9.2
fib 1.1
protein 1.13
calcium 7 mg

Looks pretty good. You got anything more Carrot-ty and less Oatmeal-y?

coconut, yes–perfect combo

What IS the definitive word on coconut oil? I remember reading that it was a “bad” oil and then, sometime after, that it was now a “good” oil, in terms of saturated fats and cholesterol that is. Do you know what to make of this? I am confused. Thanks so much for your inspired creations. They are lovely.

These are my type of cookie! Healthy, not too-sweet, and with oatmeal. I have been using coconut oil a lot in my baking and cooking recently- it adds such a delicious and subtle aroma. I will try these for sure!

Oh now we’re talking. Talking sweet nothings in our here with these.

my boyfriend has been asking me to make oatmeal cookies. he is also a huge carrot cake fan. i think i’ll make a batch of these for his easter basket.

these are perfect for me to bake for my clients!

I’ve been obsessed with making carrot-raisin cookies since eating them at the NY Union Square Farmers Market and have used them to convert at least one cookie hater! The recipe I’ve come up with is actually pretty similar — and I too have found they’re better without the egg:
http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/2009/01/cooking-for-others-cookie-or-dough.html

I just finished making macaroons, and you gave me a great idea – add carrot to them. I bet it would make them naturally sweeter and I could use less honey.

sweet! i love carrot cake…carrots in baked goods are also really tasty 🙂
thanks for the awesome recipe!

I think I can use this and Nikki’s Healthy Cookie recipe to come up with a great gluten-free version! Thanks!

Any reason honey wouldn’t work instead of the maple syrup? Would it make them too sweet?

i’ve been eating carrots lately, so what a great way to make a new carrot “dish!” 😉

Wondering if you could replace the ww pastry flour with spelt? They look wonderful and I will make them soon.

I can just imagine the texture of them: chewy and soft. This recipe of yours is distracting me from my work day, because now all I can think about is a coffee break, and wishing I had one (or more) of these babies.
Thanks for providing a less sugary (and vegan) treat for us!

Hi Heidi, these look good but I have a ‘basics’ question: why no eggs? Is there a particular reason or purpose,such as making the recipe vegan friendly, or….perhaps the coconut oil/ maple syrup making things too moist already? Curious. I bake gluten free and think I’d use an egg due to the properties of the gf flour.

This sounds fantastic – I am drooling!

I love cookies without the high sweet edge…it just means I can make my black coffee a little sweet! Nice.

YES! I have been seeking a cookie recipe involving carrots for much time now! Thank you for expanding our cookie horizons yet again… this is amazing.

Any suggestions for replacement of the whole wheat flour with a non-wheat?

My word these cookies look and sound amazing. Just love the combination of the oats, carrot and coconut … the ginger is a nice bonus. Frankly, the walnuts sound perfect to me … though I imagine pecans would be stunning as well. Will be trying these beauties for sure. Thanks!

I tried Nikki’s cookies a bit ago and wasn’t sure if I did something incorrectly. While the flavor was good, the texture was more similar to a muffin or bread than a cookie (even a soft cookie). Is that correct? Will the texture of these be similar? Just so I know what I should be aiming for! 🙂

Ann — yes, most health food stores carry it, and if you buy unrefined it will most definitely be fragrant! It’s also wonderful as a skin care ingredient, so I buy organic/unrefined in bulk from Amazon.com for a great price.

I’d like to use coconut oil, but I’m not sure where to find unrefined, fragrant coconut oil. Is it available at most health food stores? Will the packaging state that it is unrefined and fragrant? Thanks!
I like Nutiva brand – available in a lot of natural food stores. I made the mistake of buying Spectrum unrefined, but it seems as if they had done something to remove the coconut scent – not the same.

These look really good. Oatmeal cookies and carrot cake–can’t go wrong!

oooh! these sound so good. i will have to try them out =) love different oatmeal cookies. mm mm mmm.

Heidi: I’m so excited about these cookies, because I only made Nikki’s cookies a few weeks ago and thought they were amazing (despite initial severe reservations, and only knowing that everything you post turns out delicious kept me moving along when baking the cookies). I have been using extra virgin olive oil whenever you use coconut oil, because coconut tends to make me feel slightly nauseous, and I’ve had great results. I will give these a go and report back for other readers who feel similarly about coconut. Thanks for sharing such tasty treats.
ps: I entertained a dinner party last night with recipes exclusively from 101cookbooks, and everyone was stunned with tastiness! We cheered to you! 🙂

Mmmm….carrot ginger cookies. I actually just made Nikki’s recipie last week with incredible results, so I’m psyched to see another cookie recipie of that genre (that is, the vegan, coconut-oiled, mildly sweet yet oh-so-tasty genre). Thank you for sharing. -sam.

These look and sound great but as someone who doesn’t like coconut, could you suggest a substitute for the coconut oil?
Thanks so much!
HS: Try butter or clarified butter.

Thank you for another wholesome recipe!! Most people do not know the benefits of coconut oil and how it actually does not turn into trans-fat at high temperatures.
Love your blog.

Beautiful, I can’t wait to make them! May I substitute another oil for coconut?
PS – the maple syrup scones are to die for!

A combination of two of my most favorite desserts, how divine!

I drink my morning tea to your website Heidi almost as often as I fall asleep to your cookbook.
Just now, I hopped onto 101 to search for a carrot cake recipe and boom! Carrot Oatmeal Cookies… are you kidding me?
It must be spring!!
Thank you for the never ending inspiration.

Perfect…this recipe mixes two of my favs!

You are uncanny! I have a container of grated carrots in my fridge from an unsuccessful effort at carrot cake. This looks like the highest and best use for them that I can think of! (And thanks to Nikki’s cookies, I have the coconut oil too, ready to go.) Have a good weekend!

Just my style! I’ve been trying to incorporate more sweet vegetables, like carrots, into my food in order to curb sugar cravings. Actually, I’ve made breakfast grains not so different from your cookie recipe.

I loved the last cookie recipe I tried with maple syrup as a sweetener, so I’m confident these are equally delicious.

I loved the last cookie recipe I tried with maple syrup as a sweetener, so I’m confident these are equally delicious.

You’re definintely inspiring me to pick up some coconut oil for my next baking adventure, as I see it here so often and clearly with such great results. These look tasty!

nikki’s cookies were a hit around here, so i’ll definitely be trying these!

Any substitute for maple syrup?
HS: You might try agave nectar.

They look yummy. I will try them with olive oil, cranberries and orange zest..

They look yummy. I will try them olive oil, cranberries and orange zest..

I’ve been mulling over an Easter-ish, springtime whoopie pie recipe, and this recipe looks spot on! Can’t wait to try it – I think the not-super-sweet cookie will pair well with the whoopie pie filling. Yay. 🙂

These look great! Another favorite cookie combination of mine is sage and dried apricots, with a little cornmeal thrown in for a bit of crunch. I’ll definitely be trying these!

These look so good. I think I would throw in a little orange zest and maybe cranberries- and for me- swap out the pastry flour with a gluten-free.

These look wonderful! I love carrot cake & I love oatmeal cookies, and these babies are the best of both worlds.

These look wonderful! I love carrot cake & I love oatmeal cookies, and these babies are the best of both worlds.

wow, this looks so yummy…and healthy! i love the idea of adding shredded coconut too!

Also: I finally treated myself and my very own copy of Super Natural Cooking should be delivered tomorrow 🙂 Love your recipes and really love this site Heidi. Thank you so much!

Heidi–like always, you seem to have read my mind! 🙂 I was totally craving oatmeal carrot muffins this week and had planned to make some on the weekend but this is a much better idea! Smaller bites, not as sweet and all the goodness of carrots and oats–I can’t wait to try them!
Question: I find coconut oil kind of expensive and I don’t often have it on hand. Could I substitute olive oil for the coconut and maybe add some shredded unsweetened coconut in place of some of the flour? What do you think?

Nice pics and very yummy too! I can’t wait to try this at home.

I love carrot cake and my wife loves oatmeal cookies. It sounds like this has something for both of us.
It is kind of like a mad scientist kitchen experiment gone right! awesome!

Anything with coconut is good in my books. Those look like a great combination. I would probably leave out the ginger, but that’s just personal preference.