• Before making the cookie dough, make the flax egg and grate the carrots. Set aside.

Make the Carrot Cake Cookie Dough:

• To make the dough, add the room-temperature vegan butter, white sugar, and brown sugar to a mixing bowl. Then, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy (about 2 minutes).
• Next, add in the shredded carrots, flax egg, and vanilla bean paste and mix together for about 20 seconds.
• Then, add in the all-purpose flour, rolled oats, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. Make sure to add the flour first and then add the other ingredients on top. Then, mix everything together until a thick cookie dough forms.
• Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and add to the fridge to chill for 1 hour. The dough can also be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.

Bake the Cookies:

• About 10 minutes before removing the dough from the fridge preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
• Use a 2 Tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out 10 evenly-sized cookies and place them onto the baking sheet. Make sure to space the cookies at least 2 inches apart on the tray and do not flatten them as they will spread while baking. If you need to use two trays, please only bake one tray of cookies at a time.
• Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes until the bottoms are lightly browned and the cookies are cooked through but have slightly soft centers. The cookies will continue baking after they are removed from the oven so the centers should still be soft, but not glossy or raw, when they are removed from the oven.
• Remove the cookie tray from the oven and immediately tap the tray on the counter to produce a more “wrinkly” cookie and help deflate the cookies. For round cookies, use a round cookie cutter that is slightly larger than the cookie and swirl the cookies around inside to form them into a round cookie. This step will only work if you do it while the cookies are still warm.
• Let the cookies cool on the baking tray for about 5 minutes. Then, move to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Make the cream cheese frosting:

• Once the cookies have cooled completely, make the cream cheese frosting. Add the butter and cream cheese to a bowl. Use a standing mixer or electric mixer to whip together for 2 minutes until fluffy.
• Gradually mix in the powdered sugar and cornstarch until incorporated. Once all the powdered sugar has been mixed in, I recommend whipping the frosting for a few minutes longer to make it extra fluffy!
• Use a cake spatula or piping bag to frost the cooled carrot cake cookies. If you would like, top with chopped pecans or walnuts and an extra bit of shredded carrot. Then, serve & enjoy!