Carrot cake is a decadent dessert, but you can’t always eat cake whenever you feel like it without your body screaming for you to take it easy on the sweets. The good thing is, you can make carrot cake oatmeal cookies to practice portion control without depriving yourself of your favorite treats.

The recipe below calls for pure maple syrup, which replaces the refined sugar used in other recipes. To ensure that the cookies do taste like carrot cake, you’ll also need cinnamon, freshly grated carrots, and nutmeg.

These carrot cake oatmeal cookies also use rolled oats to give it a fiber-boost. Also called old-fashioned oats, rolled oats are oat groats that have been steamed and flattened process.

Rolled oats are partially cooked, which gives them a milder flavor and softer texture and they offer several health benefits.

Oats are full of fiber and protein, along with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants such as copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, thiamin (vitamin B1), and zinc.

Consuming oats regularly also helps promote weight loss and stabilize blood sugar levels.

Ingredients for 15 servings

• 1 cup (100 g) rolled oats
• ¾ cup (68 g) freshly grated carrot (1 medium-sized carrot, peeled)
• ¾ cup (90 g) whole wheat or gluten-free flour
• ¼ cup (60 ml) pure maple syrup, room temperature
• 5 tbsp (75 ml) non-fat non-dairy milk, room temperature
• 2 tbsp (28 g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 large egg white, room temperature

Preparation

1. Whisk the baking powder, cinnamon, flour, nutmeg, oats, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Use another bowl and whisk the coconut oil, egg white, and vanilla together. Stir in the maple syrup and non-dairy milk. Add the flour mixture and stir only until incorporated. Gently fold in the carrots.
3. Let the cookie dough chill for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
6. Use a spoon to drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared parchment paper. Use a spatula to flatten the dough to your desired thickness and width.
7. Bake at 325 F for 10-13 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Who needs a slice of carrot cake if you already have carrot cake oatmeal cookies? You can even enjoy these cookies if you need a quick breakfast.

Sources:

AmysHealthyBaking.com

Healthline.com