Carrot Sugar Cookies

Last Updated on April 1, 2025

These Carrot Sugar Cookies are soft, chewy, and beautifully decorated.

If you are looking for a festive, yet easy dessert to serve after your Easter meal, then this is the recipe for you. Getting to enjoy a dessert that’s decorated special for the holiday will mean a lot to your family and friends.

If your kids don’t mind eating coconut then they’ll love these cookies too. However, if they don’t like coconut, let the adults enjoy these cookies and you can serve the kids these Easter Pudding Cups instead.

Jump to:

• Why is Coconut a Good Topping on Frosted Cookies? 
• SAVE THIS RECIPE!
• ❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🔀 Substitutions
• 🌈 Variations / Options / Add-Ins
• 🥄 Equipment Needed / Helpful Tools
• Tired of Ads?
• 🔪 How to Make Carrot Sugar Cookies 
• 👩‍🍳 Pro Tips
• ❓ Recipe FAQs
• 🙏 Pairing
• SAVE THIS RECIPE!
• 📋 Recipe
• Pro Tips
• ❓ Recipe FAQs

Why is Coconut a Good Topping on Frosted Cookies? 

Coconut, especially desiccated coconut, is a great topping for frosted cookies because it adds to the overall look and taste of the cookie.

• Coconut, usually sweetened for sweet recipes, gives a distinct and appealing flavor to frosted cookies, complementing the sweetness of the frosting. 
• The fine texture of desiccated coconut provides a pleasant crunch and textural contrast to the soft, chewy cookie and frosting. 
• The color of the coconut (its white color or if it’s dyed) adds a visual element to the frosted cookies, making them look more appealing and inviting. 
• The fine texture of desiccated coconut allows it to adhere well to the frosting, so it doesn’t fall off easily. 

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These sugar cookies are a wonderfully festive Easter dessert with a soft and chewy texture. They’ll be sure to please everyone who partakes in this delicious treat. 

•  Easy to make: Since you use cake mix to make the cookies, and ready-made frosting and candy for the decorations, these cookies are easy to make.
•  Looks beautiful on a plate: With the candy shaped to look like carrots and the coconut dyed green to look like grass, these cookies look almost too pretty too eat.
•  Fills the house with a delicious aroma: Cookies baking in the oven always make the house smell so good.

If you love Easter cookies you may also enjoy these Easy Easter Cake Mix Cookies.

🥘 Ingredients

You only need a few simple ingredients to make these soft cookies, and after one quick trip to the grocery store you will be ready to make this simple dessert.

• Cake mix: For this recipe you will need a box of vanilla cake mix. Any brand will work; my favorite to use is Betty Crocker.
• Powdered sugar: This helps keep the dough from sticking to your hands or the baking sheet and gives the cookies a light, sweet coating that enhances their flavor and texture.
• Frosting: You’ll also need vanilla frosting for the cookies. Same as above, any brand will work; my favorite to use is Betty Crocker.  
• Green gel food coloring: The green gel food coloring is used to dye the shredded coconut green, so it resemble grass.
• Shredded coconut: You should use sweetened shredded coconut because it has a softer texture and slight moisture content, which helps it adhere better to the frosting. The sweetness also complements the vanilla flavor of the cookies.
• Candy: You will need orange Starbursts to make the carrots, and green jelly beans for the carrot tops.

See recipe card for complete list of ingredients and quantities.

🔀 Substitutions

If you don’t have the ingredients you need or if you have different dietary preferences, see if you have these instead:

Cake mix: Instead of making your own cookies out of cake mix, you could purchase sugar cookie dough and bake that instead, or just buy already baked sugar cookies from the bakery section of the store.

Powdered sugar: If you don’t have this, you can use granulated sugar instead—it will have a slightly different texture but still add a sweet coating. You could also just skip this and the cookies will still bake fine.

Frosting: If you prefer to make your own frosting, that would be fine.

Green gel food coloring:  For a natural alternative, use small amounts of matcha powder or spinach juice so it doesn’t affect the taste.

Shredded coconut: If you don’t want to use shredded coconut, you can use green sprinkles instead.

Candy: Instead of the Starburst, you can use orange Tootsie Rolls or Laffy Taffy. Instead of the jelly beans, you can use green sour straws or green licorice pieces.

🌈 Variations / Options / Add-Ins

If you are looking for a different flavor or want to change up the decorations, there are so many options. 

Different Flavor: If you want to add some carrot flavor, you can use carrot cake mix instead of vanilla. You could also add 1 teaspoon orange zest to the dough or frosting for a bright citrus touch.

Frosting Variations: Use a cream cheese-based frosting for a richer taste—this would really go well if you use carrot cake mix for the cookies. Mix ½ teaspoon coconut extract into the vanilla frosting for extra coconut flavor.

Different or Additional Decorations: Crush chocolate Oreos (without the filling) and sprinkle them over the frosting instead of coconut for a fun “garden” effect. Add small bunny-shaped sprinkles or place a mini chocolate bunny next to the carrot.

For a different themed Easter dessert, try these Easter Oreo chicks.

🥄 Equipment Needed / Helpful Tools

You only need a few kitchen tools to help you make this delicious recipe. Gather these tools and get ready to enjoy this tasty treat. 

• Cookie sheet: This is where you’ll bake the cookies.
• Parchment paper: This will cover the baking sheet so you the cookies won’t stick to the cookie sheet and will be easy to remove. You will also use this again later to have somewhere to decorate the cookies.
• Mixing bowl: You’ll need a large mixing bowl (about 3 to 4 quarts) to make the cookie dough. This size gives you enough room to mix the cake mix, eggs, vanilla extract, and oil without spilling.
• Cookie scoop: For this recipe, a 1-tablespoon (small) cookie scoop, typically around #60 scoop size, is ideal. This ensures the cookies are uniform in size and bake evenly.
• Cooling rack: Cool the cookies on this for proper air circulation around the cookies to help them maintain their texture.
• Piping bag and tip: Use this to make it easier to frost the cookies.

🔪 How to Make Carrot Sugar Cookies 

Making these Sugar Cookies is so simple. Just follow the instructions below, or in the recipe card, and you will have soft and delicious Easter cookies in no time at all. 

Step 1: Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheet 

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2: Take out Powdered Sugar

Put powdered sugar in a bowl or on a plate and set it aside for now.

Step 3: Make the Cookie Dough

Mix together the cake mix, eggs, vanilla extract and oil in a large mixing bowl.

Step 4: Shape the Cookie Dough

Using a cookie scoop, shape the cookie dough into 1inch balls, and finish shaping them with your hands, if needed.

Step 5: Roll Dough Balls in Sugar

One at a time, roll the cookie dough balls in powdered sugar, and then place them 2 inches apart on the prepared pan.

Step 6: Flatten the Dough Balls

Using a cup or the palm of your hand, press down each cookie dough ball to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

Step 7: Bake the Cookies

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown—the edges should appear firm but not browned.

Step 8: Cool the Cookies

Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Step 9: Add Frosting

Add the frosting to a piping bag with a round tip and pipe the frosting on top of the cookies. Using a knife, flatten the frosting to a smooth finish.

Step 10: Color the Shredded Coconut

Put the shredded coconut and the green gel food coloring in a zipper baggie. Shake until the coconut is consistently green.

Step 11: Top the Cookies

Place a tablespoon of the green coconut onto the top of each cookie, pressing it down so it sticks in the frosting.

Step 12: Prepare the Starburst

Unwrap an orange Starburst and place on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 5 seconds. 

Step 13: Shape the Carrots

Carefully break the Starburst into 3 equal portions, and roll into a carrot shape with your hands.  Place the candy carrots onto the cookie.

Step 14: Make the Carrot Tops

Cut a green jelly bean into parts (as many as you can) with sharp scissors. Add three pieces to the tops of each carrot.

Step 15: Repeat With all Cookies

Repeat the steps 12-14 until all the cookies are decorated. Then serve and enjoy.

👩‍🍳 Pro Tips

Here are a few tips to make sure that these cookies turn out perfectly for you every time that you make them. 

• If your dough feels too soft or sticky, chill it for 15–20 minutes before rolling to help keep the cookies from spreading too much.
• If your dough is too dry or crumbly, add 1 teaspoon of milk or oil at a time until it comes together.
• Put the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl to make it easier to coat the dough balls evenly.
• If the coconut isn’t turning green evenly, shake it longer in the bag or add another drop of food coloring.
• When adding coconut, carrots, and jelly beans, lightly press them into the frosting so they adhere well without sinking in too much.

❓ Recipe FAQs

🙏 Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with Carrot Sugar Cookies:

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📋 Recipe