Vintage Recipe Carrot Cookies (2024)

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A carrot cookie recipe from WW2 that only doesn't use any refined sugar and comes straight from Great-grandma's recipe box, yes please.

Most vintage recipes use frugal and real food ingredients, making them healthier for us and lighter on the pocket book. One of my favorite things about vintage recipes is the stories behind them. Andrea has been taking us through her great-grandmother's recipe collection from the 1930's and 1940's.

Vintage Recipe Carrot Cookies (1)

Anyone else have a love affair with this time period and all things vintage? I can't help but love this is a WW2 carrot recipe. Often though a lowly root vegetable, carrots are a great addition to baked goods with providing both moisture and flavor.

Many of us have vegetables coming along in the garden so this a fabulous recipe to put to work with what you have. It calls for carrots, but I might try playing around with some zucchini or even pumpkin. If you missed the other parts in this fabulous series (Andrea, huge thank you for sharing your families treasures with the rest of us) check out Frugal Kitchen Tips from 1913 and Historical Recipe: Honey Date Squares

If you're looking for a carrot cake cookie recipe, you'll still want to try these, but don't expect them to taste like carrot cake. These healthy carrot cookies are more like an oatmeal cookie in texture.

Andrea~

This recipe for oatmeal carrot raisin cookies is another 1940's find from my great-grandmother's collection. Sweetened with honey, and full of raisins, nuts, carrots, and oats. Breakfast cookies are totally a thing, especially a carrot breakfast cookie because veggies, right?

And to up the health factor, though traditionally made with pastry flour, they turn out equally as well with whole wheat pastry four, spelt flour, or a gluten-free blend. Walnuts and pecans are both good choices for the nuts.

Don't be afraid to make these your own. And if you need to be nut free, feel free to leave them out.

How to use fresh ground Spelt flour in carrot cookies

I love using spelt flour in my baking because spelt is an ancient grain that has a higher protein count but less gluten,who doesn't love all that, right?

However, I've always have to increase the amount of spelt flour by an extra quarter cup to 1 cup of regular flour, so if you make this recipe with spelt flour, you may need to add an extra 1/2 cup of flour, using 2 and 1/2 cups total. I usually start with the regular amount, but if it feels to wet or doughy, I add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup until if feels correct.

Want to bake these healthy carrot cookies with fresh ground flour? Check out my Best Flour for Baking- Home Baker’s Flour Guide 101

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Vintage Recipe Carrot Cookies (2)

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Carrot Cookies Recipe

  1. Mix together flour, baking powder, and spices and set aside.
  2. Cream together butter or oil and carrot. Beat in baking soda, honey, and eggs.
  3. Stir in raisins, nuts, and oats.
  4. Add dry ingredients to carrot mixture and mix until combined.
  5. Drop by spoonfuls on greased or lined pans and bake at 350 degrees for 12 – 15 minutes. (The original recipe calls for 15 minutes, but I found mine were done by 12 and over-browned by 15)
  6. Cool on a wire rack.

Print version of healthy carrot cookie recipe

Vintage Recipe Carrot Cookies (3)

Carrot Cookies Recipe WW2

MelissaKNorris

This carrot cookies recipe is not only healthy (no refined sugar) but is also hales from WW2 making it an old-fashioned delicious dessert or snack every house should have on hand… or in the cookie jar!

4.18 from 40 votes

Prep Time 7 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 19 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 60 cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour whole wheat pastry, spelt, or gluten-free blend
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp allspice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ cup softened butter or coconut oil
  • 1 cup grated raw carrot
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ¾ cup honey
  • 2 eggs well beaten
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
  • 2 cups rolled oats

Instructions

  • Mix together flour, baking powder, and spices and set aside.

  • Cream together butter or oil and carrot. Beat in baking soda, honey, and eggs.

  • Stir in raisins, nuts, and oats.

  • Add dry ingredients to carrot mixture and mix until combined.

  • Drop by spoonfuls on greased or lined pans and bake at 350 degrees for 12 – 15 minutes.

Notes

Feel free to sub in your favorite flour for these healthy carrot cookies, we love ancient grains but a gluten free blend of equal parts almond flour, coconut flour, and ground golden flax meal is our at home go to.

Keyword carrot cookies recipe healthy carrot cookie carrot cookie recipe WW2

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

The original carrot cookies recipe was published in a victory economy bulletin by the Lakeside Milling Company of Toronto, Canada.

Vintage Recipe Carrot Cookies (2024)

FAQs

How to make chewy vs crunchy cookies? ›

Use a higher ratio of white to brown sugar

While brown sugar keeps your cookies moist and soft, white sugar and corn syrup will help your cookies spread and crisp in the oven. Using more white sugar in your cookies will result in a crispier end product.

Were there cookies in the 1700s? ›

Let's have a hearty hip-hip-hooray for the German Protestants, who settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and invented the early sugar cookie. Their crumbly cookie made with butter and shaped into round or keystone shapes were a sweet hit from their formation in the late 1700s.

What is the secret to making cookies soft and chewy? ›

It's not the egg, all-purpose flour, or even the vanilla extract. The simple, yet oh-so-necessary component is cornstarch. That's right, the flavorless thickening agent used for soups, stews, and curries is also the secret weapon for baked goods that boast a silky-smooth mouthfeel.

What is the secret to chewy cookies? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

What is the oldest known cookie? ›

Pizzelles are the oldest known cookie and originated in the mid-section of Italy. They were made many years ago for the “Festival of the Snakes” also known as the “Feast Day of San Domenico”.

What cookie was not invented until 1938? ›

I bet you didn't know that the American classic dessert, the chocolate chip cookie, wasn't invented until 1938. The chocolate chip cookie was created by Framingham State University alumna, Ruth Graves Wakefield in Whitman, Massachusetts at the Toll House Inn.

What are cookies called in Britain? ›

Hard or crisp cookies are called biscuits in the U.K. while the chewier dessert can be identified as a cookie.

Why are my cookies hard instead of chewy? ›

According to The Kitchn, this occurs when you over-mix the dough. Mixing the dough naturally causes gluten to develop in the flour, and while you do need a good amount of gluten to give your cookies structure, too much of it will result in hard cookies.

What ingredient contributes most to the texture of a crisp cookie? ›

Fat is a very important ingredient in cookies – it tenderizes, crisps and browns, adds color and a wonderful flavor that is impossible to duplicate. Butter, our fat of choice, ensures good baking results and adds the most desirable taste, texture and appearance.

How do I change the texture of cookies? ›

By adjusting key ingredients, you can change the texture of any cookie recipe.
  1. If you want chewy cookies, add melted butter. ...
  2. If you want thin, candy-like cookies, add more sugar. ...
  3. If you want cakey cookies, add more eggs. ...
  4. If you want an open, coarse crumb and craggy top, add baking soda.
Oct 20, 2023

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