Carrot Cake Cookies

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You guys have heard about our love for carrot cake. Well, these cookies are a very easy way to get that flavor without fussing over layering and frosting a giant cake. We didn’t frost these cookies, but we’ll go ahead and tell you how you can, anyway.

We found this recipe in the May issue of Bon Appetit – they have an entire section on carrots, actually. They’re in season, so if you can find really great looking carrots at the farmer’s market, these will probably be better than the ones I made. Try them with purple carrots, too! I didn’t use raisins or walnuts, I’m just not a fan. I don’t like them in my carrot cake, either. If you do, then go ahead and add them.

I used my KitchenAid for this recipe (because I love it!) but you really can do this with just a bowl and a spoon. It doesn’t make a big mess, so it’s a great recipe to make when you’re not in the mood to clean up (which is often, at least for me).

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (or your favorite butter substitute)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 packed cup grated carrots (on small holes of box grater)
  • 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Place oats (and raisins) in small bowl and cover with 1/4 cup of water, let soak for 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, beat both sugars and butter until fluffy.

4. Beat in the egg, then add the carrots.

5. Add flour and cinnamon and beat till just blended.

6. Stir in oats and raisins and nuts (if using). The batter will be sticky.

7. Drop batter by level tablespoons onto cookie sheets (I used a nonstick baking mat), spacing them 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart – they will spread!

8. Bake one sheet at a time for about 20 minutes, until just lightly golden.

9. Cool on sheets for a few minutes then transfer to racks to cool completely.

10. If you want to make these even better, make some cream cheese frosting. Spread it on top of cookies or make sandwiches, spread icing on bottom of a cookie, and stick on the bottom of another. Yum! (I skipped this step)