Simply Scrumptious Carrot Cake Cookies

Submitted by PalatablePastime

"Quick and simple to make, these delicious cookies can provide a little pick-me-up during a dreary winter day or give someone special to you a little smile."

 

• Ready In: 48mins
• Ingredients: 23
• Yields: 3 dozen

ingredients

• For the Cookies

• 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 3⁄4 cup well drained pineapple chunk, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1⁄4 cup finely grated baby carrots
• 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄2 cup dried black currants or 1/2 cup chopped raisins
• 1 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger

• For the Frosting

• 8 ounces fat free cream cheese, softened
• 1 -2 teaspoon pineapple juice (from the can)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons finely grated baby carrots
• 1⁄4 cup chopped toasted almond

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth.
3. Stir in eggs one at a time, until smooth.
4. Add honey, pineapple, carrot, and vanilla, stirring until mixed.
5. Sift flour and stir into wet mixture along with the oats, salt, baking soda, baking powder, currants, almonds, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger.
6. Drop mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a greased or parchment paper lined baking sheet a couple of inches apart.
7. Bake cookies in the preheated 375F oven for 10-12 minutes or until browned around the edges.
8. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two, then finish cooling on wire racks.
9. Mix together ingredients for icing until it is a smooth thick consistency, adding additional powdered sugar if necessary.
10. Spread on cookies and allow the icing to set and dry for one or more hours, then pack between layers of waxed paper.

Reviews

[Midwest Maven]

These were so delicious! Yummy with the frosting and without, but with they are extra yummy. Great use of the contest ingredients, good luck! :)

 

[Tinkerbell]

I just loved the look of the raw dough. It was like fluffy little balls of buttercream frosting! I used a 1-1/2 inch cookie scoop to measure them & that gave me 33 cookies. I didn't have any almonds so I subbed almond extract for half the vanilla in the frosting. I loved the addition of currents. If we were rating on taste alone this recipe would be a five star, but I'm afraid the finished product was a bit too soft to pick up easily (I baked them 11 minutes each) & the frosting never set up firm enough to pack them between waxed paper. Even after refrigeration the frosted cookies don't hold their shape well so they weren't practical to transport. But, they are called "Carrot Cake" cookies my DS pointed out so we went with it. And they really are "simply scrumptious". No doubt about that. Aside from overbaking I'm not sure what I would do to make them hold up better, but I do know that my family would enjoy having them again so we'll play with the ingredient amounts a little bit. Thanks for sharing your creation! Made for RSC Lucky #13.

 

[Tea Jenny]

I didn't get much time to make a lot of the recipes for RSC #13 but this one was so quick and easy and made fantastic cookies, just like carrot cake but I think keep much better. the kids loved them and my grandson is very picky. I gave it 5 stars because we liked them a lot and I wouldn't change a thing. Actually the longer you keep them the better they are.