RECIPE: Carrot Cake Cookies

Yesterday we pulled quite a few carrots from our little carrot patch.  We still have a ton to be pulled.  In the mean time, I thought I'd share a yummy recipe for Carrot Cake Cookies.

Carrot Cake Cookies (adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon finely chopped crystallized ginger

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup finely grated carrots, juiced squeezed out

1 cup oats

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cream Cheese Filling

4 ounces Neufchatel, softened

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

In mixing bowl, beat butter until light and creamy.  Add sugar and brown sugar, beat until light and fluffy.

Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.

Add flour, cinnamon, ginger, crystallized ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix well.

Add carrots*, oats and pecans.  Mix well.

Use an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop and scoop evenly onto baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes or until the edges are just golden.  Allow to cool for a minute on the sheet and then move to a cooling rack.

Finish baking the rest of the cookies.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add powdered sugar and beat until creamy.  

Once cookies are completely cooled, spread a little of the cream cheese filling onto one side of a cookie and top with another cookie.

Ta-da!  

It's totally divine!

Enjoy!

TIP:

*grate the carrots and then put them in a tea towel and squeeze the life out of them!  the juice can be saved for other uses or discarded

This post has also been linked to:

• Mouthwatering Monday at A Southern Fairytale 
• Mmmonday at Acting Balanced
• Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist 
• Muffin Monday at Talking Dollars and Cents 
• 2 Maids a Baking at 2 Maids a Milking
• Hearth and Soul at A Moderate Life
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
• Delicious Dish at It's a Blog Party
• Delectable Tuesday Blog Hop at Home Sweet Farm
• Tasty Tuesday at 33 Shades of Green 
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam 
• Made from Scratch Tuesday at From Mess Hall to Bistro
• $5 Dollar Dinner Challenge 
• No Whine Wednesday at Food on the Table
• Lets Do Brunch at My Sweet & Savory
• Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family
• Real Food Wednesdays at Kelly the Kitchen Kop
• What's On Your Plate? at Good Cheap Eats