Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Drizzle
This is how chaotic and disheveled life has been. I wanted to have a new recipe, one kind of leaning on an Easter theme, for my next one. I was thinking carrots, you know, because of rabbits and Spring and all that. My first thought was a carrot cake smoothie. This was also many subsequent thoughts. I usually work out my recipes on paper first, so I had my shopping list and got the things: I needed more carrots, more ginger, some pecans, etc. Something kept bothering me, though. I had a sneaking suspicion that I’d already made a recipe like this but when you create dozens of recipes a year and you have since 2013, things can get a little foggy. As I was sitting down to do my next tinkering on paper, I had a hunch – finally – that I should just check to see if I’d already developed this recipe, and, gentle reader, I am sure you can see where this is going. YUP. (It’s good! Don’t let my absent-mindedness give you any bad impressions.)
So anyway, I had all these ingredients but it was time to pivot, as they say. I still wanted something sweet and festive for Easter. Well, here you go: Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Drizzle. Tender, sweet, wholesome-ish cookies with a classic cream cheese drizzle that is reminiscent of carrot cake frosting, you can’t beat it. I added most of the traditional flavors associated with carrot cake to the batter or the drizzle, so you get to scratch that itch in a whole new way. And who doesn’t love a nice cookie?
This recipe is pretty easy to make, too. Please note, I use gluten-free flour in the recipe instructions because that is how I bake, but it’s not required that you do the same! The one thing to know, though, is if you substitute wheat flour, the texture, liquid to dry, baking time, temperature, etc. may need to be adapted. (I didn’t develop it with wheat flour, though, so I am not positive how to advise, except that wheat usually can be baked at a somewhat higher temperature – like 350 degrees – for less time – like 20 minutes – but I am not making any promises.) Also, I recommend grating carrots into small, fine shreds. If you buy pre-shred carrots, you might want to whiz those a few times in a food processor to make the pieces smaller.
2 cups all-purpose, gluten-free flour (this is my favorite)
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegan butter (unsalted, ideally)
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons JUST egg, shaken in the container
1½ cups carrots, peeled and grated fine
½ cup raisins or sultanas (optional)
½ cup toasted pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
7-ounces vegan cream cheese
½ cup vegan butter, room temperature
1¼ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons pineapple juice
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand-held mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar over high until fluffy. Beat in the JUST egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides, and add the flour mixture in small amounts on low until it is all added. Stir in the carrots, optional raisins and nuts with a sturdy spoon. It will be thick, heavy and a little sticky.
Scoop out a couple of tablespoons of batter and roll it between your hands until it is uniform and roughly the size of a golf ball. Place on your prepared baking sheets and press gently on top to create a cookie shape. You should have between 13 - 15 cookies.
Bake for 22 minutes or until everything but the center seems firm. Allow the cookies to cool for five - 10 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to a rack.
While the cookies are baking, make the icing. Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or a hand-held mixer, beat together the vegan butter and sugars on high until mixed and light. Lower the speed and add the powdered sugar in ¼ cup increments until it is all added, then the vanilla and pineapple juice. Beat until light and smooth. Place in the refrigerator for 20 - 30 minutes.
When the cookies are fully cooled, drizzle with the icing. You can use the tip of a small spoon to do this or a squeeze bottle. Allow this to dry a bit on top and serve.
This is how chaotic and disheveled life has been. I wanted to have a new recipe, one kind of leaning on an Easter theme, for my next one. I was thinking carrots, you know, because of rabbits and Spring and all that. My first thought was a carrot cake smoothie. This was also many subsequent thoughts. I usually work out my recipes on paper first, so I had my shopping list and got the things: I needed more carrots, more ginger, some pecans, etc. Something kept bothering me, though. I had a sneaking suspicion that I’d already made a recipe like this but when you create dozens of recipes a year and you have since 2013, things can get a little foggy. As I was sitting down to do my next tinkering on paper, I had a hunch – finally – that I should just check to see if I’d already developed this recipe, and, gentle reader, I am sure you can see where this is going. YUP. (It’s good! Don’t let my absent-mindedness give you any bad impressions.)
So anyway, I had all these ingredients but it was time to pivot, as they say. I still wanted something sweet and festive for Easter. Well, here you go: Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Drizzle. Tender, sweet, wholesome-ish cookies with a classic cream cheese drizzle that is reminiscent of carrot cake frosting, you can’t beat it. I added most of the traditional flavors associated with carrot cake to the batter or the drizzle, so you get to scratch that itch in a whole new way. And who doesn’t love a nice cookie?
This recipe is pretty easy to make, too. Please note, I use gluten-free flour in the recipe instructions because that is how I bake, but it’s not required that you do the same! The one thing to know, though, is if you substitute wheat flour, the texture, liquid to dry, baking time, temperature, etc. may need to be adapted. (I didn’t develop it with wheat flour, though, so I am not positive how to advise, except that wheat usually can be baked at a somewhat higher temperature – like 350 degrees – for less time – like 20 minutes – but I am not making any promises.) Also, I recommend grating carrots into small, fine shreds. If you buy pre-shred carrots, you might want to whiz those a few times in a food processor to make the pieces smaller.
2 cups all-purpose, gluten-free flour (this is my favorite)
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegan butter (unsalted, ideally)
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons JUST egg, shaken in the container
1½ cups carrots, peeled and grated fine
½ cup raisins or sultanas (optional)
½ cup toasted pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
7-ounces vegan cream cheese
½ cup vegan butter, room temperature
1¼ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons pineapple juice
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand-held mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar over high until fluffy. Beat in the JUST egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides, and add the flour mixture in small amounts on low until it is all added. Stir in the carrots, optional raisins and nuts with a sturdy spoon. It will be thick, heavy and a little sticky.
Scoop out a couple of tablespoons of batter and roll it between your hands until it is uniform and roughly the size of a golf ball. Place on your prepared baking sheets and press gently on top to create a cookie shape. You should have between 13 - 15 cookies.
Bake for 22 minutes or until everything but the center seems firm. Allow the cookies to cool for five - 10 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to a rack.
While the cookies are baking, make the icing. Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or a hand-held mixer, beat together the vegan butter and sugars on high until mixed and light. Lower the speed and add the powdered sugar in ¼ cup increments until it is all added, then the vanilla and pineapple juice. Beat until light and smooth. Place in the refrigerator for 20 - 30 minutes.
When the cookies are fully cooled, drizzle with the icing. You can use the tip of a small spoon to do this or a squeeze bottle. Allow this to dry a bit on top and serve.
Vegan, Recipe, Dessert, Cookies, Carrot, Carrot Cookies, Easter, Cream Cheese, Gluten-Free