I’m bringing back a recipe from the archives that deserves another day in the spotlight. These Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting were one of the best ideas that I’ve ever had. ‘Tis the season to bring them back with Thanksgiving just a few weeks away and the holidays following shortly after.
You all know how deep my love for carrot cake runs and I am here for making adapting it into as many forms as possible be it ice cream, smoothies, cookies or whatever else we can dream up.
CARROT CAKE COOKIES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
I originally made this recipe back in 2014 when we experienced a big (for Charlotte) snow storm that had us snowed in for two days. While some people might feel stir crazy being trapped at home, it is my idea of a heavenly day (as long as I have power and heat). Being at home makes me so happy, and being creative in my kitchen makes me even happier.
These cookies are one of the best things I’ve EVER baked. When researching carrot cake cookie recipes, I was looking for something that was more cookie than cake. I am not a fan of cookies with a cake-like texture.
These cookies fit the bill perfectly. They were chewy with crisp edges but still soft in the center They held up well to the cream cheese frosting without falling apart.
The dough was basically like an oatmeal cookie with lots of extra add ins. Many of the recipes I found didn’t include oats but I thought they would be necessary to get the texture I was looking for. The process of preparing the dough was the same as your typical oatmeal cookie. I creamed together the butter and sugar and then added the egg and flour mixture and then slowly incorporated the oats and mix ins at the end.
I love all the different tastes and textures in this cookie…crunchy walnuts, chewy coconut, plump golden raisins and of course the shredded carrot to bring it all together and give it that carrot cake feel. One thing I did that really made a difference was “rehydrating” the raisins by placing them in a bowl, covering them with water and microwaving them for a couple minutes.
I am a broken record here with cookie recipes but it’s essential that you let the dough chill for at least 30 minutes, if not a couple of hours. It’s important to space these cookies out well and not overcrowd your cookie sheets. Give it a good 2-3 inches between cookies.
I let the carrot cake cookies cool completely before adding the cream cheese frosting. The cookies would have been amazing without the frosting but if you have a chance to put some frosting on something…how can you and why would you say no!?
CARROT CAKE COOKIES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING RECIPE
