Carrot

Carrot cake cookies with orange-cream cheese icing

by:
March  1, 2011
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Carrot cake cookies with orange-cream cheese icing
  • Makes 2 dozen cookies
Author Notes

In the past month or so, I've gotten into attempting to make cookies out of other classic baking recipes. Recent creations have included a caramel apple spice cookie, blueberry muffin cookie, and this one: carrot cake cookies with orange-cream cheese icing.
Boiled and mashed carrots meet the makings of a cookie, and join nuts, chocolate chips and raisins for a textured dessert that gives away at the first bite. —charitydinner

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Carrot cake cookies
  • 1 cup shortening
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup boiled and mashed carrots (about 6 or 7 medium-sized carrots)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • Orange cream cheese icing
  • 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream (more or less as needed)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
  1. Chop carrots and place in boiling water. Let the carrots cook until they're soft, then blend in a food processor.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening with the sugars until completely smooth and slightly fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla extract and orange zest and blend thoroughly. Add the mashed and processed carrots, blend until fully incorporated.
  3. In a different bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the shortening-carrot mixture, stir to combine.
  4. Fold in the pecans, raisins and chocolate chips. Using an ice cream scoop, turn mounds of cookie dough out onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
  5. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 7 minutes, turn the pan, and bake for 7 more minutes. When the cookies come out of the oven, press on them lightly with the top of a spatula. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for about 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
  6. In a large mixing bowl, use a whisk attachment on a mixer or immersion blender to combine the cream cheese, butter and extracts until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, and as needed, the heavy cream. The icing should be smoother and slightly thinner than a traditional cream cheese frosting.
  7. Using a pastry bag or a handily re-purposed sandwich bag, pipe the icing as desired on the cooled cookies.
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