Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies

I just can’t seem to help myself. I know that these cookies aren’t the healthiest snack I can make, but I seem to make these over and over again… the cup of carrots is adding to my five-a-day!! I promise!!

These carrot-cake cookies are AMAZING! The perfect treat to tote around, share, indulge in… they’re just so perfect! I know traditionalists like nuts and raisins in carrot cakes, but I guess my taste is juvenile. I like carrots, sugar and a few spices, that is all. None of this raisins and walnuts business for me, thank you very much.

And the centre that binds the two discs of carrot-y, spicy deliciousness is a truly scrumptious cream cheese frosting! The best kind of frosting, if ask me. The perfect combo making the perfect cookie! And the cinnamon/nutmeg scent that perfumes my apartment as these bake in the oven is something that even Diptyque can’t recreate…

            1 ¼ cup plain flour

            ½ tsp. baking soda

            ½ tsp. salt

            1 tsp. cinnamon

            1 tsp. nutmeg

            1 cup sugar

            ½ cup butter (approx. 110g)

            1 egg

            ½ tsp. vanilla extract

            1 cup grated carrots (2 medium-sized carrots)

Preheat oven to 190˚C. In a bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar, before adding the egg and vanilla. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the carrots to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, then mix in the flour mixture. In a greaseproof-paper-lined tray, drop 1 heaped teaspoon of batter per cookie and bake for 13 minutes. Allow to cool on a rack and prepare the frosting!

            ½ cup butter (room temperature)

            ½ cup cream cheese (room temperature)

            1 ½ cup icing sugar

Using a spatula beat the butter and cream cheese until they are perfectly combined. Slowly add the icing sugar and beat vigorously, making sure as to avoid any clumps. Keep adding the icing sugar until the mixture is thick, but not stiff.

To assemble the carrot-cake cookies, spread some of the cream cheese frosting on the bottom of a cookie and stick another cookie (bottom-side down) onto it, creating a sandwich cookie! AND EAT!