To those of you that celebrate it: Happy Easter! To those of you that don’t: you can still enjoy the candy sales that are about to come your way. So what if everything is egg-shaped? Half-priced chocolate and jelly beans is a deal you really can’t pass up.
There is something about the coming of spring and the Easter season in particular that has become synonymous with carrot cake. I’m not quite sure how that came to be because carrots are readily available year-round, meaning carrot cake should be an all year thing. Plus, with the spices, nuts, and usual cream cheese frosting, there’s something about it that just seems to fit with every season.
I love carrot cake. It can be moist, and either dense or light in texture, depending on your preference. It’s easily adaptable to every taste, and there are so many recipes out there that mean it isn’t too difficult to find one to your liking. However, when it comes to cakes, I have this tendency to be impatient. That may be why I don’t have any on this blog yet–I just haven’t mastered the virtue of waiting for the sponge to cool, or I don’t give myself the time to properly decorate and always end up with 20-minutes to do so before guests arrive and the cake needs to be presented.
Maybe it’s just the perfectionist in me that hates putting something doesn’t look as good as it tastes in front of people. Baked goods seem to require a certain aesthetic–one wants to eat with the eyes before they take a bite. That’s why I decided to take the idea of carrot cake and toss it into a cookie. You can see the bits of carrot peeking out, the chunks of walnuts, and the white chocolate.
You know what you’re going to get when you look at these. If you really want to take it to the next level, you can always make a cream cheese frosting to top these cookies off with. Personally, I don’t think it’s necessary, but you can never really go wrong or find enough excuses to consume cream cheese frosting.
I grated about 2 medium-large carrots for these cookies–(just pat them dry once with a paper towel to take some of the wetness out, you don’t need to dry them out completely)–left out the granulated sugar, swapped whole-wheat flour for all-purpose (the moisture from the carrots keeps these from drying out too much and makes them the perfect match for baking with wheat flour), and used a trio of cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom to give these cookies just the right kick of spice. They’re incredibly light and soft in texture, thus taking the idea of turning a cake into a cookie even further. Taking a bite out of one of these is like eating a hand-held, mess-free piece of carrot cake.
These really are the perfect thing for spring, though I wouldn’t object to making a batch in during the summer, fall, or winter. The lightness, soft hint of spices, and nuttiness make them the perfect complement to any season.
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
cookies
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- 1/2 cup butter cold, cubed
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg large
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup carrots shredded/grated, patted dry
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup walnuts toasted and chopped
Ingredients
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- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes on high. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom.
- When the butter and sugar has reached the light and fluffy stage, add in the egg and vanilla, one at a time. Mix until fully incorporated between each. Add in the grated carrots and mix to combine.
- Add in the dry ingredients, half at a time, mixing to combine after each addition. Fold in the white chocolate chips and walnuts. Place the dough into a bowl and allow to chill in the refrigerator about 30 minutes-2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper. Using a large scoop, drop the dough onto your prepared baking sheets. Bake 18-20 minutes until the edges firm up and begin to turn a light golden brown. Transfer immediately to a wire rack or cool baking sheet.