Carrot Cake Cookies

{printable recipe here}
I don't consider myself a picky eater but I might be, especially since I don't like carrot cake. Whenever I tell someone that, I get a very strange, glazed expression. Well, I don't love cake. I love frosting if that counts. And in my book the cream cheese frosting is the redeeming feature of the carrot cake. That said, these carrot cake cookies, this week's Tuesdays with Dorie treat chosen by Natalia, were lacking the most important part of the cake- the icing! They also contained my baking archenemy- coconut. I knew that had to go. Then, since I was so kind as to bake these in the middle of the hot afternoon at my mom's house while the AC ran away, I figured I should leave out the raisins, since she loves cooked raisins as much as I love sunblock, I mean coconut. After subbing in a little extra carrot, oatmeal, and craisins, the final result is actually really delicious. I think I'll sub in some wheat flour next time and no one will even notice. Yay!

I'll tell you the truth- I was kind of upset that I liked these. Not liking coconut has its perks. It's easy enough just to cross anything off my list that contains it. Cookies are tempting little devils and despite my convictions these wouldn't be worth eating, they were delicious enough that I have a slight stomach ache from ingesting all that frosting. I guess I might like carrot cake after all (though my tall man won't go that far- he was the first to say that my "gently frosted" cookies are about equal parts cookie and icing- but where's the crime in that?)

Whenever someone comes over and sees my beloved Silpats lining all my sheet pans, they ask what they are and why I use them. I guess I made a habit of it after I realized I would never have to grease my pans again (thanks, Kara, for the amazing gift!) Today I was to anxious to let the pans cool in between batches and so I tried using some air-bake cookie sheets to hurry things along. The cookies all came out flat and irregular, as opposed to the Silpat lined sheets that came out exactly as they were scooped. I defintely prefer the traditional half sheet pan (bonus if it comes with a lid, like this set!) and a nice, reusable Silpat. Let me know what you think (the pans and the liners are both part of the buy three get one free promotion on Amazon, so it was too much for me to resist!) I don't see myself going back to greasing my copious cookie sheets anytime soon.

Carrot Cake Cookies
from Anne Strawberry
adapted from Baking by Dorie Greenspan
{printable recipe here}

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
pinch of nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar (I always use dark but whatever you have on hand will work)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup shredded carrots (about 4 large carrots)
1/2 cup rolled oats (regular Quaker oatmeal)
1 cup craisins
3/4 cup toasted, chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375F. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Cream the butter and sugars for 2 minutes then add the egg, mix for one minute, and mix in the vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients in 2-3 batches, being careful not to over-beat. Stir in the add-ins with a spatula until barely combined. Scoop onto Silpat lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes (they should just barely be set, starting to take on color and a little firm when touched on top). Top with cream cheese icing.