Carrot Cake Cookies

Carrot Cake Cookies
Adapted from Epicurious. You can sub raisins for the candied ginger, leave the spices out of the filling, throw in some coconut. And you could leave out the nuts, though that makes me sad. This recipe makes only a dozen cookies, so you’ll need to double it if you’re making them for a crowd. I strongly recommend using parchment paper to line your baking sheets, as these cookies stick. If you don’t have parchment, make sure to generously butter your pans. And keep an eye on them as they cook to avoid overbaking.

1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
1 scant cup pecans (3 ounces), toasted and chopped
4 Tb. candied ginger chopped
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup honey
10 green cardamom pods, seeds removed and crushed
Grating of fresh nutmeg

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 2 baking sheets (or line with parchment).

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots, nuts, and ginger at low speed, then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Drop 1 1/2 tablespoons batter per cookie 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total. Cool cookies on sheets on racks 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

While cookies are baking, blend cream cheese, honey, cardamom, and nutmeg in a food processor or mixer until smooth.

Sandwich flat sides of cookies together with a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling in between. Makes one dozen.

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