Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Instead of making a carrot cake, I thought I would make carrot cake cookies.  With mini chocolate chips.  And cream cheese frosting.   I have to be honest, I don’t make carrot cake treats too often because grating carrots is not fun, although I do have a delicious carrot cake recipe using carrot baby food.

On the topic of carrots, you must grate them.  Don’t buy the shredded carrots from the grocery store.  They won’t work in this or most carrot treat recipes.

If you want to use chocolate chips, I find  the mini ones work best.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount (same for the powdered sugar in the frosting).  I recommend chilling the individual doughs for a new hours to keep them puffy.  And, preheat your oven before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup crisco
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 2 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 2 cups grated carrots

Directions – in a bowl, cream crisco sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in carrots then mini chips. Divide into 12 equal mounds of dough. Chill for a few hours.   When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on sheet.  Bake 15 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 8 Oz  cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and  cream cheese.  Add vanilla.  Slowly blend in powdered sugar.  Frost cookies.   Store in covered container in fridge until ready to serve.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Carrot cake bars for Championship week Thursday

I got some carrots to make a carrot cake, but changed things up a bit and made carrot cake bars.  I used melted butter, so they are a little chewier than carrot cake.  Also, they have way too much frosting!  But there are worse things in life.  I doubled this recipe and used two 8×8 square pans to bake them in.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  And preheat your oven before baking.

  • Bars ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 cup shredded carrots (wow, is that fun to do)
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions- line and 8×8 square pan with parchment paper and spray with baking spray.  Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.    In a bowl, combine butter, brown sugar and vanilla.  Blend in egg and yolk, then carrots.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Fold in chips.  Evenly spread in prepared pan.  Bake 28 to 32 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter softened
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and cream cheese.  Add vanilla.  Blend in powdered sugar slowly.   Frost bara.  Chill in fridge. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Gingerbread men

Gingerbread man

In the spirit of the season, I present another holiday cookie – gingerbread men. They can also be reindeer. You just flip the cookie upside down. The reindeer nose is the gingerbread man’s head and the antlers are his feet! You could even add a little cinnamon hot candy on the reindeer’s nose to make him a Rudolph!

Rudolph, but without his shiny red nose

I made these into sandwich cookies, so the filling recipe is at the end. You don’t have to do that, of course.

I did chill the dough overnight and took it about an hour before I was ready to bake. Mine always wind up large, probably because I don’t roll out the dough as thin as I should.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. I also recommend preheating the oven for 20 minutes before baking so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients cookies
  • 6 tbs butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tbs water
  • 3 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tps salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Directions – cream butter and brown sugar. Add egg and water. Blend in dry ingredients. Mixture will be crumbly so you may have to mix it for a while for it to come together. You may even need to add another tbs or 2 of water. Cover and chill.

Take dough out of fridge about an hour before baking cookies so the dough is easier to work with. In a floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to the thickness you want and cut with cookie cutters. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and stagger cookies. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake 8 to 9 minutes. Cool completely.

  • Filling
  • 1/4 cup butter melted
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Milk

Directions – in a bowl, blend butter and powdered sugar. Stir in vanilla. Add enough milk to get the consistency you want and spread between two cookies. Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today. I wish you peace, joy and love.

Gingerbread men/Reindeer sandwich cookies

Gingerbread men sandwich cookies

In the spirit of the Christmas season, I present you with this gingerbread men recipe. You can also flip them upside down and they become reindeer! I can not decorate, so I made these into sandwich cookies, using a simple vanilla frosting recipe. The only thing I forgot to do was sprinkle sugar on top of the cookies before baking.

Reminders – 1) scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. 2) chill the dough at least a few hours. (You may need to let it sit out for a bit after the chill process to make it easier to roll out. 3) preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so it cycles to the right temperature

Reindeer sandwich cookies
  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, soft
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2/3 cup molasses
  • 3 tbs water
  • 3 cups flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp ginger
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • Extra sugar

Directions – cream butter and sugar. Add egg, molasses and water. Blend in dry ingredients. Dough may be a little sticky. Cover and chill at least a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. On a floured surface, roll out dough to desired thickness and cut with cookie cutters. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners. Place on sheet. Bake 8 to 9 minutes. Cool completely.

Frosting – combine 2 tbs melted butter, 2 cups powdered sugar,1 tsp vanilla and add enough cream, a tbs at a time, to the desired consistency/thickness you want. Add food coloring if desired, spread between 2 cookies.

Yum!

Thanks for stopping by! If you make these, let me know how they turn out. I hope you have a wonderful day, filled with peace, happiness and love. And remember, be kind. We all need kindness