Carrot Cake Cookies-Stuffed
Ingredients
- 9 tbsp Butter unsalted. Browned and cooled.
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tspn Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tspn Ground Ginger Can use dried or fresh. I used dried.
- ½ tspn Nutmeg
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ tspn Salt
- 1½ tspn Vanilla Extract
- 3 Medium Carrots grated finely.
- ½ cup Spiced Pecans (chopped) recipe here:
- ⅓ cup Shredded Sweetened Coconut
- 1¼ cup Flour
- ¾ cup Instant Oats
Orange Cream Cheese
- 4 ounces Cream Cheese room temperature.
- 4 tbsp Powdered Sugar
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Orange zest
Instructions
Orange Cream Cheese
- Combine room temperature cream cheese with powdered sugar, orange zest, and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set in the fridge until ready to stuff cookies.
Roasted Carrots
- Preheat oven to 375*F.
- Spread the finely grated carrots in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread out as evenly as possible.
- Roast carrots for 10 minutes. Stir on the sheet pan to avoid any hot spots, evenly spread out the shredded carrots again, then roast 10 minutes more. The carrots should smell fragrant and be lightly browned.
- Allow carrots to cool on baking sheet while you prepare the dough.
Carrot Cake Cookies
- In a bowl, combine cooled but still liquid brown butter with both types of sugars and salt. Mix to combine.
- Add the spices, egg, vanilla extract and mix until the mixture is smooth and glossy. No traces of egg should remain.
- Add the baking soda and flour and mix to form a soft dough.
- Make sure the carrots are cooled before adding to the dough with the oats, pecans, and coconut.
- Using a 3 ounce cookie scoop (or measure out three tablespoons of dough alternatively), scoop 8 portions of dough.
- Take the orange cream cheese out of the fridge with a teaspoon for filling the cookies.
- Pat the cookie dough into a disc the size of your palm, place a teaspoon of filling in the center. Pinch the cookie dough closed around the filling. Roll around the dough gently between palms to smooth out the edges. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Using gloves can keep this step mess free.
- Place the cookie dough on a cookie sheet in the fridge for at least one hour to firm up. Preferably, leave overnight in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 325*F. Bake cookies 4 at a time on a parchment lined baking sheet for 14-16 minutes. Cookies will be slightly domed and the edges will be golden brown when they are done.
- These cookies will need at least an hour to cool and set up on the baking sheet before eating. The longer these cookies sit the better the flavor and texture will get.
- Enjoy these magical spring treats!
Notes
Want a mini cookie version instead of stuffed cookies?
Scoop cookies with a one ounce scoop or tablespoon. This recipe will yield around 24 cookies. Place on a cookie sheet and let rest for at least an hour in the fridge and up to overnight. Bake 12 on a parchment lined baking sheet at 325*F for 8-9 minutes. Allow to cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack. Pipe the orange cream cheese with a star tip on top for a tasty and decorative finish!