Carrot Cake Cookies

December has come and it's rolling very fast.
This is the month that I was really waiting for. We're always super excited talking about this month. But, busy daily activities and hectic life make this wonderful month flies away fast, too fast for us to enjoy it.

Then, I decided to bring back the excitement feeling that I always have since I was small. The joy of waiting for the Christmas day, the busy warm kitchen, delicious spice aroma from the oven, ...
Yup, sometimes I need to push myself harder for something better.

IMG_0948serve

Started since the beginning of December, I challenged myself to take 'daily pictures'. No trick, no special plan, ...just stay close with my camera, then freeze the moment. I collect those December pictures using special label 12.12 Daily Pictures in my other blog.

And... inspired by the memory of an English Christmas Carol that regularly reverberates during Christmas season; The Twelve Days of Christmas...
I challenged myself with my version; Twelve Days of Christmas Baking! 
Maybe some of you know that the twelve days of Christmas actually start on the Christmas day (25 December) to 5 January. Since I bake for Christmas, for sure I'll not bake after Christmas Day :)

I just got the idea last weekend, and the first of my Twelve Days of Christmas Baking just started last Monday.
Ho...ho...ho.. it is really challenging for me; I have to bake (including style, take some pictures of them and blogging) in between other busy activities during month of December.

By the time I'm writing this posting, it's already 4 days of Christmas Baking have been done! Yeah... so far so good! All are running very well, ...except I'm working hard finding 'time' to edit the pictures and blogging. There are hundreds of pictures, and they keep growing!

Fresh Carrot

For this Twelve Days of Christmas Baking, I decided to choose simple recipes that don't take too long to prepare and using some spices that always blowing the 'Christmas aroma' around our home.

On the first day of baking, I remembered my beautiful fresh carrots that were bought a day before, and I decided to bake Carrot Cake Cookies. I saw some recipes of this kind of cookies for years, so I know where to find it.

Easy, simple,... and most of the ingredients are always available in most of the kitchens. It has a cake texture, soft and chewy. Soft inside the cookie and crunchy on the outside. Don't hesitate to add more ground cinnamon to the batter; it'll give you an extra bonus of the tempting aroma.

My first day of Christmas baking was successful...
My family love this cookies. Delicious cookies produced from a very clever recipe.

carrotCakeCookies carrot cake Cookies

Carrot Cake Cookies
Source : "Christmas Cookies 102 Sweet to Share", BHG Special Edition 2003
Makes 48 cookies.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups finely shredded carrot
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted, I used chopped cashew.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Chopped pecans, toasted (optional), I used chopped cashew.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet; set aside. Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and dash salt.
Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of flour as you can. Stir in remaining flour, the carrot, and the 1 cup pecans. Cover and chill dough for 30 minutes.

2. Drop dough by slightly rounded tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

3. Spread cookie with Cream Cheese Frosting. If desire, sprinkle with chopped pecans.

CreamCheeseFrosting

Cream Cheese Frosting.
in a medium mixing bowl beat together 1/2 of an 8-ounce package softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup softened butter. Beat in 2 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla.

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To Store:
Place cookies in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze unfrosted cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw cookies; frost.

Comments

Ira Rodrigues said…
Fantastic van! I wish you all the best with the 12.12 xmas baking and for sure i will come at every single post to check all your simple recipes. *exciting and interesting!

Semangat ya Van!
Anonymous said…
Allo Mbak Vania, jadi pengen bikin cookies lihat postingan ini, cuma ngebayang cleaning upnya, kayanya ga jadi deh...:) btw, great pics as usual...
kiky said…
pengen ke rumah mbak Vania =))
*bisa ngga pulang pulang ngunyah terus*
Jiah said…
Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm looks fabulous.
Samantha said…
After reading your post, i am damn hungry and want to eat these carrot cake cookies!
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I loved those recipes, nice. how I wish to find travel agents that serves very delicious foods.
Hesti HH. said…
Lovely pictures, udah kebayang renyahnya. Mbak Vania, selamat merayakan Natal dan tahun Baru ya...
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kamrul hasan said…
i was the looking for the same and related info, what you describe on your article. And found you through google search. Its helps me a lots and i understood that you are one of skill article writer/ blogger. I have book marked your blog and hope to visit again to learn more. Thanks for your valuable efforts and time.
Here are two cookie recipes my family enjoys and I hope you will also like them.
1. Carrot Cookies
2. Chocolate Scotcheroos



Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sooo good! I was in need of a healthier version for my family and simply substituted 1/2 c of white flour with whole wheat flour and 1 full c of almond meal. I used all brown sugar and added in some extra carrots. Popped em into a mini muffin tin and we now have a perfect 1 table spoon bite.
lazer epilasyon said…
It looks wonderful.
Ayesha said…
After reading your post, i am damn hungry and want to eat these carrot cake cookies! :) it's yummy
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