Carrot Cake Cookies

The other day perusing the world wide web, I happened upon this recipe.
I thought, "I like carrot cake.  The kids like carrot cake.  She says they taste like Oatmeal Cream Pies.  Let's go."

And go I did.



I didn't follow her recipe exactly -- added a few things to make it "better".

Ingredients
1/2 c. plus 1 T. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. plus 1 T. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. flax meal
1 c. oats
5 teaspoons cinnamon (because I like me some cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 c. plus 2 T. packed brown sugar
1/3 c. plus 2 T. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup coarsely grated carrots (3 medium)

Glaze (I didn't do the glaze but am putting her recipe here anyway)
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 T. powdered sugar, plus extra if needed
2 T. milk, plus extra if needed to thin glaze
1/4-1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. sift together flours, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.  Add flax and oats to flour mixture.
2. In a separate bowl, beat together butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla until pale and fluffy, about 2 min.
3. Mix in carrot at low speed, then add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Chill dough in freezer for 15 minutes.
4. Drop 1 T. batter per cookie on lightly greased baking sheets.  Bake until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12-16 minutes total (I found it's closer to the 12 minutes, maybe even a little less depending upon your oven). Cool on sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to wire racks.
5. Spoon glaze onto warm cookies and dust with cinnamon if desired.  Store in airtight container in the fridge. Makes 35 small cookies.

Next time I might try adding less sugar, more flax, more whole wheat flour, and perhaps halve the butter and use applesauce in place of the missing half.

You want to make these.
They'll make your house smell a.m.a.z.i.n.g.
We took two cookies and a little dollop of whipped cream, creating our own Oatmeal Cream Pies.
They are phenomenal.

The only down side is that they just don't last long enough!
I made 35 little cookies yesterday . . . and now they are all gone.