cookies from the garden

Mom was sneaky. When I was a kid, she used to make brownies with grated zucchini hidden in them. We would never know if her brownies were laden with nasty veggie vitamins or if they were simply safe, empty calories. (Truth be told, the zucchini brownies were good, though it's taken me a while to fully trust desserts.)

I got to thinking this week. Could I disguise a vegetable in a tasty dessert? Might my children one day mistrust my cookies?

The answer is a resounding yes. These carrot cookies (holy cow, they're awesome) are incredibly delicious. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Carrot Cookies

1.5 sticks butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup raisins

1.5 cups grated carrots

Preheat the oven to 375.

Mix together the butter, sugar, egg, and molasses until smooth. Beat in the soda, allspice, cinnamon, and flour. Stir in the raisins and carrots.

Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough into a bowl of granulated sugar. Roll the dough into a ball, covering it in sugar as you do so. Place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart. (If you lack parchment paper, just grease the cookie sheet.)

Bake for 9 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before moving the cookies to a cooling rack.

And now for something completely unnecessary...

In keeping with the carrot cake theme, Kaytie had the brillant idea of icing the cookies. Of course! Cookies couldn't possibly be complete unless you turn them into little icing sandwiches.

Okay, the cookies are plenty good by themselves, but they are nice with icing, too.

Cream Cheese Icing

(If you're icing a cake, you probably need to double this recipe.)

1 8-oz block cream cheese, room temp

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1 Tbs milk

1/8 tsp almond extract

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth.

In the top of a double boiler, add the milk and chocolate chips. Do this over medium heat. Do not let the water in the bottom boil. Do not let the hot water touch the bottom of the top pan. (I know - it's a lot of rules. They're for your own good.) Stir constantly as the chips melt.

Once the chips are melted and combined with the milk, add the mixture in a steady stream to the cream cheese mixture as you continue beating. Add the almond extract. (You may want to add a little more extract if you like a stronger flavor. Taste as you go.)

Once it's all mixed together, spread a layer on the bottom of a cookie, and top it with another cookie. Ta da!

Iced cookies should be kept in the fridge.