Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Tuesdays with Dorie: Carrot Cake Cookies

Huzzah! After a week of frantic unpacking leisurely opening a box or two at a time, the new kitchen is finally in workable condition. The best part is, it has a big window and enough room for a wee table on which to take photographs, so there'll be no more carrying food from the kitchen to the dining room to get pictures.

I'd like to say the first thing I baked was this week's TWD recipe, but the truth is I made these (fabulous) Snickerdoodle Blondies over the weekend, and then we scarfed them too quickly to get a picture. Moving on!

The second thing I baked were these Gingered Carrot Cookies, chosen by Natalia of Gatti Fili e Farina.
I added carrots, coconut, pecans, and dried cranberries to the mix, and I have to say, the dough was delicious. I found myself doing a little of the ole one-for-you, one-for-me trick when scooping it onto the baking sheets. After they were baked, they had a beautiful soft, cakey texture, with just enough carrots to make them seem healthy.

However, the next day, I thought they were leaning toward tasting a little stale, and a little plain. So I did what I always do when confronted with less than stellar baked goods: add frosting.

I made a simple cream cheese frosting and topped some cookies with a dollop of frosting and crushed pecans. I also tried a few whoopie-pie style, which worked out surprisingly well despite their bumpy texture.
My favorite variation was the cookies topped with the layer of frosting, because it had the maximum frosting-to-cookie balance.

These will probably never replace the classic chocolate chip or oatmeal cookie, but they were tasty and different, and I could see making them when I wanted a fun variation on carrot cake.

Q: What's your favorite cakey cookie? I've made some "banana bread cookies" that were...well, just what they sound like. Pretty fab! What about you?

16 comments:

  1. Yours look delicious. I love that you added dried cranberries and frosted some of them. Yum.

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  2. Cream cheese frosting makes everything better! Yours look delicious.

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  3. I agree they needed something so I busted out the mixer this morning. Cream cheese frosting really takes these to the next level. Yours look fantastic

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  4. These cookies look amazing, and I love your frosted variation. I'll definitely give them a try!

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  5. yours actually look like carrot cake! nice job as usual liz.

    Tia @ Buttercreambarbie

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  6. I'm not usually a cookie type of gal, but I am quite fond of black and white cookies when looking for a cookie/cake combo.

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  7. Ciao Elizabeth ! Thank you for joining me this week ! I love your different versions and the table is great as the new kitchen !

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  8. MUCH better with frosting. I thot they had a little too much ginger, but that's just me. Love your new photo setup. A good window is always a good thing.

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  9. I agree that they seem a bit stale the next day. thus my advice to eat them fresh out of the oven. haha. Yours looks spectacular with the frosting.

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  10. I love your new photo set up! My stuff has been in storage for a month, and for at least one more, so I can't wait to unpack! I thought the batter was fantastic too, so much so that I put it in cream cheese ice cream. Mmm.

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  11. The cookies look great (especially with the thick covering of cream cheese frosting), but I really love the window. I'm glad you've gotten unpacked enough to enjoy your new kitchen!

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  12. Very Nice. I think cream cheese frosting makes everything taste good!

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  13. Great looking cookies, especially with the frosting. Looks like you have a nice, bright kitchen!

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  14. I so wish I would have frosted mine! I wanted to make sandwiches but mine were too puffy.

    Good luck with unpacking! I think we still had unpacked things about 5 years after we moved.

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  15. I did the same thing. Made the cookies, but only waited a short while before deciding they needed cream cheese frosting. I did some with nuts on top and some sandwiches. Fabulous!
    To where did you move?

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