CARROT CAKE COOKIES RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Combine 1 cup butter, sugar and brown sugar in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla; beat until well mixed. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Stir in carrots and pecans.
• Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Cool completely.
• Combine powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter, cream cheese and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in bowl; beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Reserve 1/2 cup frosting.
• Frost each cooled cookie with 2 teaspoons frosting. Divide reserved frosting in half. Tint one half green and one half orange. Spoon each tinted frosting into resealable plastic food bags; snip off corner of bags. Make carrot design on top of each cookie, if desired.

Steps:

• Make the cream cheese filling: In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, flour, and vanilla. Mix with a fork until smooth.
• Scoop 16 teaspoon-sized balls of icing onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze for at least 1 hour.
• Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (Do not use a silicone mat--if the bottoms of the cookies are too thin, the silicone will stick to the cookies and the icing centers will fall through when removed from the pan.)
• In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar, and beat with an electric hand mixer or whisk for 1-2 minutes, or until well combined.
• Add the eggs, 1 at a time, then the vanilla and cinnamon and beat until combined.
• Add the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated.
• Fold in the carrots, raisins, and pecans with a rubber spatula.
• Scoop 16 heaping tablespoons of dough onto 2 prepared baking sheets, spacing at least 3 inches apart. Flatten each scoop with moistened fingers.
• Place a frozen icing ball in the center of each dough round.
• Top the filling with another scoop of dough and use moistened fingers to flatten and seal the edges so the filling is completely encased.
• Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the edges are light brown. Be careful not to overbake or the filling will ooze out.
• Let the cookies cool completely. This is important! If you try to lift the cookies before they are cool and the icing is still warm, it could fall through the cookies.
• Enjoy!