Because Baking is Creative: Carrot Cake Cookie Sandwiches
During my quest to make the perfect carrot cake concoction for Nathan's birthday, I stumbled upon this recipe and had to try it (for you, of course). Most of the time, despite the impression I may give that I'm obsessed with refined sugar, I'm a bit of a health nut (let's just say I have a place in my heart for beautiful desserts, most of which happen to have that sweet, white stuff). I enjoy learning about substitutions that can make a recipe healthier, so when I read this recipe, I was giddy about the prospect of tasting the completed dish.
These cookie sandwiches were so good I could eat them for breakfast, and so good for me that it would be acceptable in my house. The texture is soft with a little added crunch from the pecans, and the filling—greek yogurt, honey and cinnamon—is genius. I highly recommend giving this recipe a whirl.
Carrot Cake Cookie-wiches
adapted from Sprouted Kitchen
Makes 20 Minis or 10 Jumbos
1 Cup Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
½ Cup Wheat Bran
1 Cup Oatmeal
½ tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Cinnamon
1 tsp. fresh nutmeg
3/4 Cup Chopped Pecans
1 tbsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Cups Shredded Carrot
2 Eggs
½ Cup Unsweetened Applesauce (I used my homemade version)
2 tbsp. Butter, room temperature
½ Cup Brown Sugar
½ Cup Golden Raisins
Filling:
17.6 oz Container (about 2 Cups) 2% Greek Yogurt (such as Fage)
¼ Cup Local Honey
1 tsp. Cinnamon
Preheat oven to 325’
1. In a small bowl, pour about half cup of hot water over the raisins and let them soak. In a bowl, whisk the eggs well. Add applesauce, butter, brown sugar and stir. Drain the raisins and add them, and the carrots to the wet mixture. In another large bowl, mix all dry ingredients and the nuts.
2. Gently, in thirds add the dry ingredients to the wet. You should get a pretty thick dough at this point, firm enough keep form on a baking sheet, but still more moist than your typical cookie.
3.Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Use an ice cream scoop for large cookies, or a tablespoon for smaller ones and set them 2’’ apart. Bake for 12-16, depending on cookie size, until edges brown a little and the middle is just set. Timing will vary.
In the meantime, mix all filling ingredients with a whisk and put in fridge to firm up.
Allow cakey cookies to cool before assembling the sandwiches. Use desired amount of filling and eat immediately as the yogurt gets a bit messy once it starts to soften. You could also freeze them for about 30 minutes, which would make them much easier to eat.
