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Carrot Cake Cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 18 minutes
Yield: 16 cookies
For the cookies:
½ cup Imperial Granulated Pure Cane Sugar
¼ cup Imperial Light Brown Sugar
¼ cup salted butter, room temperature
½ cup shortening
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon pure orange extract
1 egg
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/3 cup finely chopped, toasted pecans
1 ¼ cups grated carrots (grated on the small holes of a box grater)
for the frosting:
½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon pure orange extract
1 pound Imperial Confectioner's Powdered Sugar
orange & green gel/paste food coloring, optional
Preheat oven to 350 and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Cream the butter and shortening together until combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugars and beat again until light and fluffy.
Beat in the egg and extracts. On low speed, add the flour, baking powder, and salt; mix just until combined.
Stir in the crystallized ginger, pecans, and carrots.
Use a two-tablespoon cookie scoop to dollop the dough onto the prepared sheets. Bake 18 minutes or until the cookies are set. Cool on the cookie sheets for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cookies are cooling, make the icing. Beat the butter and cream cheese together until well combined. Add the extracts. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
If desired, set aside two small bowls of frosting and color with orange and green food coloring. Place the remainder of the frosting in a pastry bag or a large freezer zip-top bag, snip off the end, and pipe frosting onto the cookies.
If using the orange and green frosting to make carrots, fit one pastry bag with a #3 tip for the orange frosting and another with a #2 for the green. Pipe carrots onto the cookies.
