Thanksgivingkuh…oh how I am sick of this word.
I have been developing recipes for various companies for this once in a lifetime event since the MIDDLE OF AUGUST!!
Then this Thanksgivingkuh party I just threw the other night…I am just overloaded.
If you haven’t been following my facebook & Instagram accounts
You missed all the crazy & wild behind scenes of me throwing the 2nd annual Jew in the City Chanukah All Star Party (more fun & wild behind the scenes coming soon)
& really…all these latkes filled with stuff like beets, squash, stuffing, cranberries & anything else us food writers (me included) could tweak our recipes with..
Just give me good old fashion Potato Latkes & I am done!….straight in Chanukah fried heaven!!

But now its all about getting my crazy life back down to its usual normal level of chaos & insanity
With Tunie B’s 4th Birthday looming on Wednesday
& that drunk with tired please-stop-asking-me-promise I made to her..
my Hello Kitty cake deadline is looming and I am of course back in the kitchen doing anything but that!
Instead, I am making these carrot cake spiced cookies.
No good reason…other than I am craving them and feel like I need to jump on the band wagon with the rest of the world and get into that holiday mode.
The holidays are kinda tough still to get through, with out a pit in my stomach and the feeling of loss.
But yeah..even though its just me & Tunie B, Thanksgiving & Chanukah are going to be celebrated (she deserves the great memories).
With a few invites from some good friends looming to share in their own family festivities
These cookies are the perfect food gift to bring along.
So happily I am filling my house with the smells of Thanksgiving & Chanukah this week…

Spiced Carrot Cake Cookies
A few years ago I had a brilliant idea..carrot cake +cookie!
After some experimentation and discovery of a similar idea and recipe in an obscure cookbook my mother had given me, I had perfected what I call the Spiced Carrot Cake Cookie.
I love this cookie because it is the perfect combination of savory spice flavor with the generous use of cinnamon & nutmeg. It perfectly accompanies the subtle sweet carrot, raisin & coconut filled flavors bursting throughout this cookie, truly just makes your taste buds do a happy little jig.

But I warn you all…once you start making these cookies, it is very hard to stop nibbling on them. Personally there is nothing I love more than eating these hot out of the oven with a tall glass of cold milk. Thankfully as far as cookies go, these are not bad in the healthy department. Who says you can’t have your vegetables in a cookie form?

Tips: these are great freezer cookies and will last for up to 3 months

Tips: The key to this cookie is to really not over bake them – set your timer for this cookie and even though it will look under baked – take them out when the buzzer goes off! They will harden up slightly when cooling – but the best thing about this cookies is its soft and chewy texture.

Tips: this recipe makes about 5 dz cookies 12 1/2 inch drop cookies – feel free to half recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cup raisins

3 large carrots, wash & peeled and shredded in a food processor

3/4 cup orange juice

4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. ground all spice

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

2 tsp. finely grated lemon or orange zest

heaping 1/2 tsp. of kosher salt

1 1/2 cups of packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 cups of corn oil

2 large eggs

3 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 350 F. Prepare several baking sheets that have been coated with non-stick spray.

In a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, stir together the raisins, carrots, and orange juice.
Bring everything to a simmer all while occasionally stirring.
Cook for about 4-5 minutes and then remove from stove and set aside.

In a separate mixer bowl, add the flour, cinnamon, all spice, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.

Once the carrot mixture has cooled, transfer it to a large mixing bowl and add the sugar and oil. Using a rubber spatula, stir the carrot mixture well until fully blended. Then add the eggs, zest, and vanilla and stir again until evenly incorporated.

Now slowly add this wet mixture into your dry flour mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in the walnuts and shredded coconut.

Drop the dough by the heaping spoonful on to the prepared baking sheets. Note, these cookies really spread when cooking, so leave a nice space about 2 1/2 inches between each cookie drop.

Bake the cookies in the middle of the oven for about 10-11 minutes. Rotate cookie sheet once halfway through baking. the cookies are done when they are lightly tinged brown around the edges and firm when pressed in the center. Transfer cookie sheet to a wire rack and let them stand and cool for at least 10 minutes, they will firm up while cooling.

Store in airtight container.