Vegan Carrot Cookies

In one of my earliest posts, for Peanut Sauce, I mentioned that I would someday get around to posting the recipe for 'Chewy Carrot Cookies' also from Dana Jacobi's Natural Health Cookbook. Today is that day! I changed the name to Vegan Carrot Cookies because that piece of information might be useful to some readers.

Oddly, I didn't have any rolled oats on hand but I was set on making the cookies. Muesli to the rescue! I had some unsweetened fruit and nut muesli on hand that worked beautifully.

One lesson I learned in making these is that you should really use a food processor for grating the carrot if you have one. I thought that it would be more hassle than it was worth to get out the processor for the grating, but after nearly shredding my fingers and becoming cranky, I decided to let the machine to the work next time.

Note that in March 2009, I published a bar cookie version of the recipe: http://eatseats.blogspot.com/2009/03/carrot-bar-cookies-recipe-makeover.html

In January 2015, The Kitchn posted a recipe that is startlingly similar to this one, with the addition of shredded, unsweetened coconut and warm spices instead of vanilla. I used these modifications and really like the results. I used my 2 TBSP scoop and they were very tall so the second batch I flattened (already in my instructions below, but not in The Kitchn's). No matter what, they're going to be crumbly, so you'd be wise to eat from a plate

INGREDIENTS
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. rolled oats or unsweetened muesli
1/2 c. chopped toasted walnuts or sunflower seeds
1/3 c. raisins or other dried fruit
1/2 c. unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
1 tsp ground cinnamon (all spices optional)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 c. shredded carrot (2-3 carrots)
1/2 c. maple syrup (could be reduced; I'm guessing agave would also work)
1/2 c. coconut oil, melted (original recipe specified corn)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

DIRECTIONS
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare two baking trays (Silpat or parchment is very helpful, otherwise you'll need to grease your baking trays)
  2. Stir the syrup, oil, and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside (if using coconut oil you don't want to whip these together or you end up with something that looks like maple coconut frosting)
  3. Combine the flour with baking powder, salt and oats in a large bowl
  4. Stir in walnuts/sunflower seeds, raisins and carrots
  5. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until well blended
  6. Using a greased teaspoon, drop onto the baking trays. The cookies do spread a little bit
  7. Flatten cookies to about 1/2 inch tall
  8. Bake until golden, 10-12 minutes
  9. Remove from oven and let cool on the trays for a few minutes before transferring to a rack

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