Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Carrot Cookies with Orange Icing -- AND MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!!!


I have a confession: I felt like a really bad nutritional influence after the last tempting, tasty recipe.

So to make amends for my dietary temptation, I give you a new recipe.  With carrots.  I know, it's a cookie recipe, but it's got carrots in it so it's healthy.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

Annnndddd....I'm having my first giveaway!!! I'm so excited.  This recipe uses one of my most favorite tools.  I have fallen so madly, deeply and passionately in love with this thing that I have to share one with you.  Stick with me to the end to find out how you can enter the contest.

First, though, the health food cookies.  This was a little newspaper clipping in my mom's cookbook.  I'm not sure if she ever made them, but I'm betting she did when I was younger in an effort to get me to eat carrots.  Celery I could eat until the cows came home; but carrots and I were not friends.  You'll be happy to know that we rediscovered each other later in life and are now good buds.

Chances are, you probably have all of the ingredients in your kitchen right now:

Butter, sugar, an egg, carrots, flour, baking powder, salt, powdered sugar, and an orange.


Start by boiling your carrots in water.  I used baby carrots (because I have a bulldog who loves carrots...and who isn't known for her chewing prowess), but you can peel and cut normal carrots into smaller pieces.


When you can smoosh one against the side of the pan, take them off of the heat and drain.  Give 'em a good mashing.


Next cream your butter and sugar. 


Add an egg and mix well.


Next, sift together your flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add half of it to the butter mixture.


Then add half of your carrots.  Repeat with the remaining flour and carrot halves.


When it's all combined, scoop out onto parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake them at 350 for 15 minutes.



They'll come out looking like this...delish!


While they're cooling, you can whip up a the quick icing.  We're going to make a mouth-watering orange icing.  For the best flavor, you'll want to harvest the zest from an orange.  All of the flavorful, fragrant oils live in the zest--zest is your friend.  The white pith part, however, is not.  This is where one of my favorite tools comes in...


It's called a microplane and it takes the finest layer of zest off of citrus fruits. It's also hand for grating nutmeg, hard cheeses and coconut. It's sharp and easy to use. And it comes in several beautiful colors now.

It gave me beautiful orange zest for my icing.

After you zest your orange, go ahead and juice it as well.


In a bowl, combine your powdered sugar and zest.



Add the orange juice, a little at a time, until your icing is the consistency you like.  It doesn't take much juice, so go slow!


After sampling your icing (quality control, now!) smear it on your cooled cookies and you're ready for a taste treat.  The cookies have a great texture and aren't overly sweet. The orange icing gives it a nice balance.  I think they'd be wonderful with a steaming cup of tea; and probably coffee, too.  You'll have to let me know on that one.  Plus...you're eating carrots!!!  Health food.  It's important.

Carrot Cookies with Orange Icing

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup mashed carrots
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
orange zest
orange juice

Boil peeled and cut carrots until soft.  Mash.  Cream butter and sugar; beat in egg until well blended.  Sift together fklour, baking powder and salt.  Add alternately with carrots to the butter mixture.  Scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Enjoy!


AND NOW THE GIVEAWAY!!!

One lucky reader (hey your odds are good...I don't have that many readers!!) will receive a microplane of their choice.  You can choose from the plain plane (ha!) or select the one with your favorite color grip.

Here's how to enter:

Leave a comment and tell me what YOUR favorite kitchen tool is.  Is it your kitchen-aid mixer?  Grandma's wooden spoon?  Take-out on speed dial?  I love reading your comments...I'm looking forward to this! 

*Please make sure that you leave your email address so that I can contact the winner or be sure to check back on Saturday morning to see if you need to email me!  This contest will run through Friday evening and the winner will be randomly drawn and posted Saturday morning.  Good luck!*

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Your blog of recipes is my favorite kitchen tool. I LOVE your blog! Thanks for sharing your stories with all of us! I can't wait to make these cookies. My real favorite kitchen tool though is my pampered chef chopper~

Diane Akiko said...

I love, love, love, my kitchenaide Hand blender. It makes smoothies, margaritas, soups, and more importantly nutrious snacks for the whole family to enjoy.

Missy, thanks so sharing your gift of creative writing through your blog. Yours is the only one I read!! If I should win the wonderful gift...I will cook dinner for you in the near future...Actually I'm cooking dinner for you regardless!! :)

Unknown said...

Love the recipes Missy! Thanks for sharing them!

My favorite kitchen tool would have to be my stand mixer. I do not like using my hands to mix things the way my mom always did. I think the stuff my mom mixed by hand was way better and as a child I loved licking her fingers clean! LMAO!!! Not something I can bring myself to do though!

Katrine said...

My favorite kitchen tool is my Grandpas cast iron dutch oven...love that thing!

3Cutelittlebears said...

LOVE the blog!

My favourite kitchen tool is my mini chopper- makes it so much easier to hide veggies in the kids' foods than chopping by hand!

Robyn said...

Missy, I can't believe how big and grownup your blog is! I mean a free give away is so big girl:) I do love that you are posting more regularly. I haven't seen anything you've made that hasn't made me hungry;) I guess I would have to say my favorite tool(s)is my assortment of spatulas. I love how I have the big ones for serious mixing and the tiny ones for getting the goodies out of the bottom of things! I can't wait to make these cookies, I think I am going to take the liberty though of changing them up and using cream cheese frosting so they are like little bites of carrot cake:)

Arizona Sunrise said...

I LOVE your blog.

My favorite kitchen tool would have to be my pretty green kitchen aid stand mixer.
My grandma had one growing up so I just HAD to have one as well and boy do I use that thing for everything from mashed potatoes to breads to cakes to cookies and everything else I can have an excuse to use it on.

Kitty said...

Your blog is really neat! I think my favourite kitchen tool is a toss up between my bread maker and slow cooker. Both make things much easier.

Janice said...

I LOVE your blog! Missy, you're my kitchen hero!! I never read one of your recipes without drooling all over myself. lol My kitchen tool I couldn't live without...well it's a toss up. Either my KitchenAid mixer or my Pampered Chef paring knives. I use both constantly.

Jenny said...

I'm drooling over your carrot cookies! They sound so yummy! If i had a egg I would be so making them right now!
My favorite kitchen gadget would have to be my one super sharp sharp knife. I use it for everything! Not really a gadget though so, im gonna go with my scale LOL i use that for everything! mjmjam2002@yahoo.com

Missy said...

Robyn--Let me know how the cream cheese icing works. I had also thought it might be tasty using pineapple juice instead of the orange juice. So many options!

I'm just tickled that you guys are enjoying the blog..thanks for all of your sweet comments. I'm compiling my list of new must-have kitchen tools as I read these!!

Heather said...

My favorite tool is my wooden spoons, everything is better when made with them. I hate when they are dirty.

Shelly said...

Love reading your blog Missy! I'm going to have to try these cookies! My favorite kitchen tool is my rice cooker... it makes perfect sticky rice every time!!!

Barbara Palermo said...

My favorite kitchen tool is my kitchenaide! The recipe is great! And thanks for the giveway!
Barbara