Carrots always remind me of springtime (Easter Bunny!) and our beautiful family dog Meera, who left a lasting impression on everyone during her lifetime. Meera was a German Shepherd with so much intelligence, affection and character. She also had a pretty sophisticated palate! Meera loved the taste of mangoes, gala apples (no other kind would do), sour lemons (not an effective technique to make her stop biting as a puppy) and she absolutely adored carrots.When she was a puppy, my parents would freeze carrots so the coolness would ease her teething pain as she chewed on them. This taste for carrots continued even as she got older.
My parents had a pretty nice vegetable garden. Meera spent many hours with my dad “helping” him dig holes for the the plants. A big revelation to Meera was watching my dad pull out carrots from the ground. She was a very quick study so it was not long before she started digging up the carrots too. In her case though, she would dig them up and eat them right away!
In honor of springtime, Meera and our empty cookie jar at home, here is my recipe for Carrot Cake Cookies!
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup canola oil + a few tablespoons water as needed
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped finely
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup chopped dried pineapple
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Whisk the dry ingredients (including spices) together.
- Add the canola oil and mix well. If still dry, add a tablespoon of water at a time (not more than 3)
- and continue to mix until a sticky cookie dough forms.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients (carrots, walnuts, oats, pineapple).
- Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for about 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool on a rack.
Seetha Bashyam - It is wonderful to make a cookie like this.The cookies look mouth watering! It would be the best way to entertain the unexpected quests, along with coffee or tea!!!