Carrot Cookies

Grandma to a T

At one glance, I could tell this recipe was exactly the kind of thing Grandma would have loved. It was full of her favorites, namely raisins, nuts, and grated carrots, and the stains on it showed that she had made it multiple times.  

My first glance showed me another thing, something I would change. While testing Butterscotch Cookies, my sister and I had confirmed that butter far outshines shortening when it comes to cookie-making, and it didn't seem to drastically change the consistency either. I didn't hesitate before pulling out a stick of butter and getting ready to bake. 

How to Make Carrot Cookies

 The butter went into a bowl with the sugar, which didn't seem like a lot compared to most cookies. That was a plus in my book. I beat the two ingredients well. 

I then added the eggs and beat the mixture again.  

This was the end of the recipe's specificity, which said to "add the other ingredients" after I'd beaten together the butter, sugar, and eggs. I sifted in the flour, baking powder, and salt. I then beat that together, but the mixture was dry.  

I didn't panic. The carrots would add moisture, and so would the lemon juice. I grated the carrots using the fine blade on my rotary grater. (Not an affiliate link.) 

Since I was only making half a batch, I needed a 1/2 cup, and one carrot was just about right. 

I added the carrots, nuts, and lemon juice to the bowl and beat that mixture together. As I suspected, the carrots provided just enough moisture to achieve a scoopable consistency for cookie dough. 

However, I was still missing a key ingredient. The raisins. 

And that was it. The dough was done in just a few minutes. I got out my medium scoop, which is still my go-to despite the huge-cookie crazy. Scoops weren't a thing when Grandma was still baking, but I think she would have preferred them over using two spoons to portion out the dough. I sure do.

 The recipe didn't say whether to grease the cookie sheet or not, so I used a silicone baking sheet, just in case. (These aren't affiliate links, just FYI.)

And speaking of things the recipe didn't actually say, the oven temperature and the baking time were not specified. Not exactly, anyway. I figured that "moderate oven" meant 350 degrees, so I set it to that, but there wasn't even a hint about the baking time. I set my timer for ten minutes, which seemed as good a guess as any, and it was almost right. I ended up adding one more minute after the ten were up. 

When they came out, they were quite puffy, which didn't surprise me. Most of Grandma's cookie recipes seemed to be cake-like, not thin and chewy. 

They looked good, though. I liked the bright streaks of orange and the dark dabs of raisin peeking through. These cookies would have texture, that much was clear. And once they cooled a bit, I peeked inside to make sure.  

Yep. Texture ☑️

Flavor, though? That remained to be seen. Or, rather, tasted.

The Verdict on Carrot Cookies

It didn't take many bites for me to decide that I really, really liked these cookies. And yet, I kept eating them, just to be sure, justifying my munching by telling myself they were sort of healthy--they contained carrots, fruit, and nuts, after all. 

The big question is--will you like them? 

My answer: it depends. 

Do you enjoy buttery baked goods that contain a hint of lemon? Do you like a soft, melt-in-the-mouth cookie that's also chock-full of texture? Do you crave the crunch of nuts and the chewy sweetness of raisins? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you will like these cookies.  

Try them, and let me know what you think.