Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies ~ #CreativeCookieExchange

It is time for the first cookies of 2017 from #CreativeCookieExchange.  Our theme this month is Healthy Cookies for the New Year!  Yes indeed, so can bake cookies that are healthy.  Come take a look how.

Yes, I have a baking blog but I am a big believer in everything in moderation.  When I bake we usually share the goodies with neighbors, coworkers, and friends.  This way we get that wonderful taste of homemade desserts, but we aren't tempted to over-indulge or eat it just for the sake of not wasting it.

This month's theme of Healthy Cookies for the New Year! was a challenge, as I usually bake what I want and do not take into consideration the health aspect.  This forced me to stop and think about what was going into the bowl.  I do like carrot cake so I went looking for it in cookie form, and for one that had health benefits. I found this Carrot Cake Cookie recipe, and knew it would work perfectly. My daughter wanted me to call them Even Beta Carotene Cake Cookies - get it? 

The first health benefit was to use white whole wheat flour. I really like to use this flour for the added health benefits, and it has a milder taste than whole wheat flour. Some people think that it is not as nutritious as whole wheat flour, but this simply is not true.  It is made from hard white spring or winter wheat, which is just a different variety from the hard red wheat of whole wheat flour.  It still contains the bran, germ, and endosperm but it is just paler in color.

The second health benefit was to swap out the refined white sugar for maple syrup. There is a lot of debate about whether maple syrup is healthier than sugar, but my thought is that sugar is sugar.  I used it because it is less refined and does contain some antioxidants, and the next time I make this cookies I will also decrease the amount that I used because I don't think I would miss it too much as these cookies have a lot of flavor.

The third health benefit was that unlike some recipes that make 3 dozen cookies, this recipe only makes about a dozen cookies. You can't eat what you haven't baked. I chose to drizzle mine with a lemon-flavored cream cheese frosting as I think the sharpness of the lemon cuts the sweetness.  Of course you could also leave them un-drizzled and they would still be delicious. Also, I did not use instant oats because I was too lazy to grab my food processor, and regular oats worked just fine.

Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies

Printer Friendly Recipe

Ingredients

Cookies ~

• 100g instant oats
• 90g white whole wheat flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 28ml coconut oil
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 5ml vanilla extract
• 120ml pure maple syrup
• 68g grated carrots (about 1 smallish medium)

Frosting ~

• 100g powdered sugar
• 50g cream cheese
• 15ml lemon juice

Preparation

Cookies ~

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla.
3. Stir in the maple syrup until thoroughly incorporated.
4. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. 
5. Fold in the carrots.
6. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 160°C, and line a baking sheet with a parchment paper.
8. Using a cookie scoop drop the cookie dough into 12 rounded scoops on the baking sheet.
9. Bake for approximately 15 minutes. 
10. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Frosting ~

1. Add all ingredients to small bowl.
2. Using a hand mixer, mix until combined.
3. Place in a small ziplock bag, cut off a small portion of the corner, and drizzle over the cookies.

Recipe from Amy's Healthy Baking.

For US measurements please click here.

New Year’s resolutions? The theme this month for the Creative Cookie Exchange group is “Healthy” Cookies for the New Year! If you are a blogger and want to join in the fun, contact Laura at thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com and she will get you added to our Facebook group, where we discuss our cookies and share links. You can also just use us as a great resource for cookie recipes--be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them here at The Spiced Life). We all post on the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! Also, if you are looking for inspiration to get in the kitchen and start baking (or this month's "Healthy Cookies for the New Year"), check out what all of the hosting bloggers have made ~

• ANZAC Biscuits from Food Lust People Love
• Avocado Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from 2 Cookin Mamas
• Banana Oatmeal Cookies from A Baker's House
• Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies from All That's Left are the Crumbs
• Four Ingredient Healthy Cookies from Spiceroots
• Multigrain Snickerdoodles from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Whole Wheat Digestives from Flours and Frostings