No, these aren’t oatmeal creme pies!  But they look like them, don’t they?

Kate at the clean plate club has a baking group called The Cookie Carnival.  She will be posting around the end of every month a round-up of all the bloggers that make a chosen cookie recipe.

I’ll tell you, I’m all for celebrating the cookie!  I probably make cookies more than any other dessert, just because they are fun, family friendly, and freezer friendly.  So this week I’m going to have my own Cookie Carnival and post cookie recipes all week.

This month’s Cookie Carnival choice was Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies.  Everyone loves carrot cake at my house, so I knew these wouldn’t last long, and they didn’t.  They were all eaten by the next day, and they were asking for more!

I did have a problem with the cookies sticking to my silicone mat, which has never happened before.  That meant a few never got made into sandwiches since they broke.  The recipe says it makes about 13 cookies, but I probably got 10 sandwiches when it was all over, and they are big, too.  The cookies stay very soft and when sandwiched together with the cream cheese and honey filling, they’re delicious.

It’s a cookie celebration!

INSIDE-OUT CARROT CAKE COOKIES
Gourmet | April 2004

makes about 13 cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
• 1 scant cup walnuts (3 ounces), chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins (2 1/2 ounces) (omitted)
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 cup honey

DIRECTIONS

1. Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 2 baking
   sheets.
2. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
3. Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium
   speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots, nuts, and raisins at low speed,
   then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.
4. Drop 1 1/2 tablespoons batter per cookie 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake,
   switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and
   springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total. Cool cookies on sheets on racks 1 minute,
   then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.
5. While cookies are baking, blend cream cheese and honey in a food processor until smooth.
   Sandwich flat sides of cookies together with a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling
   in between.
6. Sandwich flat sides of cookies together with a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling
   in between.