Carrot Cake Cookie

Makes 10 4-inch sandwich cookies

Equipment:

• Stand or hand mixer
• 4-inch wide silicon mini tart molds – these are our favorite 

Ingredients:

Cookies:

• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup applesauce
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cups carrots, finely grated
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1  8-ounce package of cream cheese
• 1 stick unsalted butter (½ cup), softened to room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3-4 cups confectioners sugar

Instructions:

1. Cream oil, sugar, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla with a mixer. Add finely shredded carrots and crushed drained pineapple. Mix well.

2. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Add to creamed mixture and mix until combined. Add nuts if desired.

3. Set the silicon tart pans on a baking sheet. Fill the tart pans with about 3 tablespoons of batter (they will only be 1/4 full).  Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cookies comes out clean.  Transfer the tart pans to a wire cooling rack and let the cookies cool until they reach room temperature. When cool, they pop them out of the molds and place them on the cooling rack.

4. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, softened butter and vanilla in a medium bowl until combined and smooth. You can either use a stand mixer or hand mixer. Gradually add confectioners sugar and mix until completely combined. Feel free to add more or less confectioners sugar to achieve your desired consistency.

5. Add a thick layer of frosting to the flat side of 10 of the cookies. Top each with another cookie to create a sandwich. Serve immediately.