Mini Carrot Cake Cookie Cups
These little cookie cups are just one little bite, perfect for Easter and are kid and adult friendly alike.
For the adult and the child, one can limit oneself to one delicious little bite or eat two or three to make a normal cookie size. Kids will love the little cupcake-looking cookie bites, and they won’t even realize they’re eating spring carrots that have been grated into them and healthy oats as well!
It’s the best of both worlds …..
Vegetables…..and cookies!
One word of advice here, when you grate your carrots (it took about four large carrots for this recipe), make sure you use the smaller holes on your box grater instead of the large ones you might usually use to grate cheese. They should be thin little wisps of carrots. If you use the smallest holes, you might end up with mush so try them all and aim for the little wisps. You can see the difference below.
Once you get those grated, it’s a simple mix of dry ingredients.
And another mix of wet ingredients. Add them all together and mix in the carrots, nuts and the oats.
Then scoop them into mini muffin tins.
You can use cute spring liners, but if you put them straight into a sprayed muffin tin, the edges get crispier and more cookie – like.
Bake them in a 350° oven for about seven minutes.
Then check them with a toothpick. If it come out clean, remove them and let them cool about thirty minutes. If it doesn’t come out clean, check them again in 2-3 minutes.
Whip up the simple cream cheese frosting and pipe it on top when they cool.
To make them extra cute, sprinkle them with orange sprinkles.
And then, top them with a green M & M or a jelly bean to look like carrots.
M & M even makes a carrot cake version right now.
Perfect!
Happy Easter baking everyone!
- 1 c. butter
- ¾ c. brown sugar
- ¾ c. sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 t. pure vanilla extract
- 2 c. flour
- 2 c. oats
- ½ t. baking soda
- ½ t. baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 t. cinnamon
- 1 t. ground ginger
- ½ t. nutmeg
- 2 c. oats
- ½ c. carrots, finely shredded
- ½ c. Chopped walnuts or pecans (Optional)
- 4 T. butter (1/2 stick)
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 2 c. powdered sugar
- 1 t. vanilla
- Optional – orange sprinkles and green jelly beans or M&M’s
- Preheat oven to 350º
- Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
- Add eggs and vanilla and beat about one minute
- In a medium-sized bowl, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and mix with whisk
- Add half of dry mixture to butter/sugar mixture and beat about 20 seconds. Repeat with other half of dry mixture.
- Turn mixer to low and add carrots, nuts (if using) and oats.
- Line muffin tins with baking cups or spray with baking spray.
- Using two spoons or a small cookie scoop, fill trays ⅔ full
- Bake in oven 7 minutes. Check center of one cookie with to see if toothpick comes out clean
- Cool at least 30 minutes.
- Combine butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy
- Spoon icing into a piping bag or baggie with corner cut off and pipe onto each cookie cup. Sprinkle with orange sprinkles and top with green candy to make carrot “stem”
Check out what other wonderful food bloggers made that are kid friendly for Food Network’s Sensational Sides this week!
Feed Me Phoebe: Mushy Pea Toasts with Mint
Jeanette’s Healthy Living: Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan Crust
Big Girls, Small Kitchen: Chocolate Milk with Homemade Chocolate Syrup
Bacon and Souffle: Kid-Friendly No-Boil Quick and Easy Mac and Cheese
Weelicious: Italian Asparagus Sticks
Devour: 5 Kid-Friendly Cupcakes
Cooking With Elise: 6 Kid-Friendly Sensational Sides
Dishin & Dishes: Mini Carrot Cake Cookie Cups
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Cream of Mushroom Soup (for Zola)
Red or Green: Busy Mom’s Chicken Tacos
Domesticate Me: Cheesy Baked Penne with Chicken and Broccoli
The Sensitive Epicure: PB&J and Apples Rice Paper Roll-Up (Gluten-Free)
FN Dish: Side Dishes Your Kids Will Love
