Carrot oatmeal cookies

So the Union Square Greenmarket sells these vegan carrot cookies that I absolutely adore. They’re chewy, dense, not overpoweringly sweet, and really quite large for a cookie - probably weighing in at close to one pound. Last Wednesday, I started my workday with a meeting at the Greenmarket and picked up one of these cookies on my way to the office. I proceeded to nibble on it throughout the day, growing increasingly more in love with the concept of this damn cookie. This could only mean one thing - I’d have to try making them at home.

I crawled around the interwebs, pulled from a handful of recipes, and thus these carrot oatmeal cookies were born. (*Brag alert*) I am so, so proud of these cookies. Historically, I’ve had a tough time with vegan baked goods; while butter is easily replaced with other fats, eggs are a different story. But in this recipe, the combination of hearty oats, freshly grated carrots and honey provides the cookies with structure and moisture. Furthermore, these cookies contain fiber and protein, and zero refined sweetener, so they are actually kind of healthy.

These multi-textured cookies - with chewy oats and crunchy pecans - are perfect for coffee/teatime, and also really filling. You could totally have 2-3 of them as breakfast. This is also probably the only cookie I’ve ever encountered that’s better when completely cooled, instead of warm out of the oven, so be patient.

Carrot Oatmeal Cookies (vegan)
Loosely based on this 101 Cookbooks recipe
This whole recipe contains only a 1/4 cup of honey. If you prefer things on the sweeter side, up the amount to 1/3 cup.
(Yield: 1 dozen)
Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, or whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• Heaping 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup finely shredded carrots (about 3 small peeled carrots)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1/2 cup melted unrefined coconut oil
• 1/4 cup honey

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, mix together oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Fold in raisins. Add carrots and nuts, and stir to thoroughly combine.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil and honey. Pour into the flour mixture and stir just until combined.
4. Using your hands, form slightly bigger than golf ball-sized balls of dough and place on prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2″ apart. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes.
5. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.