Haha, Jeff and I decided to enter a Christmas cookie contest in 2021 for Go Bold with Butter. I wanted something that was visually interesting but easy to create–a snowman! But how do you make a cookie look like a snowman? Then it hit me in the middle of the night when I was brainstorming–frosting! Frosting the snowman! And it could be a carrot cake cookie, so his carrot nose would be perfect! How could it not win some sort of prize, with a clever name, a cute look, delicious cream cheese frosting, and even a gluten free option? Haha, needless to say, the recipe didn’t win ANY sort of prize. Seems like the prizes all went to the cookies with coffee or alcohol in them. Haha. Oh well, I enjoyed my cookies.
If you’re making it gluten free, of course just use a gluten free flour blend with xanthan gum. Also make sure your nuts don’t say that they may contain wheat.
“Frosting the Snowman” Carrot Cake Cookies
Time-consuming but festive for Christmas.
Ingredients
Cookie batter:
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1 c. Butter, softened
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¾ c. Sugar
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¾ c. Brown Sugar, packed
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2 Eggs
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1 tsp. Vanilla
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2 ½ c. Flour (or 2 ¾ c. gluten free cup-for-cup flour)
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2 tsp. Baking Soda
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2 tsp. Cinnamon
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½ tsp. Ginger
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½ tsp. Ground Cloves
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½ tsp. Nutmeg
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½ tsp. Salt
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2 c. Grated Carrots (generally 4-6 carrots, depending on size)
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1 ½ c. Chopped Pecans (optionally toasted for best flavor) (check for gluten free)
Frosting:
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½ c. Butter, softened
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8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
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2 tsp. Vanilla
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3 c. Powdered Sugar
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1/8 tsp. Salt (optional)
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Orange and black food coloring
Directions
For cookie batter: Preheat oven to 350°. Beat together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until creamy and lighter in color. Scrape down sides, then add the eggs and vanilla, and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt) and mix well. Add the carrots and pecans and mix well. On a greased cookie sheet, spoon a rounded tablespoon in a nice circular, tall mound for the snowman’s head. Leave 1-2 inches between each mound. (The cookies will spread a little and have a cakey texture.) Bake 11-13 minutes until golden brown.
For frosting: Beat together the butter and cream cheese until creamy. Add the vanilla, powdered sugar, salt (if using), and mix until smooth. Set aside ½ cup frosting to color for the face. Color half the reserved frosting orange and the other half black.
To decorate: Frost each cookie with a circle of white frosting. Place the orange and black frosting in plastic sandwich bags and cut off a tiny corner. Then pipe an orange carrot in the middle of the cookie for a nose. Finish by piping black eyes and a smile.
(Tip: For the gluten free version, make sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level off with a knife.)
Mitchell Meals 