My love for ginger is second only to my love for garlic.
Which is why I picked Gingered Carrot Cookies for this weeks Baking With Dorie (BWD) Challenge. Dorie describes these cookies as "a delicious case of trying to make one thing and ending up with another." And that is exactly what they are: more cake-like than cookies; with a wonderfully chewy and soft texture.
The recipe is really easy to put together. Susi warned me that unless I own a KitchenAid, my arm would get a real work out mixing the very thick dough this recipe yields, but I had no trouble at all: I used my hand mixer to blend the butter, sugars and egg with the dry ingredients and mixed in everything else with a spatula. The dough really is very thick, but was very soft and not at all dry which I had expected it to be.
My only complaint is: I was disappointed that the flavor of ground ginger didn't come through much stronger. After I tasted the first batch I had baked, I wanted to go back and add chopped candied ginger to the dough, but was actually too tired to do so. I made the cookie dough late last night & had already pre-scooped tablespoonfuls (dropped on a parchment-lined tray and then covered) for hassle-free baking early in the morning. It just seemed like too much work to go back and experiment with or 'correct' the dough. So I let it go this once but intend to try it with the candied ginger next time.
How I digress! On to the recipe:
Gingered Carrot Cookies
From Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan (Page 162)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1.5 sticks (12 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden)
1/2 coarsely chopped pecans, preferably toasted
Preheat oven to 375F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger and nutmeg.
Working with a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugars and beat for 2 minutes, then add the eggg and beat for another minute.
Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in the vanilla. Continuing on low speed, add the dry ingredients in 2-3 batches. Beat only till they disappear into the mix. Don't overbeat to incorporate flour - you will end up with a very thick dough. Mix in the carrots, coconut, raisins and pecans.
Spoon the dough onto baking sheets in heaped tablespoonfuls, leaving an inch of space between them.
Bake 16-18 minutes. The cookies will be light brown and just firm on top. Cool on wire rack.
Makes approx. 30 (I got 40 because I didn't make very heaped tablespoonfuls).
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[The next BWD challenge is Lots-of-ways-Banana-Cake, Page 204 & 205. If anyone is interested in joining us for the next challenge, please drop me an email at needfulthings at ymail dot com]
