This is a recipe from my great grandmonther - Gonnie is what she went by in the family, not that that was her name, just I think what her grandkids called her. I remember having these a lot when I was growing up, but oddly enough, I've never met anyone else who's ever had them. I'm thinking they must be an old-timey southern thing. This is a doubled recipe - feel free to cut it in half if two dozen cookies is enough for you.
Cookies:
- 3 sticks unsalted butter
- 300g white sugar
- 300g grated carrots
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- zest of one orange
- 620g unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tsp baking powder
Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar. Combine the eggs, vanilla, and orange zest. Mix in a little at a time until incorporated. Mix in the grated carrots. I use the smaller size of the grater that otherwise never gets used. With the mixer on low, add flour a little at a time, allowing to incorporate before adding more. Once this is mostly combined, stop the mixer and continue by hand.
Spoon the cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with a silicone mat (or parchment paper). The dough is really sticky, so keep a the tips of your fingers wet to avoid sticking. If you're going to ice them, flatten them a little before putting in the oven. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 11 minutes. Allow to cool completely before icing.
Icing:
If you have a recipe for a good cream cheese frosting, use it. The stuff I made this time was way too runny, so I'm going to have to try something else. Put it into a ziplock bag, snip a corner off, and pipe onto the cookies.
They're really hard to store after they've been iced, but they won't last long anyway.