These cookies are inspired by a carrot-cardamom pudding recipe. Carrots are actually indigenous to Afghanistan and other parts of South-Central Asia. Walnuts and other nuts (such as pistacbios) are regularly eaten in the region. The cookies do include ingredients which probably would not be found in an Afghan kitchen like butter, eggs and the leaveners. These cookies are delicious and cakey–the walnut is a perfect match for the carrot. A great afternoon snack!
Ingredients
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cardamom
Shredding carrots by hand can take some time but is worth the extra elbow grease for these cookies!
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup AP flour
1.5 cups shredded carrots
1 cups roughly chopped walnuts, toasted
2 T honey
approx 2 T milk
1 scant cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios
For the cookies…
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars with an electric mixer until the mixture looks like packed wet sand. Add the egg and almond extract and mix until combined. Add the carrots and mix until incorporated. In a large bowl, combine baking powder, baking soda, cardamom and salt and mix ingredients. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients one third at a time. Once all ingredients are mixed through and you can’t see any more flour, add the walnuts and mix just until mixed.
2) Drop the cookies by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheets–2 inches apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden and centers are set. Transfer to a wire cooling rack.
3) While cookies cool, prepare glaze. Whisk together milk and honey until honey is dissolved into the milk. Then, add the powdered sugar, little by little, whisking the mixture while you do so. You want the consistency of the icing to be pretty wet so you are able to drizzle it over the cookies. Or you can dip the tops of the cookies into the icing bowl so icing covers the whole top of the cookie. Then sprinkle the finely ground pistachios on top.
Makes 2-2.5 dozen.
Cookie Chronicles 