Two Thumbs Up

I love getting recommendation from people whose taste I trust. It makes it much less risky to gamble two hours of my life to watch a movie if I know that my friend with identical tastes in movies raved about it. The same is true for books. There are people whose glowing review of a book means that I'll be reading that book within the next week.

Reading blogs is like getting personal reviews and raves about recipes and cookbooks. I love to see real life pictures of what a recipe yields (rather than something a food stylist created out of shortening and shaving cream) and to hear how someone who bakes in a home kitchen, rather than a commercial set-up, liked the recipe and the directions.

I've always been a bit put off by Martha Stewart. Her show and her books seemed designed to tell me in detail exactly how much better her life, her tastes, and her abilities were than mine. That's why I didn't jump for joy and run out and get a copy of Martha Stewart's Cookies when it came out last year, even though it practically had my name in the title. It was only when I started seeing some of my favorite blogs baking from the book and gushing about the book that I decided to check it out. Which I did. Literally. From the library.


The book traveled between the kitchen and my bedside. You know what that means. I was hooked. When it was time for the book to go back to the library my husband looked at all the scraps of paper bookmarking delicious recipes and said, "Is this something Santa should know about?" Well, Santa came through for me. And this is the first batch of cookies that I've made from my new book. It didn't call for any imported ingredients, specialty tools, or esoteric techniques. And the cookies were delicious. The best of carrot cake in a cookie - genius!

I think prison changed Martha. Perhaps we could be friends. Well, maybe not close friends, but we could bake together.

Carrot Cake Cookies
- adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flattening cookies
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1-1/2 cups finely grated carrots (about 3 large carrots)
1 cup raisins*

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1- In and electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until well combined.

2- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; stir to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture on low speed, just until blended. Mix in the oats, carrots and raisins. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until the batter is firm, at least one hour.

3- Preheat oven to 350 deg. F, with racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

4- Shape tablespoons of dough into balls (I used a cookie scoop to keep my hands clean), and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between balls.

5-Put about 1/2 cup all-purpose flour into a shallow bowl (like a cereal bowl). Dip the bottom of a water glass into the flour and use it to flatten the dough balls, coating it in flour each time.

6- Bake until browned and crisp around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time.

7- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

8- Make the Cream Cheese Frosting. Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add butter and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Sift in confectioners' sugar and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla and stir to combine.

9- When the cookies are completely cooled, pair them up according to size and shape. Spread about 2 teaspoons of the frosting onto the flat side of one half of the pairs. Sandwich them together with the remaining cookies.

Cookies can be refrigerated in airtight containers up to 3 days.

*If your raisins are not plump and moist, soak them in hot water for at least 10 minutes to help them plump up. Drain them and dry them on a paper towel. You could also soak them in rum or Grand Marnier, but be sure not to let that liquor go to waste when you drain the raisins!