INSTRUCTIONS
COOKIES
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
With a stand or handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugars together at medium speed until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time and beat just until incorporated followed by vanilla, scraping down the sides as needed. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients. The dough will be thick and you will have to finish mixing by hand. Stir in carrots, oats and pecans by hand just until incorporated – dough will be very thick.
Scoop dough using a 1 ½ inch/1 ½ tablespoon scoop, roll into balls and drop 2” apart. Flatten the tops slightly. If you don’t have a 1 1/2″ cookie scoop, use what you have and adjust cooking time accordingly.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, just until cookies are lightly golden around the edges (take care not to overcook or they won’t be as soft). Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
In a large bowl beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. Beat in powdered sugar on low until combined then increase speed to medium-high and beat until thick and creamy, 1-2 minutes. Add milk, a tablespoon at a time to reach desired consistency.
Frost cookies once completely cool and garnish with chopped pecans if desired.
