Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

Freakin' Martha Stewart, man. Seriously, does she do anything that is just mediocre? I made these cookies for my husband last night, and they were absolutely the best cookies I have ever had. I only made a small change to the recipe (instead of 1 cup of raisins I used 1/2 cup golden raisins and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts). So good.

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies
Source: Martha Stewart

Makes 25 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
• 1 cup raisins (I used 1/2 cup golden raisins)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (my addition to the original recipe)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugars and butter; beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until well combined.
• In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; stir to combine. Gradually add flour to butter mixture; mix on a low speed until just blended. Mix in oats, carrots, and raisins. Chill dough in refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Using a 1/2-ounce ice-cream scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Transfer to oven, and bake until browned and crisped, rotating pan halfway through baking to ensure even color, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat baking process with remaining dough. Once cooled completely, use an offset spatula to spread about 2 teaspoons of cream-cheese filling onto a cookie. Sandwich together with a second cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for Cream Cheese Frosting:

• Place cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, soften cream cheese. 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.

Sugar Free Carrot Cake

For every family holiday gathering, my job is to make dessert. I'm the only one in my family who really enjoys baking, so it's a good fit. For Easter, I wanted to make something a little on the light side. When I found this carrot cake recipe at Splenda.com, I knew I had to give it a try. Carrot cake is one of my mother's favorite desserts. I have to say this lighter version was great. It was really moist, and since I upped the spices a bit from the original recipe, it had lots of flavor. I made a frosting with 8 ounces of fat free cream cheese, 1/3 cup splenda, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. I would not reccommend using fat free cream cheese, stick to light. The texture of the frosting was off using the fat free. Overall, though, the cake was great, and I would make it again if I was looking for a lighter dessert.

Sugar Free Carrot Cake
Source: Splenda.com

Ingredients:

• 7/8 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I used 1 teaspoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (I used 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (my addition to the original recipe)
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup eggbeaters
• 3/8 cup splenda
• 3 tablespoons reduced fat margarine
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 1/4 cup finely shredded carrot
• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup golden raisins (my addition to the original recipe)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Set aside.
• In small bowl whisk together egg whites and eggbeaters. Set aside.
• In large bowl beat SPLENDA® Granulated Sweetener, margarine, honey, vanilla, applesauce, and canola oil. Mix in egg mixture, stir until well mixed. Stir in flour mixture, then carrots, walnuts, and raisins.
• Pour into greased 8 cup loaf pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool, ice if desired. (I used 2 round pans, and baked for 30 minutes).

St. Patrick's Day, Part 2

We had a potluck at work for St. Patrick's Day, so I brought the pistachio cake, but I also decided to make some Oreo Truffles decorated for the holiday. Both were a big hit!

Pistachio Cake

This is my absolute favorite cake. Of course, it's my mom's recipe, so it has to be good! This is the most moist, delicious cake you'll ever eat. And it's super easy to make too. I wish I had been able to get a picture of the inside of the cake to show how moist it is, and it looks really pretty sliced because the cake is cut in half with a layer of frosting in the middle. I made this for St. Patrick's Day, but I usually make it for Christmas too, and decorate it like a wreath.





Mom's Pistachio Cake

Ingredients for Cake:

• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1 package instant pistachio pudding
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup club soda
• 1 cup oil

Ingredients for Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups cold milk
• 1 package instant pistachio pudding
• 1 envelope dream whip

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Mix all cake ingredients together, mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes
• Pour into greased and floured bundt pan
• Bake for 50 minutes
• Cool in pan for 15 minutes
• Turn onto rack and cool completely
• Blend all frosting ingredients with an electric mixer and beat until thickened, about 5 minutes (I usually chill the bowl and beaters in the freezer while the cake is cooling to help the frosting thicken quickly)
• Cut the cake into 2 layers, frost in between layers, then reassamble the cake and frost the outside
• Keep cake refrigerated