Brown Butter Carrot Cookies

These Brown Butter Carrot Cookies are so tasty and simple to make you’ll question why you haven’t made them sooner. They have a scone like texture with a tangy orange glaze.

If you follow me on Instagram , you may have noticed a photo that I took this morning of an old recipe box.  The first thing I look for when I hit up a garage sale is anything recipe related.  Books, recipe boxes or show boxes full of newspaper clippings.  Not that I really need more recipes (I have over 300 cookbooks) but I guess I feel it’s my duty to “save” the recipes.  What if no one bought it and they ended up in the trash?  Years of collecting, handwriting, typing and cataloging.  That would just be a sad moment.

I was thumbing through a couple of my rescued recipe boxes this morning and happened on this one for Carrot(t) Cookies and knew I needed to make them right away.

I could’ve made them as written but I have a major aversion to using shortening.  I just don’t like using it…go figure.  So I whipped out the butter (which I happen to love more than Bourbon) and browned it with star anise, then popped it in the fridge to chill it again.

I love adding whole spices when I brown butter for cakes or pies.  I make a country apple pie every Christmas that has a spiced brown butter custard that is making me drool while I type this.  Soooooo gooooooood!

These cookies are more on the shortbread or scone front than a typical chewy or cake-y cookie, but don’t fret…they are incredibly addicting.  In fact, I am currently having a back and forth conversation in my head about why I deserve to have another one (read 5th one).  They’re screaming my name from the kitchen as I type.  Make it stop.  🙂  Alright, let’s stop all this chatter and get to the recipe!  Thanks to Ella Pike – whoever you are for inspiring carrot deliciousness!

Brown Butter Carrot Cookies

Author: Heather Scholten

An old recipe for carrot cookies reinvented using spiced brown butter in place of shortening. Scone like cookies filled with steamed carrots and topped with a tangy orange glaze.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Desserts

Cuisine All Cuisines, American

Servings 18 Servings

COOK MODEPrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  

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• ¾ cup unsalted butter
• 1 whole star anise
• 1 large egg
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 ¼ cups baby carrots 6.5 oz, steamed until soft, coarsely mashed and cooled.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups all purpose flour sifted

Orange Glaze:

• juice from 1 orange
• zest from 1/2 of the orange
• pinch of salt
• about 2 cups powdered sugar

Get ingredients with

Instructions

• Add the butter and star anise to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until the butter begins to brown and smells nutty, about 15 minutes. Discard the star anise and pour the butter into a small glass bowl and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, or until solid.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
• Beat the butter in the bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar and egg and beat until combined. Add the mashed carrots and vanilla and beat just until combined. Add the baking powder, salt and sifted flour and mix just until combined.
• Use a hinged scoop to achieve uniform cookies, or drop 1/4 cup sized balls onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 15-18 minutes, until centers are set. Cool on a wire rack.
• To make the Glaze: add the orange juice, zest, salt and powdered sugar to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Drizzle over the cookies and allow to set for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 158kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 68mgPotassium: 43mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1476IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg

Keywords cookies

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Recipe By:

Heather Scholten

Co-Founder at Spiceology | More About Heather...

Heather is a recipe developer and content creator living in Vancouver, Washington. She started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006, almost 20 years ago, as a way to share recipes with friends and family. Heather is also the co-founder of Spiceology , a unique spice company, which she started in 2013. She shares family friendly recipes for easy everyday meals with a gourmet twist.